Planning victory for man who moved into a stable
Inspectors said the building is being used as a dwellinghouse
A man who moved into a “primitive” stable and lived there for more than four years has won the right to stay in his home.
In 2024, Wiltshire Council refused permission for Michel Clarke to live in a self-built stable at Spiderwebs Corner, Kingsdown, near Corsham.
Mr Clarke said he had lived in the building continuously for more than four years, and applied for a Lawful Development Certificate – which would make him immune from planning enforcement.
Despite sworn statements, the council refused to believe that he had been living at the unregistered property for more than four years – the threshold at which a Lawful Development Certificate can be granted.
But Mr Clarke appealed to the Planning Inspectorate, and this week a planning inspector found in his favour.
The inspector was told by Mr Clarke that he had bought the land in 2006 and obtained planning permission for a stable in 2007.
In 2012, he moved into a caravan on the site “as I had nowhere else to live,” and in 2019, he converted a three-bay stable into living accommodation and moved into it.
“Whilst my home is relatively basic in what it provides, I have all that I need to live a quiet life,” he told the council.
The inspector said: “Other than a statement that a representative of the adjacent golf club was told by the appellant that he was not living there, there is no substantive evidence to cast the appellant’s version of events into doubt.”
“The golf club have also suggested that the appellant has been trying to conceal his occupation of the site, but there is no particular evidence of positive deception in the planning process that might prevent the development becoming lawful,” said the inspector.
The inspector conceded that water and electricity bills could “relate equally to equestrian and residential uses,” but said a lack of postal address “does not prove or disprove the residential use.”
On a site visit, the inspector found that from the outside the stable still resembled the equestrian building it was originally designed to be.
Inside, rugs had been placed on the concrete floor and “a kitchen worktop has been constructed, and atop this is a gas stove, connected to a portable gas bottle.
“In the corner is a cubicle with a drawable curtain, within which a small portable toilet has been placed on a permanently constructed unit that appears to have been designed for that purpose.
“The central bay has been furnished with free-standing items as a bedroom and living area.
“There is a wood-burning stove for heat. The right-hand bay is a washing area. It has running water feeding a sink, shower and washing machine. Shower water is heated by gas. Waste water drains to portable tanks for emptying elsewhere.”
The inspector said: “It is clear in this case that the building has been, and is, used” as a dwellinghouse.