The owners of a luxury home are hoping that the council will look kindly on them after making a retrospective planning application. 

But even if the application made by housing finance company Residential Loans Ltd is approved, some of the buildings put up in the garden of Haybarns in Morses Lane in South Marston will have to be removed.

The finance company has taken back possession of the large house in the small development surrounded by green fields in South Marston, not far from Gable Cross.

Its application for retrospective consent says: “The site has been subject to an extensive history of planning permissions, including breaches of planning control committed during the conversion and construction of the buildings and structures on-site over the last  eight years.”

It adds: “The former occupant of the property responsible for the various unauthorised works has vacated the property which has since been recovered by the applicant. The intention is to place the property on the housing market once the breaches of planning control have been rectified.

That list of breaches of planning control is quite extensive.

According to the applicant, there are six main areas of concern: The extension of the ‘curtilage’ of the house, i.e. its grounds, into agricultural land without a change of use permission.

The putting up of fences around that land, digging a pond and putting up outbuildings on the land, an extension to the kitchen and the diversion of a public footpath.

The company says it will return the portion of the house’s grounds which were outside consent back to agricultural uses.

Of the two buildings put up on that land as home offices or studies, its application says: “Normally, such development would fall under permitted development “ as it is on the grounds of a residential house.

However, because that land is not permitted curtilage that does not apply.

Residential Loans has asked for permission to return the agricultural land to that use, and removing the fence around it, and the two buildings put up on it, but keep the ponds dug in that portion of land.

The company also hopes to keep the double garage built on the site and the extension to the kitchen and keep the reduced size of the grounds of the house, albeit slightly larger than originally approved to allow for some of the conversion that has taken place to be kept.

It also needs to bring the moved footpath up to an acceptable standard to discharge that condition.

Comments can be made on the application by November 12. A decision on the application is expected by December 16.

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