A man who "boasted" about his holiday home in Cornwall on social media has been branded a "doofus" by a local councillor after his planning permission was refused. Jack Lindsay, from Oxford, said it took "five months of blood, sweat and tears" to construct the cabin in Threemilestone, Truro.
But when he tried to apply for retrospective planning permission as a "traveller and rural worker" it was rejected by the council, reports CornwallLive. Mr Lindsay installed the holiday home during lockdown but has since found out he wasn't allowed to use the ground on which the cabin stands in Willow Lake, Besore.
The council raised concerns that the dwelling "fails to conserve or enhance the intrinsic landscape character and scenic beauty of the rural landscape" - and that Mr Lindsay did not fit "the definition of a traveller".
Dulcie Tudor, Cornwall councillor for Chacewater and Threemilestone, posted this week: "If you’re applying for retrospective planning permission for an existing cabin/home in my patch on the grounds you’re a traveller and rural worker and need somewhere to live, it’s not a good idea to boast from Oxfordshire about your new ‘holiday home’ near Truro on Facebook. REFUSED... Doofus!"
Cllr Tudor shared the Facebook post Mr Lindsay had written in August 2020 stating: "So during lockdown me and [his partner] decided to build ourselves a new mini holiday home, it took five months of blood, sweat and tears. With a couple of years worth of landscaping still to do, it will do us proud in the long run."
Mr Lindsay had constructed the container building in Oxford and brought it to the site in countryside. He also posted an image of the cabin on his business page, ETSO Fabrications, in September 2020 stating: "Our new summer house." Cllr Tudor told CornwallLive: "The refusal is thanks to a planning officer who visited the site and smelt a rat. She did her homework. Very thorough."
Mr Lindsay's planning agent, Smart Bluefrog Ltd, had said in its design statement: "This application seeks retrospective permission for a modest timber cabin to accommodate a traveller and rural worker (Jack Lindsay) at Willow Lake, Besore, Threemilestone. Permission is sought in order to support the applicant in living full-time on site whilst working the holding.
"Essentially, the applicant (a traveller of no fixed address) intends to manage a specialist horticultural holding with vineyard on site, together with leisure activities associated with the trout fishing lake established on the site.
"The holding, comprising approximately 4.5 acres, includes amenity/leisure fishing lake and horticultural land/buildings. Since the holding was purchased in 2015, the applicant and Charlotte Lindsay have planted some 70 apple trees with a view to making artisan cider, established a vineyard (currently 150 vines), planted broadleaved native trees, native hedging, and flowers, as well as grown vegetables and kitchen garden herbs."
The building is still currently on site as in its refusal document, Cornwall Council's planning department says: "The council are not assured that the applicant meets the definition of a traveller... and the isolated dwelling sited within the countryside fails to conserve or enhance the intrinsic landscape character and scenic beauty of the rural landscape.
"The proposed dwelling that does not have a site specific justification to be located on agricultural greenfield would fail to maintain the outstanding universal value of the prevailing Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site (WHS), with no sufficient substantial public benefits provided to outweigh the harm of the cabin which conflicts with the surrounding a pastoral landscape."
CornwallLive say Mr Lindsay did not wish to make a comment on the phone or via a written statement but will meet reporters on the site on the weekend of May 27/28.
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