A dad-of-three has built a £100,000 treehouse without getting planning permission first after he received a worrying cancer diagnosis. John Kitson, 42, built the luxury accommodation on an estate he manages - but feared that he would never get to see it completed due to being diagnosed with eye cancer.
John was concerned that his cancer would blind him or even kill him within months, so he decided to build the treehouse without getting permission first - and later admitted he was a 'silly bugger' for ignoring planning regulations.
Despite not seeking planning permission, he claims that he did consult locals on the build and there was 'no real opposition.' John has now been told that he doesn't have to tear it down after being given a retrospective green light.
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On Jan 4 , John had retrospective planning permission approved for his 'Cornish Treehouse' near Looe, Cornwall, and is now 'delighted' it can stay.
The former suits salesman is using his modern, elevated treehouse as a holiday home, advertised as a 'cosy, couples' retreat' with WiFi available from £195 a night.
John has long maintained that he regrets making life 'difficult' for the local planning office - especially after he has now been told his diagnosis was not as severe as first thought.
He said: "Thankfully my cancer is not as bad as I thought, I thought I had a secondary tumour somewhere on my pancreas but thankfully I’m in the clear. When I first got checked up I never thought it would be anything serious, but within days I was in London and then Liverpool for treatment.
“I admit it's not relevant for planning, but from a personal point of view it focuses your mind a bit if the worst did happen. I just didn't want to wait, I didn't want to f**k around waiting months for planners and not be able to see the finished build.
"It's a very weak justification and that doesn't justify what I've done but it was the reason for wanting to get on with it."
John, a Morval parish councillor, built the treehouse - that has mains electricity and running water - on the Morval estate he manages during the pandemic.
Morval estate hosts over 20 families, ranging from 'farmers to pensioners' according to John - including some who have lived on the site for over 50 years.
He took over the family estate after the passing of his grandparents in 2009 and says he's "one happy boy" after the application for the treehouse was approved this year with conditions.
''It's very encouraging and a very rewarding thing to do and we've got lots of happy faces visiting," John said.
"We've also received a lot of emails of support since the planning application went in. I spoke to my tenants before I started building, and explained what I planned to make. They didn't have any issues with it.
"People here see it and see the effort, a lot of locals know people who worked on the treehouse.
"I tried to use local businesses, like a former tree surgeon I know who made the bed and sink for the treehouse for example."
John added: "I genuinely believe in the sustainability agenda, and so we designed the treehouse to incorporate a lot of local wood that we had to fell due to a rather unpleasant tree disease.
"It's designed to give minimum possible impact to the local area and the environment, we used no concrete for example.
"If you are building a house, you know exactly what you're going to do before you do it. This was a bit like painting a picture.
"You know what you want in the end, but you don't quite know how you're going to get there. I wanted to chop, change, adapt and rebuild to make it perfect."
Locals had until December to comment on the unapproved build - seemingly vindicating John's claims of support.
Over 20 members of the public also wrote to Cornwall Council to comment on the build, with comments generally being positive.
One local resident noted: "I live in the parish and have a holiday letting cottage not far away, it's hard to make a living out of holiday letting.
"How good to see an innovative idea for tourism and from the visitors comments pays.
''I can see why visitors like it and it blends in well with the surroundings, can't be seen unless you know it's there.
"We are losing holiday lets at an alarming rate locally. I hope this one gains officer support!"
Another individual who stayed in the treehouse wrote on December 8: "Having just stayed here, we found the place an absolute delight, it was very private, the interior was of a very high standard and I feel it is a asset to the estate and it's setting.
"It's not going to cause any traffic problems and will encourage a little more tourism to a much needed area, just wish there were more people to have the inspiration and innovative ideas to create such an amazing relaxing experience.
"It would be an absolute shame that any planning was revoked on this delightful treehouse."
John says that the plan is to pass on the costs of maintaining his estate's 'money pit' 200-300 year old buildings on the site to vacationers - rather than existing tenants.
John said: “We wanted to raise an income to try and raise money without asking our tenants on the estate to pay for site maintenance, especially with the cost of living and various tree diseases we’ve had on site.
"I just don't want to pass those costs on to tenants. We looked at a wind turbine, but that would have annoyed all the locals and would have been far more disruptive compared to this treehouse.''
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