FIGHT TO WIN PERMISSION TO EXTEND HOME ON BOUNDARY OF GREEN BELT
Couple toast victory over red tape following three-year struggle
A COUPLE have won their three-year battle for planning permission to develop their dream home.
The Bignall End house was visited by footballer-turned property presenter Dion Dublin in 2018, and the two-bed semi was on the market for £136,000.
After being snapped up for £140,000 by Chris, who runs a landscaping firm, and his restaurant boss wife Victoria, they hoped to get to work straight away on doing up the home while raising their baby Harriet.
But the property sits in a green belt area, and planning rules aim to prevent buildings sprawling too far outside their boundaries.
Daytime TV show Homes Under the Hammer detailed the family’s challenge to finally get the home they wanted.
Chris said the house ‘kind of ticks a lot of our boxes’, and the family was keen to move in within a year.
But when the show returned in January 2020, things had not gone to plan. Chris said: “The first application, a double-storey side extension, was refused on the grounds it was over-development of the green belt.
“So the second application was single storey, with the idea we put a third bedroom at the back, and a wraparound kitchen. That also got refused. We decided to submit an appeal, that took about 15 to 18 weeks. And we got that decision back that the appeal was dismissed.
“We’ll decide what we’re going to do next, whether that be another planning application, or just proceed under permitted development, or just cut our losses and sell. This was never about making money. We wanted to live here.”
The presenters returned this month to check on the progress, and this time things were looking more promising.
A one-storey side extension had now been built, and made space for the new kitchen and a third bedroom.
A fourth arrival had made her appearance, and baby Rose was just in time for the new room.
The gardens had more work done, and the interior was completely finished.
Victoria said they had spent ‘about £70,000’, adding: “We could never have done a double-storey extension for that amount of money, but obviously we’ve done everything for us. Perhaps we did it for more than we wanted to, but we love it.”
An estate agent who visited in 2018 made his long-awaited return, and after the couple had invested £210,000, he valued the extended building. Had they sold the property, they could make £220,000 to £230,000.
Victoria said: “We’re really happy with those figures, but we’re not planning on selling or moving, so it doesn’t matter too much.”