Monday, November 13, 2006

Paul McCartney - perils of planning permission

Just to underline the importance of planning permission if you are thinking of building your own home office, Paul McCartney has offered to pull down his £1 million log cabin/garden office following a year-long dispute with local planning authorities.

The wooden lodge/pavilion was built without planning permission on the edge of a conservation lake that was created at his estate near Peasmarsh, East Sussex. A formal bid by McCartney to get retrospective planning permission for the two-bedroom building was submitted in December last year and rejected by the planners, because they had been built without consent in an area of outstanding natural beauty. The buildings, they ruled, "harm the intrinsic landscape quality and character" of the High Weald.

He appealed, arguing that the 205 square metre cabin was essential for the "privacy, seclusion and security" of his family. But, again, the planning committee did not accept his claim and ordered him to knock down both buildings.

Then the story gets really complicated with various offers and counter offers (which are detailed in theDaily Telegraph). But the motto is clear.

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