A horrified homeowner has been ordered to tear down her garden decking – despite it being erected before she moved in.
The two-level wooden decking had already been built when Belinda Klugah Cavil, 36, bought the Chepstow home for £295,000 two years ago.
The grand decking with flags and curved patio sofa was a feature of the house on the estate agent site – and she assumed it had been there since the modern estate was built 20 years ago.
However, Monmouthshire Council have stepped in after an anonymous tip-off that the decking was only put up four years ago without planning permission.
Shocked Ms Cavil told planners she believed it was exempt from planning enforcement because it had been in place since at least 2003 or 2004.
She argued that anything there for so long was outside breaking planning laws, as it would have been in place well beyond the decade-long threshold.
But investigators trawled historic pictures on the property site Rightmove to spot the decking difference in the garden from when it was previously listed in 2013.
It showed the original decking from 2013 had since been expanded to be much bigger – and they demanded that the additions had to go.
The two-level wooden decking with panoramic views had already been built when Belinda Klugah Cavil, 36, bought the Chepstow home for £295,000 two years ago
The grand decking with flags and curved patio sofa was a feature of the house on the estate agent site – and she assumed it had been there since the modern estate was built 20 years ago
But investigators trawled historic pictures on the property site Rightmove to spot the decking difference in the garden from when it was previously listed in 2013 (pictured)
They believed the decking was built without planning permission in May, 2021, before Ms Cavil bought the property – but she was issued with an enforcement notice in March this year.
She was told to remove parts of the decking and related material within six months.
But she challenged the order at her home in Woolpitch Wood, Bayfield, in a bid to keep the decking as it is.
Ms Cavil appealed the case with the Welsh Government planning body PEDW, but the independent inspector has now backed Monmouthshire Council’s stance.
In a report, Richard Jenkins said: ‘The local planning authority) has provided a screenshot from an online platform that specialises in property sales, rents and values that appears to confirm that the decking was substantially complete in June, 2023.
‘This is then contrasted with a screenshot from a similar online platform that appears to illustrate a materially different decked area in 2013.’
He said aerial photographs showed a ‘material difference in the extent of the decked area between the years 2020 and 2023’.
Ms Cavil appealed the case with the Welsh Government planning body PEDW, but the independent inspector has now backed Monmouthshire Council’s stance
Ms Cavil was told to remove parts of the decking and related material within six months. Pictured: Ms Cavil’s home
Mr Jenkins said: ‘I am satisfied that the evidence is sufficiently clear to confirm the council’s position that the decking has materially changed since the original decked area was constructed.
‘The decking subject of the appeal has not, therefore, been in situ for a period that exceeds 20 years as alleged by the appellant.’
He said concluded that the decking was completed ‘substantially complete prior to the date of immunity’.
He rejected the appeal but modified the enforcement notice.
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Woman ordered to tear down decking by council after being snitched on by neighbours… despite it being in garden when bought £295k home
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