Fury as couple ordered to tear down summerhouse after ONE complaint | UK | News
A couple who were ordered to demolish their summer house in their garden following a neighbor’s complaint reacted to the “harsh actions of excessive bureaucracy”. Andrew Causley, 59, and his wife Julie, 60, were left “stunned” after receiving an enforcement notice from the council to demolish a timber structure built in their garden and replace it with the same-sized Wendy House, which has stood there for 25 years. The new structure was built 18 months ago after the old cottage started leaking, but following a complaint from a neighbour, Labour-run Exeter City Council ordered the couple to dismantle it immediately.
Andrew submitted a retrospective planning application for the building after consulting with local authorities in the city in south-west England, but was refused. “We paid £150 for it and had it replaced within two weeks, using the same concrete base,” he said. “We painted it the same color as the front door and thought it would blend in with the surroundings. Turns out we had a complaint and from then on things got out of hand.”
“We thought it was just a backup and no big deal,” he added. “It’s just a different wooden structure.”
The 59-year-old said the planning row was not part of “any long-running neighbor dispute” but simply a case of a nearby resident “deciding he didn’t like” the new development.
“He has the right to complain and do whatever he wants; we just think it’s ridiculous for the council to approve this,” he continued. “This is absolutely exaggerated, incompetent bureaucracy. They imposed the maximum penalty for a small summer house in the garden.”
Andrew claimed the saga has cost him and his wife around £3,000 so far; that figure is likely to rise amid a pledge to “fight” the demolition order “to the end,” including potential legal action.
The couple were told that retrospective planning permission was refused because the structure was out of character with the house and inconsistent with the streetscape.
Julie said: “Wendy House had the same footprint and fit on the same plot. We love feeding the birds, building hedgehog houses and turning our garden into a lovely little country haven.
“If we had asked for planning permission to take all of this and create a six-car car park, they would have allowed it. But we can’t just keep a little wooden structure in the corner of our garden. That seems ridiculous.”
Devon County Council Reform UK member Neil Stevens also criticized Exeter City Council’s “hard-line” approach to the cottage application, saying it showed a “lack of common sense”.
“They are not harming anyone and all they want is a quiet life,” he added.
Exeter City Council said it could not comment on the case as it remained “active”.
