[News] Robert Fidler's Castle - Demolish or Let him keep it?

[Gordon Bennett]

He knew exactly what he was doing - he set out to get something he knew he wasn't ordinarily entitled to get and when he got caught he plays the innocent cheeky chappie card and people fall for it. If he is now allowed to keep is castle then that makes it that little bit more difficult for planning authorities to resist the wave of similar development proposals that would follow.

The point about the Green Belt and planning is that it protects everyone. Imagine if people were allowed to build whatever they liked wherever they liked, we'd soon all be wanting a system that controlled development and provided some modicum of consistency. That doesn't mean all types of developments are treated exactly the same - our system gives some priority to agriculturally related development, which is why he has some development on the site (and is why a lot of people like him buy isolated farms/plots of land) but that doesn't mean he can then build a house there. If he 'needed' a house to serve the agricultural operations then if he could have simply applied for it. Most councils use independent surveyors to advise them whether the operations do actually need and can support a new house!

Whilst he may not have broken the law by building the house without planning permission he most certainly did break the law once he failed to comply with the enforcement notice. The fact no one objected is immaterial in this case.

 

[Spicy]

I think he should be locked up in his own carefully built dungeon - assume he has one!

 

[dazzer6666]

Veering a little OT but does anyone know what is happening with "Hamilton Palace" - visible from the A22 just about opposite the East Sussex National Golf centre? The well known gent who was building it seems to have not been in the news for a while and I believe that there were planning issues with that as well.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...as-Van-Hoogstratens-astonishing-new-life.html

 

[Bold Seagull]

Not just planning, presumably he didn't get any Building Regulations Approval on it either. So it is likely a breach of the Building Regulations as well as Planning law.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

At least he's actually managed to building some housing - something most councils seem utterly incapable of doing. I'd rather councils were prosecuted for neglect of the local homeless than this bloke done for building a home.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Ultimately he broke the laws of the land for personal gain. That simply can't be allowed.

It's an open and shut case in my view. Bulldoze it.

Or ... the local council take possession, sell it and use the funds to keep key services running. Unfortunately most public sector organisations and employees lack any imagination.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Just watched the BBC film ..... really ?? It's next to ugly industrial barn type structures. Our planning law are nutty .... absolutely nutty.

 

[symyjym]

Clearly visible Only if you have bionic eyes or zoom in on the image, or trespass onto his land to get a better view.

Clearly visible from Axes Lane - also on Google Maps.

 

[Birdie Boy]

Clearly visible from Axes Lane - also on Google Maps.

Mmm. I didn't realise it goes into axes lane. Will take another look m

 

[Creaky]

Clearly visible Only if you have bionic eyes or zoom in on the image, or trespass onto his land to get a better view.

Admittedly far more visible in real life than on a Google map image

 

[symyjym]

Admittedly far more visible in real life than on a Google map image

That was a conscious deception by you, to put it politely. If you have to do that in a debate it means the argument is weak.

 

[Creaky]

That was a conscious deception by you, to put it politely. If you have to do that in a debate it means the argument is weak.

Not really - I wasn't deceiving anyone - if you look at my post it was providing information for a poster who hadn't seen the building in real life nor able to find it on Google maps.

My post answered both his questions as he acknowledged

I even gave a 'thumbs up to the poster who posted the standard Google Map image - which as you can see would hardly help the poster who couldn't find the building.

 

[The Birdman]

We built our stadium in a national park and it looks fantastic let him keep it the council should have been on the ball .

 

[Triggaaar]

That was a conscious deception by you, to put it politely.

I'm getting confused - are you for or against conscious deception?

 

[beorhthelm]

We built our stadium in a national park and it looks fantastic let him keep it the council should have been on the ball .

it wasnt national park at the time, it'd never been built if it were. but good point to highlight those crying about green belt have short memories.

 

[Creaky]

I'm getting confused - are you for or against conscious deception?

Against - as I said though, my post neither intended to deceive nor did - misinterpreted by some who read it as a debating point in an argument rather than an informative post which it clearly was

 

[Triggaaar]

Against

I wasn't asking you. Symyjym seems to be against the thought of you deceiving (I'm not suggesting you were), but fine with the fact that Fidler deceived the council.

 

[Surrey Phil]

I don't know why people find this so difficult to fathom! He didn't get planning permission (as he knew he'd never get it on green belt), tried to conceal it and got caught. He's also cost the tax payer thousands of pounds. Personally, I'd make him drive the bulldozer that demolishes it!!!!

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

A cheeky chappy just 'doing what was right for his family' & fighting the establishment to save his dream house or a snidey & devious little cockwomble hiding his building works behind a wall of hay then claiming 'no one objected' when justifying the building that had no planning permission.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34768763

NSC MUST decide!

fidler by name fidler by nature , a complete time waster
regards
DR

 

[symyjym]

I'm getting confused - are you for or against conscious deception?

I normally draw a line on people photshopping a package on Michelle Obama to help with their fantasy claims of her being a man.