Sellers of our £1m ideal home concealed plans for neon-lit diner and motel, couple claim
A COUPLE are suing the sellers of a £1 million country home for failing to tell them of plans for a neon-lit diner and motel just down the road.
Adrian and Lisa Powell were sure they had found their perfect home in the barn conversion near Buckland, Oxon, after a six-year search.
But they were “horrified” to learn of plans for Mollie’s Motel and Diner only after they had exchanged contracts with sellers Philip Ash, 66, and his wife Elisabeth, 62.
Giving evidence at Central London County Court, Mrs Powell said the Ashes stated in the sellers’ questionnaire that they did not know of any nearby development that might affect Lake Barn, which sits on the bank of a lake on a former dairy farm.
It was only after contracts were exchanged that the Powells learnt of the redevelopment of a former Little Chef nearby on the A420. The Us-style 79room motel and diner has since been built by the owners of Soho House.
Acting for the Powells, barrister Ewan Paton said his clients were entitled to tear up the contract and be refunded their £108,000 deposit.
He added that they were also due more than £200,000 compensation from the Ashes, having spent money in connection with the aborted purchase, including on new furniture and a horse.
“There was a major proposal to develop land nearby, of which the Ashes not only knew but which they had personally opposed in vehement terms,” Mr Paton said.
The Ashes insist they did nothing wrong in failing to mention the motel plans. At the time they filled in the’ questionnaire, they did not consider the development would affect their home, their barrister, Andy Creer, said.
The motel is not visible from the barn itself, only from the paddock, and they believed the form they were filling in only applied to the house, Ms Creer argued.
The Ashes say it was they who validly rescinded the contract – for noncompletion – and that the Powells’ £108,000 deposit is forfeited.
They also argue that the Powells’ claim is too high, since it was their own fault that they bought a horse and furniture before the sale went through.
The case continues.