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Eco Homes Land Occupation Protest

uk features | 09.04.2004 09:47 | Ecology | Free Spaces | Social Struggles

Update April 15: Direct action over Easter weekend saves the Roundhouse [Photos and Reports

Over Easter, sympathisers from across England and Wales, are converging on the Pembrokeshire National Park to protest at the ordered demolition of Tony Wrench's roundhouse (see previous feature) and the double standards displayed by the planning authority who have given outline permission for a Bluestones holiday centre in the park, consisting of 340 log cabins imported from Eastern Europe, and 60 studio flats.

The protesters plan to occupy land in the Park, erect another turf-roofed roundhouse, and to hold an "Ideal Low Impact Home Exhibition" (see info).

See The Land Is Ours
and

Please come along during Easter 2004 to help save Tony's roundhouse
Please come along during Easter 2004 to help save Tony's roundhouse


This Easter people from around the country will be converging on the Pembrokeshire National Park in one of the most proactive bits of direct action for years. This time activists willnot be trying to stop something - they'll be fighting for their dreams of a countryside teeming with life, not just plant and animal life but human life too. With enough land for everyone not just the rich few. Historically people have been squeezed out of the countryside to work for factory owners in towns and cities. As a result most of us have lost the fundamental knowledge of life: how to grow food and how to live lightly on the land. What follows is a full briefing about the action and the reasons behind it.

WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT TONY WRENCH'S ROUNDHOUSE?

Tony Wrench built his house at Brithdir Mawr, the farm community where he and his partner Jane Faith live and work, in 1997. It is constructed out of local Douglas Fir poles, logs and the earth from the farm and recycled elements such as windows and tyres. It is highly insulated by the earth and renewably powered and heated, with wood and solar energy. Its cost was minimal, since many of the materials were free, and it was self built. The landscape impact (the site is in a national park( is minimal since the turf roof and cordwood (stacked log) walls are from the surrounding land. The building was not discovered by the planners for two years, and then only when a survey plane noticed the reflection of a solar panel.

WHY MUST HE DEMOLISH IT?

The dwelling has twice been refused planning permission by the local authority, and lost a planning appeal in 2002. The local authority has imposed an enforcement notice ordering its demolition, and a court has already imposed fines, totalling £1000, for non-compliance.

WHY WAS THE HOUSE REFUSED PLANNING PERMISSION?

The dwelling does not conform with rigid interpretation of planning policy. Throughout Wales and England new dwellings are only permitted in the countryside for a very small number of exceptional reasons. One of these exceptions — the only one which might apply to Tony's house — is for agri The Inspector also viewed that the house had a harmful impact upon the landscape. In our view, it is hard to imagine a house that would have less landscape impact than this one.

ARE THE LOCAL AUTHORITY OBLIGED TO CARRY OUT ENFORCEMENT?

No they are not. Enforcement is entirely at the discretion of the local authority, and the Government advises that it should be prioritised for cases where there is harm to public interest. The fact that there are low impact housing policies in the pipeline for Pembrokeshire, and possibly for Wales as a whole. Many people consider that the planning authority is being unnecessarily rigid, or acting vindictively in this case.

WHY ARE MANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC OUTRAGED THAT THE HOUSE MUST BE DEMOLISHED?

There are two main reasons. Firstly the house is a pioneering example of low impact sustainable affordable housing. Tony had so many inquiries from people about how it was built that he wrote a book (Building a Low Impact Roundhouse, Permanent Publications, 2001) which has so far sold 2,500 copies. Secondly, there are many other people in Wales and England who face the same planning problems as Tony and Jane. For them, Tony's house has become a symbol. A survey conducted by BBC's Country File resulted in 29,500 writing in in support of the roundhouse, and only 2,500 in favour of demolition.

LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE UK

HOW MANY OTHER PEOPLE IN THE UK FACE SIMILAR PROBLEMS?

Chapter 7 is an organization which provides free planning advice over the telephone to people like Tony Wrench. We deal with about 500 enquiries each year. Some of these people have low impact eco-homes, like Tony's, and some live in shacks or caravans. The majority live in the countryside because they carry out agriculture, forestry, conservation work or some other activity on the land — usually on their own smallholding — but t We estimate that at least 10,000 people in England and Wales (not counting Travellers and Gypsies) are living in low impact homes or caravans without planning permission, and are at risk of being evicted from their homes. We have documented this in our report Sustainable Homes and Livelihoods, (2003) which contains 80 short case histories.

WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE LIVE IN HOMES WITHOUT PLANNING PERMISSION?

Because the planning system does not provide for their needs. The planning system is supposed to formulate policies which provide for people's needs in ways that do not cause environmental damage or harm the public interest. The planning system currently does not recognize that there is a considerable number of people who want to live a low impact, sustainable lifestyle on land in the countryside, and provides no planning policies to meet these people's needs We also view that the 10,000 or so people who are presently living in homes without planning permission are the tip of the iceberg. There is increasing demand for a sustainable rural lifestyle. For every person who is currently living in a home without planning permission, there are several more who would like to.

WHAT ARE LOW IMPACT DWELLINGS?

Low impact dwellings are houses which have a very minimal or a benign impact upon the environment, and therefore could reasonably be allowed in locations where conventional dwellings would not be permitted. A handful of local authorities (South Somerset, Milton Keynes, Oxford) have policies for low impact development, and Pembrokeshire policy planners have a policy in the pipeline.

WHAT IS THE BLUESTONES DEVELOPMENT?

It is a large tourist development, most of it sited in the National Park, consisting of 340 prefabricated wooden cabins, 60 holiday flats, a 'Snowdome' a 'Waterworld' and a sports centre. It is being developed by a consortium, led by William Macnamara, and Alfred McAlpine. It has been given outline planning permission by the planning committee of the national park, although the officers recommended against it. Seven Pembrokeshire county councillors who are also on the National Park's planning committee voted in favour of Bluestones. The County Council has invested a soft loan of £1 million in Bluestones.

WHY HAVE THE LAND IS OURS FOCUSSED ATTENTION UPON BLUESTONES?

We draw attention to Bluestones because it highlights the the double standards of the planning authority. The Bluestones project is a major development. If completed it will be the third largest settlement in the National Park, after Tenby and Saundersfoot. Bluestones is in conflict with national park planning policies at least as much as Tony Wrench's roundhouse, and is of far higher impact. Yet Bluestones is allowed while the roundhouse is refused.

The Bluestones decision is also symptomatic of double standards within the planning system nationally. Planning permission is regularly given for corporate schemes involving large numbers of holiday cabins, often in designated areas. But when a local person wants to live in an affordable wooden cabin on their own land they are almost invariably refused permission. For example, in 1995, within a space of two months, Deputy Judge Nigel Macleod QC, allowed an appeal for 48 holiday chalets on green belt in the New Forest, and yet refused an appeal for seven low impact dwellings on undesignated land at Tinkers Bubble, an agricultural community in Somerset.

Contacts:
e-mail: chapter7@tlio.demon.co.uk
Homepage: http://www.tlio.org.uk

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Comments

Hide the following 6 comments

Castell Henllys Taken. TLIO action successful

09.04.2004 19:43

Carefull planning with tight security led to a successful seizure of Castell Henllys. TLIO are in occupation and cooking their supper by 8.30 friday evening. This is an Easter trip worth making.

Saturday event up to but not into Brithdir from Newport Pembs at 11am.

Indycymru
- Homepage: http://www.indycymru.org.uk


More from friday

10.04.2004 10:04


Around 25 protesters occupied a reconstructed roundhouse at Castell Henllys, an Iron Age hill fort in the national park, also building about 10 other structures in the park.

Pc Mark Holman of Dyfed Powys Police said: "The word from the national park is that they will take steps to remove the protesters." The Police were monitoring the situation, he said, but no damage had been caused and the protest was relatively peaceful :)

(relatively?! try completely!)

monkey


Wrench Squatted!

10.04.2004 20:41

Saturday, Tony Wrench's Roundhouse was occupied by TLIO squatters.

indycymru
- Homepage: http://www.indycymru.org.uk


latest article on bbc

14.04.2004 08:21

Picket to save eco-house
Tuesday, 13 April, 2004
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3617737.stm

Around 100 protestors marched through Haverfordwest

Protesters determined to save a turf-covered eco house in west Wales from demolition are picketing the headquarters of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority.

The authority has said the roundhouse at Brithdir Mawr, contravenes its planning policy and wants it demolished.

A group of around 100 protestors marched on the park authority's headquarters in Haverfordwest on Tuesday.

The authority said it has received a petition and was happy to hear representations on the issue. although protesters want a full public discussion.

A spokesman said the case of Brithdir Mawr "has been widely debated over several years including two unsuccessful appeals before independent planning inspectors."

Campaigners keen to see the wood and earth-built dwelling preserved, converged on the Brithdir Mawr community on Saturday and persuaded Tony Wrench, who built the home in 1997, to continue fighting his planning battle.

Mr Wrench said: "This has been going on for years - we've had hundreds of letters of support. Masses of people supporting us. It's lovely."

Mr Wrench and partner Jane Faith have fought a long legal battle since building the solar-powered roundhouse without planning permission on park authority land.

The authority has repeatedly turned down retrospective planning permission for the house.

The wood and earth-built dwelling stands at Brithdir Mawr - a community of about 20 people which aims to work towards self-sufficiency and sustainability.

On Friday, Mr Wrench and Ms Faith decided to end the dispute and said they would pull the house down over the Easter weekend with the help of volunteers.

But protesters determined to see the roundhouse survive converged at the dwelling on Saturday and refused to leave over the Easter weekend.

They had camped on Friday night in Newport and marched to Brithdir Mawr to occupy the house.

Many decided to squat in the roundhouse, and Mr Wrench has said he had no plans to move them.

"I don't want to break the law," he said, "but, on the other hand, I am most reluctant to pull it down at the moment."

Others set up camp at the ancient hill fort Castell Henllys, near Newport.

The park authority said it had been necessary to close the fort over the Easter weekend due to its occupation by 30 protesters.

A spokesman said: "This inevitably caused inconvenience and disappointment to many visitors and local people who had planned a visit over the holiday weekend, particular children whose Iron Age activities events had to be cancelled."

The solar-powered house was constructed without planning permission in 1997.

Pembrokeshire National Park Authority - on whose land the house lies - has demanded its demolition since it became aware of it in 1998.
The roundhouse was built without planning permission

In a statement, the Pembrokeshire National Park Authority said the matter had gone through proper planning procedure and had been discussed exhaustively.

Following a prosecution in January by the park authority in which Mr Wrench and three other roundhouse owners were ordered to pay a fine totalling £1,000, it was decided to pull down the roundhouse.

The park authority has always maintained that although it was committed to the environment, the roundhouse contravened its planning policy.

It insisted that a dwelling could not be built in the park unless there is a real need, because it could open the floodgates to other developments.

m hor


Update on action to save Tony Wrench's roundhouse

14.04.2004 23:06

The Castell Henllys site occupied on 9th April was built without planning consent. It was originally owned by an archeologist who re-constructed iron age roundhouses using the original postholes. Instead of demanding their domolition, the National Park bought the site from him and gave themselves retrospective planning consent to turn it into a tourist attraction. They then constructed a third large roundhouse and two smaller ones. Roundhouses, it seems, are OK for tourists, but not for people to live in.

The National Park are now fulminating that they had to close the site on the bank holiday Saturday, Sunday and Monday (conservatively estimated loss of revenue £15,000). In fact the occupiers declared the site OPEN. At the entrance visitors were met by both National Park bods telling them the place was closed and they would be trespassing if they went any further and by protesters with leaflets who warmly encouraged a bit of bank holiday trespassing. So those visitors undeterred by petty authority got to see the iron age roundhouses, without paying £2.80 and were equally fascinated by the 21st century yurts and tepeees. Oh and the tea was free, which the National Park's insipid brew ain't. Universal support for Tony Wrench and Jane Faith was expressed by everyone once the issue was explained to them. People were attracted to the site by a huge banner, visible right across the valley, proclaiming

ROUNDHOUSES AREN'T HISTORY


The same sort of very warm support was shown by local people on Saturday 10th April, when the march to Brithdir Mawr took place, ending in the squatting of Tony's lovely house. Probably the world's pleasantest squat!

On Sunday 11th April, pressure on the National Park was increased further when a straw bale house, complete with turf roof, and the framework for a roundhouse appeared on the verge of the main road near the entrance to Castell Henllys, complete with attractive visual displays and literature. Many more visitors and local people stopped to find out about the issue. Again, support was universal.

The protesters were now occupying three sites, so on Tuesday 13th April they left Castell Henllys and the nearby road verge to head for the National Park headquarters in Haverfordwest. Unaccountably, Catherine Milner, the planning officer reponsible for hounding Tony and Jane and demanding the demolition of their home (with many a dirty trick along the way) hadn't show up for work that day. The protesters said they would wait for her. The huge "Roundhouses Aren't History" banner festooned the perimeter of the building and a yurt was quickly erected in the car park in front of the main entrance. The kettle was soon boiling and protesters settled down to wait as long as it took for Catherine Milner to show up for work. She didn't actually make it until the afternoon of the following day, when she was reluctantly forced to meet the protesters.

Milner didn't concede anything on this occasion, but pressure on the National Park has now mounted to cracking point, with huge public support and even the straight local and Welsh media on side, too. "The suits must take heed" said Wales On Sunday in a stonking good editorial. Other National Park authorities are rumoured to be pissed of with the Pembrokeshire Coast crew for making them all look bad.

To discuss Catherine Milner's work attendance record, or more particularly her swivel-eyed, obsessive persecution of Tony and Jane over six years, ring her on 0845-3457275 (that's a FREE call), fax her on 01646-689076 or email her at  pcnp@pembrokecoast.org.uk.

Stroppyoldgit

Stroppyoldgit


Disgusting Planning Officials

01.09.2005 15:58

It's all about money - it always has been and it always will be! I suspect I'm saying nothing here that isn't already assumed, known or realised by everyone. Planning departments, like all other governmental or council departments and indeed, other authorities are motivated, enthused and dictated to by groups of people capable of lining their pockets in one way or another. This inevitably leads to corruption, hypocrisy and double-standards in practice and even in principles.

paul
mail e-mail: lounzer@hotmail.com