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Council votes to demolish 'Hobbit house' |
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29 Jul 2014, 7:38 PM
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Pembrokeshire councillors have today refused to grant retrospective planning permission for the turf-roofed low impact home of Megan Williams and Charlie Hague, built near Glandwr in 2012.
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The environmentally friendly, low impact building, which has become known as the "Hobbit House" now faces demolition after its owners' bid for retrospective planning permission was rejected.
Megan Williams and Charlie Hague built the house using locally sourced bio-degradeable materials on land belonging to her parents' at Glandwr near Crymych in 2012. More than 100,000 people had signed an online petition supporting the couple.
After Pembrokeshire councillors refused to save the house the couple said they would appeal. Sculptor Mr Hague and Ms Williams argued that the straw-walled roundhouse, which took a year to build, has a low impact on the environment. They had previously lived in a caravan for four years, before moving into the new home just before their son was born. Williams said she and her partner wanted to live "an older and simpler way of life".
They did not apply for planning permission before building and consequently faced calls from the council to demolish the house.The couple asked the council to reconsider the issue after losing an appeal against a demolition order in 2013.
But officials said the couple had broken rules about developing homes in the countryside and recommended councillors refuse their second appeal.
Crymych councillor Keith Lewis prompted applause from the public at the meeting on Tuesday when he said there were no local objections to the house and the couple were "ahead of the game in many ways".
But planning officer David Popplewell said the property fell short of the guidance in the Welsh government's One Planet Development (OPD) policy. Nine of the planning committee members voted to refuse the planning request, while four voted in favour of allowing the application.
Williams said she and her partner felt "very disappointed" but were "determined to carry on...to save our home and get permission". They have six months to launch an appeal, and she said:" That's the way we're going to go."
Asked by the BBC if she was confident they could win, she replied: "We can't think any other way."
In a statement, Pembrokeshire council said it had originally issued an enforcement notice against the roundhouse in December 2012. It said: "An appeal against this decision was refused by a Welsh government planning inspector last July. The inspector said the benefits of the development did not outweigh the harm to the character and appearance of the countryside."
It said the committee members voted to refuse the retrospective application for the house as it was "an unjustified development in open countryside contrary to planning policies".
Speaking at the meeting councillor Terry Wilcox said it would be "immoral" to make the couple tear down their home.
Williams said that that the council had an opportunity to support sustainable development and allow young people from the area to live and work in their own community. She said she and her partner have always acknowledged their property was built without prior consent and that "wasn't the best start". She maintains that building the house was the only way they could afford a warm dry home of their own as house prices in Pembrokeshire continue to rise.
Made from round-wood timber, straw bales rendered in lime, and with a turf roof, it took less than 12 months to build and cost around £12,000.
Williams said: "We were living in a mobile home here previously, and it really wasn't warm or comfortable. What is so nice about living in a home like this, is that has been created with such a positive process with friends and family willing to learn crafts and skills to build it as we went along."
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