Pair's dream home may be torn down

A Shropshire couple face a nervous wait to see if the dream home they built by hand will have to be torn down following a planning dispute.

John and Maureen David started building the three-storey home in the Ironbridge Gorge in February last year.

But parish councillors complained the townhouse in High Street, Coalport, was an "inappropriate development" for Shropshire's World Heritage site and not in line with the original planning permission.

Permission was granted for a house in 2003. But a retrospective application to make the home wider submitted last year was rejected by planners.

Council bosses moved in and slapped an order on the former engineer to stop work on the land beside Brewery Cottage.

At a planning inquiry headed by a government inspector yesterday, Councillor David Edwards, from Madeley Parish Council, said residents had asked him to voice their concerns at the appeal.

He said: "This is a very important site and it's an inappropriate development with no consideration."

Council planners raised concerns over the height of the roof, which has already been constructed on site but not been placed on top of the house.

During a site visit yesterday, Mrs David said the roof, would not be above the height already approved.

She said: "I guarantee it will not be higher than we are allowed to build it, otherwise we will have to take it down."

A dispute also arose at the hearing after Stella Jamieson, from Telford & Wrekin Council, accused the couple of submitting a different type of brick for approval compared to that already being used.

She said: "He (Mr David) submitted a brick that was dirty and stained, but the ones he has used are clean and the colour is different.

"We had to clean the brick ourselves to see what colour it was. My concern is that it's very orange and if that colour brick was submitted to me I probably would not have approved it."

But Mr David said the submitted brick came from the same batch being used to build the home.

Planning Inspector Paul Griffiths is expected to give his decision in three to four weeks time.