Family ordered to tear down Britain's 'most appalling' garden decking
Family is ordered to tear down Britain’s ‘most appalling’ garden decking because £6,000 steel structure towers 16ft over the street below
- Jamie Davies, 36, built deck over Blaina, South Wales garden for family’s privacy
- He didn’t apply for planning permission and retrospective application denied
- Council planners have slammed £6,000 structure as ‘the most appalling thing’
A family has been ordered to tear down Britain’s ‘most appalling’ garden decking because the £6,000 steel structure towers 16ft above the street below.
Jamie Davies, 36, put up the 44ft-long decking on a huge steel frame in a bid to give his family privacy while out in their garden in Blaina, South Wales.
But he failed to apply for planning permission for the deck – which covers the sloping side of his garden – and his application for retrospective permission was refused by council planners.
Planners have now slammed the structure as ‘the most appalling thing’ as they kicked out his application to keep the super-deck at his £200,000 home.
Jamie Davies, 36, put up the 44ft-long decking on a huge steel frame (pictured) in a bid to give his family privacy while out in their garden in Blaina, South Wales
The Davies family now face legal action unless they rip out the decking.
A council planning committee heard no neighbours had yet formally objected to the garden frame in the Hawthorn Glade development.
But councillor Bernard Willis said the decking was ‘the most appalling thing I have ever seen in my life.’
He said: ‘If that was being built near my house I would be appalled.
He failed to apply for planning permission for the deck – which covers the sloping side of his garden – and his application for retrospective permission was refused by council planners
Planners have now slammed the structure as ‘the most appalling thing’ as they kicked out his application to keep the super-deck at his £200,000 home
‘I think it is a dreadful thing to be looking at and in my view we should not be approving this application.’
The family had hoped to add plants in front of the decking to shield the steel from view outside their £200,000 home on the modern estate.
But fellow councillor Lisa Winnett told Blaenau Gwent planners that she was in favour of the build.
‘Many developments are quite similar,’ she said. ‘I do not see an issue with the visual impact of this if planting is done on the outside.’
The Davies family now face legal action unless they rip out the decking (pictured on the right of their home)
The family had hoped to add plants in front of the decking to shield the steel from view outside their £200,000 home on the modern estate
But the application was rejected by eight votes to seven.
Garden decking became all the rage from the late 1990s – with makeover show Ground Force getting the blame for the boom.
Retailer B&Q reported an increase in sales of the lawn alternative from £5,000 in 1997 to a staggering £16million in 2001.
Presenter Alan Titchmarsh has accepted responsibility for the lawn cover-up, saying at the time: ‘I am sorry, I know it’s everywhere these days.’
Mr Davies, manager of a sports centre, said: ‘We put the decking up to give privacy for the children while they play.
‘The next step for us will be talking to the planning officers and seeing what we can do next. We don’t know about an appeal yet.’
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