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YOU → have → story
A wealthy businessman who secretly lived in a 'granny flat' hidden inside horse stables on his £2.25million Cotswolds estate has been ordered to rip it out by the council.
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who → live → council
Haulage boss James George, 54, has been told to strip out the cosy one-bed hideaway concealed for more than a decade in a horseshoe-shaped stable block on land near affluent Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire.
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George → tell → Oxfordshire
The under-the-radar accommodation, near Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat Farm and the exclusive Soho Farmhouse, did not have planning consent to be used for residential purposes.
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accommodation → have → purposes
Mr George found himself in the crosshairs of planners at West Oxfordshire District Council – the department which has famously been at loggerheads with Mr Clarkson over his farming ventures.
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which → find → ventures
He fought against the council's action, claiming he was 'immune' from enforcement because the accommodation was completed more than a decade ago.
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accommodation → fight → enforcement
Under planning law, an unauthorised home may be spared enforcement if it has been used continuously as a residence for ten years before council action.
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it → spar → action
From the outside, the building looks like an ordinary block of horse stables
The horseshoe-shaped stable block on land near affluent Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire
Although the building was originally designed to house up to eight horses, the living accommodation now takes up the largest part of the structure
Mr George (pictured) found himself in the crosshairs of planners at West Oxfordshire District Council because he did not have permission to use the stable for residential purposes
But the council ruled that the so-called granny flat was 'unlawful' as it had not been used continuously for a decade to benefit from the immunity clause in the planning law.
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it → look → law
The council alleged the home was deliberately concealed from the authorities because it was not registered for council tax, had no separate postal address and could not readily be seen from the road.
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it → allege → road
Now the businessman, who says he moved into the secret flat after splitting from his long-term partner, has hit out at the bureaucrats who have ordered him to remove it.
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who → say → it
He told the Daily Mail: 'Absolutely I do feel there's been an injustice.
'
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I → tell → Mail
But the bean counters have said it's a binary rule and "you have crossed the line".
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you → say → line
'It's been adjudicated on and the law's the law, so as bitter as I am, I don't think there's anything to be gained from [talking about] it.'
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I → adjudicate → it
From the outside, the building at his sprawling 15-acre Chalford Paddocks estate, which includes a traditional stone-walled four-bedroom house, looks like an ordinary block of horse stables.
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which → include → stables
But behind the traditional exterior, Mr George found himself in the crosshairs of planners at West Oxfordshire District Council
And although the building was originally designed to house up to eight horses, the living accommodation now takes up the largest part of the structure.
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accommodation → find → structure
Officials said there was little evidence that the stables and tack rooms had been used for 'equine activities', adding in a report: 'The dwelling appears to have been actively concealed and concealed by omission and... is therefore unlawful.'
When approached by the Daily Mail, Mr George condemned the decision not to allow him to keep the 'granny flat' in the stables, claiming it was fuelled by 'jealousy and envy'.
In a written statement, he said: 'The accommodation was a small one bed self-contained unit which I built as part of the timber stables back in 2014 to replace the dilapidated ones that were there before with an eye to it being a place for my mother to came and stay as she got older.
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she → say → eye
My mother, who's since died did stay in the property for a few months to self-isolate whilst she underwent chemotherapy because the treatment severely compromised her immune system and my sister who lived with her is a hospital cleaner.
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who → die → her
'Other than that the accommodation was used by two of my friends after they each got divorced and another friends dad while he got back on his feet after relocating back after working in South Africa.
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he → use → Africa
'For the past five years or so I've ended up living in it after amicably splitting with my partner.
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I → end → partner
Living in the stables has been ideal.
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Living → live → stables
It's allowed me to continue regular access and support to our seven-year-old son.
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me → allow → son
Ironically the council in seeking to remove my right to a family life also tried using the human rights act against me saying living in close proximity to animals was against my human rights!
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living → seek → rights
'Unfortunately, the council seem to be fuelled on jealousy and envy.
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council → seem → jealousy
'What they don't see is a guy who gets up at 3.15 each day to drive a truck and works in excess of 60 hours a week to and provide a decent environment for his son to grow up in.
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son → see → environment
'The whole planning appeal was fought on whether the building became immune from enforcement after four or ten years, both my planning consultant and planning solicitor believe it's four.
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it → fight → years
However, the planning inspector ruled the ten year rule applied but also acknowledged the living accommodation had been completed for more than ten years on the date the council served its enforcement notice.
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council → rule → notice
'But the enforcement to remove the living still stands, insisting everything be ripped from the plumbing, to plasterboard and insulation out ensuring the space can't even be repurposed as a play space for my son, or the toilet retained for the stables.
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toilet → remove → stables
'Perversely I'm allowed to keep the heating oil tank but the boiler that runs off it has to go!
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it → allow → boiler
Seems the lesson here is: If you sit at home, don't work or come here illegally the government will feed provide and house you.
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government → seem → you
Work hard, pay taxes, provide for your family the government makes you homeless and gives you nothing.
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you → work → nothing
This seems to sum up why the country's in the state it finds itself in.
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it → seem → itself
A view of the flat's kitchen, with colourful tiles on the walls, a dining table and cupboards
Appliances include a large fridge, oven, microwave, dishwasher and even a washing machine
A closer look at the living room and part of Mr George's bedroom in the unusual home
The unusual living arrangement might have gone unnoticed had Mr George not approached the council himself in November 2023 in an attempt to have the flat officially recognised as a lawful dwelling.
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flat → include → dwelling
He applied for what is known as a Certificate of Lawfulness, arguing that the conversion had been in place long enough to escape planning enforcement.
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conversion → apply → enforcement
He produced receipts for building materials and sworn testimony from his builder, claiming work to create the living quarters had begun in March 2014.
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work → produce → March
But rather than give the development its blessing, West Oxfordshire District Council rejected his application.
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Council → give → application
Planning inspector David Jones ruled that the building had been 'constructed unlawfully' and that Mr George had failed to prove it had been continuously occupied as a home for the ten years needed to escape enforcement action.
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it → rule → action
He rejected the council's allegation of deliberate concealment and said there was no evidence to suggest a 'deliberate, elaborate and sustained plan to deceive'.
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Mr George was given a six-month deadline to cease the use of the stables as accommodation, remove all fixtures and fittings and revert it to its intended use.
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George → give → use
Last night, a spokeswoman for West Oxfordshire District Council said: 'Anyone undertaking building work or carrying out a material change of use of land or buildings should check whether planning permission is needed and obtain it before starting.
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permission → say → it
The under-the-radar accommodation (pictured) is close to Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat Farm and the exclusive Soho Farmhouse
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accommodation → picture → Farm
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
