BIG DREAMS
I wanted to build dream ‘Grand Designs’ home so I could look after my sick wife – council stopped me but I won’t give up
David Marks had hopes of building a five-bedroom eco-home
A MAN who wanted to build his own Grand Designs-style property so he could look after his sick wife, says his dream has been halted by the council.
Developer David Marks from Wateringbury, near Maidstone, had drawn up plans to create an off-grid eco-home but planning officers have rejected the idea.
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They say the scheme would “encroach” on open countryside.
The home had been earmarked for an overgrown patch of land in Smarden, near Ashford, Kent.
David had wanted to build the grand five-bedroom home to live in himself and to be able to bring home his sick wife Yvonne, who is currently in a care home.
The 75-year-old’s plans though have been rejected by Ashford Borough Council (ABC), saying the development “would give rise to an unsustainable new home in the countryside” and the proposal is “not a dwelling of exceptional quality or innovative design”.
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A similar proposal by David to build a dream home was previously rejected earlier this year.
David has said he will continue the fight and appeal the decision.
He told : “The residents who lived nearby supported it, they didn't see it as an urban intrusion at all.
“One of the reasons they refused it was inadequate car parking, which I don't understand because the car parking provisions are well within the guidance.
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“We will be appealing it based on the fact they have refused it saying it doesn’t meet the criteria for ‘exceptional design’ but it does.
“The council should get independent advice on this before they refuse it, which they haven't, and we would have been happy to contribute to the cost of that.
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“It is very disappointing because the delay is going to impact my wish to relocate my wife.
“It might not be relevant in terms of planning but it is disappointing because we don't think we are upsetting anything, or creating a precedent for development in other areas.”
The plans reveal the home would have been “autonomous”, meaning it would have been completely self-sufficient in day-to-day operations.
As part of the plans, the property would have come with a new pond to manage and recycle water as well as being surrounded by orchards for food production and provide space for biodiversity.
The proposed site is part of what was previously Church Farm which had industrial units, converted by David during the Covid pandemic into eight new homes.
David had been hoping the remaining two-and-a-half acres behind the properties would be the site for his new eco-home.
The eco-home would have comprised of nine segments in a chain forming a crescent shape.
All the windows and roof would have faced south, in an attempt to make full use of solar energy and the pond would have been used to take foul water via a treatment plant.
An embankment David says, created from the material excavated from the site, would have looked like a small hill to the neighbours and hidden the property from view.
The officer’s report said: “The proposal would encroach into open countryside introducing an overtly domestic form of development within a rural location which would appear as an incongruous and intrusive feature and would significantly and demonstrably harm the character and appearance of the countryside and the wider landscape.
“The application has failed to demonstrate that the protected species would not be adversely affected, or that appropriate mitigation could be secured.”
Smarden Parish Council “strongly objected” to the proposals, although eight letters of support were submitted to ABC.
Some neighbours liked that the development aimed to increase biodiversity and create new habitats, while others felt it would bring an “overgrown site into positive”.
A council spokesperson said: "The application was refused on 29th August 2024 as the scheme would give rise to an unsustainable new house in the countryside without any overriding justification and was not of exceptional quality or innovative design.
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"It also amounted to unacceptable backland development which did not respect the linear pattern of sporadic development in the locality and the applicant had failed to demonstrate that protected species would not be adversely affected or that appropriate mitigation could be secured.
"It is open to Mr Marks to lodge an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate against the Council’s decision."
Do I need planning permission to convert my shed?
CONVERTING an existing shed or outbuilding into a self-contained living space will usually require you apply for planning permission.
However, there is a "loophole" Brits can use to convert outbuildings into a tiny home without permission.
Planning expert from warned the conversion process is far easier than you may think.
Speaking to The Sun, the Chartered Town Planner of 14 years' experience explained: "An outbuilding can be built using 'permitted development rights', meaning it does not need planning permission.
"As long as you comply with the various restrictions and conditions."
One of these is that the outbuilding can only be used for something 'ancillary' to your main living accommodation - examples include storage, a gym or a pool room.
If the outbuilding is existing, converting it then into primary living accommodation IS allowed.
Martin explained: "This is because internal changes to an existing building are not considered to be development at all under the Town and Country Planning Act.
But like anything, there is one catch.
The new living accommodation must still have some connection with your use of the main house.
For instance, if your gran is living out there, she must still come into the house to eat.
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