Censored: Royal couple’s garden gaff
Planning error was hushed up due to ‘national security’
THEY have faced strong criticism over the multi-millionpound, publicly-funded, revamp of their home at Windsor in England.
But now Prince Harry and Meghan Markle face fresh embarrassment after work in their garden left them in a potential breach of planning rules.
Agents for the couple applied for retrospective planning consent for ‘external landscaping works’ in their garden at Frogmore Cottage which is different from the design already approved by the council. The work is also said to include a kitchen garden and £20,000 (€22,260) of shrubs or trees. Retrospective planning applications can be submitted for work already carried out but it does not mean permission will automatically be granted.
If the application is refused, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council can issue an enforcement notice which could require the couple to reverse any changes made at the Grade-II listed cottage.
The exact details of the changes are not clear, however, because large swathes of the application have been redacted.
Planning applications, in UK law, should be published by local councils in full. There are certain exceptions including some government buildings.
But Ian Ratcliffe, project manager at the royal household, said in a letter to the council that details of the couple’s plans should also be kept secret. He said ‘national security could be compromised if public access is given to the plans’.
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