Hidden ‘manor’ to be bowled
THE new owners of a luxury mansion that was hidden inside a shed by a convicted fraudster have applied to replace the building with a new five-bedroomed house.
Mr and Mrs Higgins want to demolish the Rodsley property formerly known as “Shedley Manor”, which was occupied by “bankrupt” businessman Alan Yeomans until he was jailed for drugs and money laundering offences in 2016, and they hope to build a new property with a two-storey garage capable of storing 10 cars.
The six-bedroomed hidden home, which was disguised as a farm shed and contained a disco room, gym, library and a secret room where Yeomans grew a £40,000 stash of drugs, would be bulldozed as part of the application – but Derbyshire Dales District Council’s planners are not keen on the replacement.
Councillors will meet on Tuesday to discuss the plans for a new building on the Rodsley Lane site, which is now known as Carr Wood House, and the plans have been warmly supported by Rodsley and Yeaveley Parish Council.
In a response to the application, which is recommended for refusal, the parish council says the new dwelling would be a “huge improvement” on the existing building, which was clad in green agricultural metal to hide its interior from view but given a certificate of existing lawful use in 2007.
Three public representations were received, with one respondent referring to the building as an “eyesore”, but the other responses expressed concerns over the size and siting of the proposed new building and the size and scale of the garage.
Appraising the application in a report given to planning committee members ahead of next week’s virtual meeting, case officer Sarah Arbon said: “It is clear that the building was agricultural in nature and was converted unsympathetically with double height bricked gables with domestic style windows, stone coins with a corrugated iron roof and western side with sections of cladding attached to the brickwork.
“It is neither an agricultural building nor a dwelling house but a mix of both, which presents an incongruous external appearance. “It is therefore acknowledged that it does not make a positive contribution to its surroundings and its replacement is acceptable, in principle.
“However, the proposed replacement both maintains the scale of the dwelling it replaces together with substantially adding to its footprint.”
She also notes that the proposed house does not fit in with the “farm house” that the applicants were suggesting it would be designed to reflect, describing it as “proportionately odd”.
She said: “The concept of a county farmhouse style development in this location is not considered to reflect the immediate or wider character of the area, which is dominated by modest sized dwellings in modest plots. The design, it is considered, creates a confused and incongruous appearance, which fails to respect the character, identity and context of this part of Yeaveley.
“In addition, the expanse of development to the north and south of the building is such that the development would appear incongruous in views from the open land to the east and properties to the west.”
She concluded that the new building would be out of character and context for its surrounding landscape and planning committee members will now decide whether to vote to follow her recommendation to turn down the application, or to approve it.
Shedley Manor, as it was cheekily h kil named db by Ashbourne A hb businessman Alan Yeomans, was raided in the summer of 2016.
He claimed in a bankruptcy hearing that he was living in a shed in the bottom of his mother’s garden and only owned a £30 watch and £300 worth of furniture.
But he continued to run three companies and detectives found his converted barn was filled with antiques, jewellery and oil paintings.
Behind one of the paintings a secret door revealed a cannabis growing operation which was tapped directly to the National Grid.
Yeomans was jailed for six and a half years for nine charges relating to the production and supply of cannabis, stealing electricity, concealing criminal property and failing to disclose bankruptcy.
In September 2018 some of the items seized were sold at auction, including artwork, watches, designer clothing and accessories and furniture. The lots came to a total of £65,000.
The property was also put up for auction around the same time, with a guide price of £250,000.