Knives out! Couple buying £1m country home sue after ‘not being told about diner next door’
They were promised a stun- ning barn conversion with far-reaching views over an exceptional rural location.
But after putting down a deposit on their £1million dream home, Adrian and Lisa Powell found out that their near neighbour would be an American-style motel with neon signs, a drivethru and flood-lit car park.
The couple are suing sellers Philip Ash, 66, and wife elisabeth, 62, for over £300,000 after they failed to tell the prospective buyers about the development.
The Powells were convinced they had found the perfect home when they agreed to buy Lake Barn – which came with three acres of land and equestrian facilities – near the Oxfordshire village of Buckland for £ 1.085million. They put down £108,000 in November 2017 and even bought a horse and furniture.
Despite having exchanged contracts, the Powells pulled out of the purchase after making the ‘horrifying’ discovery. They are demanding a refund of their deposit plus damages, including the cost of the horse.
At Central London County Court, the Ashes yesterday denied misleading the Powells, who they claim used the motel plan in a ‘cynical and dishonest’ attempt to get a cut-price deal.
The 79-room Mollie’s Motel and
Diner has since been built by owners Soho house and opened at a star-studded reception attended by Declan Donnelly, Jeremy Clarkson and Paloma Faith in January.
Mrs Powell said they were told by the Ashes in the house sellers’ questionnaire that they did not know of
‘Dishonest and cynical’
any nearby development which might affect the barn. And it was only after contracts were exchanged that they learned of the large-scale redevelopment of a former Little Chef on adjoining land.
For the Powells, barrister ewan Paton said the Ashes had put their name to ‘repeated and multiple objections’ to the plans, which showed the proposals did in fact affect their property. In one, the plans were described as ‘massively overbearing’ and ‘in-your-face’, he said.
But in her own evidence, Mrs Ash said they had only added their names to the objections to support another neighbour who was directly affected. She said: ‘Unless it was 20 storeys high, you would never be able to see anything on the Little Chef site from Lake Barn.’
The Ashes say it was in fact them who validly rescinded the contract – for non-completion – and that the Powells’s deposit is forfeited.
Lake Barn has since sold to another buyer for a reduced price of £985,000. The case continues.