Episode 8 Permission Impossible: Britain's Planners

Planning battles are raging across Britain.

-I love the countryside.

-So do I, mate, so leave it alone.

-I don't have time for nimbys.

-No, to the student village!

In a drive to boost the economy,

the government has relaxed planning laws.

-Here we are with a massive planning application.

-It is a big project.

You're talking about 270 million of economic benefit.

We like to see enterprise, but not on our doorstep.

-So, developers are cashing in.

-Of course I'm here to make a buck.

-Guilty as charged.

-Objectors are going to war.

-It's not morally right, it's not socially right.

-Disgusting.

Totally stitched up.

I'm not having that they were frightened of a bunch of pensioners.

-Deciding who wins are Britain's planners.

-I can't sit on the fence.

-It's not a fence.

-It's railings, basically.

Tonight, we revisit some of last year's most controversial

planning decisions.

What happened when planning permission was refused

for this Cheltenham resident?

Did the Lord of the Manor secure the future of his ancestral home?

And what was the fate of these green fields?

In 2012, the UK Government radically reformed planning laws

in a bid to encourage development and kick-start the economy.

As soon as that reform was passed, a planning application was put

forward which would become a matter of national importance.

Two years ago, we followed Cheshire West and Chester's top planner,

Fiona Edwards, as she considered that application.

I can honestly say that I get up every morning looking forward

to coming to work.

Perhaps I'm just sad, I don't know.

Fiona is on her way to Tarporley, one of the most affluent

villages in Cheshire, where homes sell for millions.

It's a short commute to Chester and Liverpool, and has its own

secondary school and a high street full of independent shops.

Tarporley love really good chocolates.

And perhaps the most popular is the rum truffle.

Absolute classic, followed by the champagne and the cointreau.

And what could be more British than good vanilla fudge?

With so much going for it, Tarporley is a property developer's dream.

Land to develop was always hard to find, but

since the planning laws governing development on the edges of

communities were relaxed, Tarporley's green fields

are up for grabs.

This is the site for the proposal for up to 100 homes on this

greenfield site.

It's fairly classic rolling Cheshire countryside and a lot

of people would argue that its loss would be an absolutely crying shame.

A death knell for the countryside.

This application from a large local building company for 100 new homes,

would be the biggest development seen in Tarporley for over 40 years.

With the need to build homes greater than ever,

Fiona is recommending the proposals go ahead.

Being a planner, I would say this is a logical expansion to the village.

Although this is, technically, actually open countryside,

we have seen how close it is to the built-up area of Tarporley,

how easy it is to access all the services, so it's sustainable.

But it's quite interesting if we look over to the right-hand side.

You can see a fairly modern housing development

and that will have equally been built on what was formerly

a piece of greenfield agricultural land.

I know we have to have progress but...

Does it have to be there? For me.

It was the view over the field that first attracted Norma

and her husband, Frank, 20 years ago.

Now that field could become a housing estate.

It's a shame, isn't it?

I'm going to look into somebody's back garden

and look at their washing.

It's such a shame.

But unfortunately for the neighbours,

the view from a house is not protected by planning law.

The officer recommendation will not change, we will recommend approval.

It is a bit shocking, but we know. We have to make difficult decisions.

Norma and Frank have joined their neighbours and are fighting

to stop Fiona's recommendation to allow the new estate.

I always make pots of tea, even for one person.

News of Fiona's support for the application means she's

become the focus of the residents' anger.

I think her job is a very important job and I don't think

she quite understands the impact of her decisions.

Or maybe she does and she just doesn't care.

I think she could look at the bigger picture and listen to the community.

It isn't nimbyism. It's about keeping Tarporley as it is.

Your home, your front door is probably the most important

thing to you and if that is threatened, people get very,

very emotionally bound up in the whole process.

If our aspiration is to be home owners, we need to provide affordable

properties and the proposal here has a percentage of affordable housing.

-Would you like to live here?

-Tarporley? Erm, yes, I would.

I actually don't think I could afford to live here as things

stand at the moment.

As head planner of Cheshire West and Chester, Fiona has

a target of 5,000 new homes to be built before 2017 but

while she's recommending this site for development, it would be down

to the committee members to make the final decision.

In Britain, conservation areas are protected by law to

preserve their historic character.

In August 2012, we met a Cheltenham resident who thought she'd

put her mark on a historic property.

I very much like living here.

It's an ideal mix of town and country living and I love my house.

We've spent a lot of time and money renovating it.

Geraldine Beatty owns a human resources firm.

Her five bedroom regency semi may have undergone a £200K restoration

since she bought it 13 years ago, but to her, it's not quite perfect.

You'll see how many manoeuvres I have to make.

It's not a three-point turn. It's about a seven-point turn.

And this is what I have to do at least twice a day every single day.

Very frustrating.

Where our two cars are currently parked, is actually

what should be our back garden

and actually it's the most sunny part of the garden, as well.

It's the south facing bit which is added frustration.

Tired of having to park in her back garden, Geraldine has applied

to create a parking space at the front, like her neighbours.

We've employed highways consultants,

tree specialists to draw up a plan that is going to be amenable

to those who make the decisions.

It's cost us a lot of money and it's probably already about £10,000.

The planners handling her application have decided to

make a site visit.

As the property is in a conservation area, planner, Martin Chandler,

has to consult conservation officer, Karen Radford.

I think this front garden

and the way it's at the moment really is very nice.

That will all be lost to hard standing

because of the turning space necessary.

I can't see how this application will preserve

and enhance the conservation area at all, I just don't see it.

Despite spending £10,000, the planners have decided to

recommend refusal for Geraldine's application.

But not all is lost. It'll be down to the elected

members of the planning committee to make the final decision.

They're on their way to Geraldine's.

It's a sort of mystery tour.

All will be revealed.

When on site, to prevent lobbying,

the applicant is not allowed to speak to the councillors.

A rule which committee member, Barbara, is keen to enforce.

-It's just going to move back.

-You can't talk to us. Sorry.

Sorry, I'm paying for this application. Don't be so unpleasant.

The view isn't...

We were told that we can't get into conversation with an applicant

when we're on a planning view and I was trying to warn

the lady that we couldn't do it, but she got her knickers in a twist.

But...

Apologies for the outburst. That was a bit...

It wasn't put in the best way, perhaps.

I'm afraid it's not my ruling. It's the council's ruling.

They spoke to me but I'm not allowed to speak to them.

That's bizarre behaviour.

It's primitive and not very helpful at all.

Honestly, I find it really upsetting all of this.

I've tried so hard to put this through

and then for a woman who doesn't have any interest at all.

-Well.

-I'm finding it quite stressful.

Well, thank you for letting us visit,

-and we'll see you on Thursday.

-Thank you.

The committee will meet again at the council offices to

pass their verdict on Geraldine's application.

I've probably not helped the case at all by saying to her

well, I'm paying for this, so why can't I speak?

Anyway, it seems an old-fashioned weird way of behaving.

Like I'm supposed to be grateful to them.

We'll see. I suspect it'll get turned down now.

In May 2012, an extraordinary planning journey was about to

start for a Gloucestershire couple and their two-year-old son.

-What colour is that?

-It's blue.

-It's not blue!

It's green, you monkey.

Your typical family.

But not your typical family home.

This is Elmore Court, an estate that's been

owned by the Baronetcy of Highnam since the 13th century.

And following 13 generations,

is now the responsibility of Anselm Guise,

the new Lord of the manor.

I came here five years ago and my uncle passed away in May 2007.

We've been here for a lot longer. We've been here for 750 years.

That's my uncle. There's my grandfather.

The little boy with the red hair and my great-grandfather.

If Anselm thought that the family pile would come with

piles of cash, he was wrong.

The 13 cottages and six farms on his 1,250-acre estate are not

covering the upkeep of the house.

Running costs are about £165,000 a year.

What's happening is I'm getting more and more overdrawn

and we sell something.

Since I've been here, we've sold a few pictures,

we've sold a cottage, you know, and the estate is just going to

shrink and shrink and shrink.

So, Anselm has come up with a plan.

He's applied to build a wedding venue behind the mansion.

The £600,000 he aims to turn over from the new business would

put Elmore Court back in the black.

In order to do events here,

we want to hold events outside of the main house

because the house is very old and historic and all the rest of it.

To break even,

the proposed venue would have to be used at least 50 times a year,

meaning an event most weekends, and a lot of potential noise.

And objections from local residents have started to arrive

on planner Elly Jackson's desk.

We've had three objections so far from neighbours.

One main worry is the potential for noise and loud music.

They could make a very good case that the noise

and disturbance is going to outweigh the benefits of this scheme,

so it's something where it's unsure as to which way it'll go now.

And Anselm's reputation as a former DJ

and festival organiser is not helping his cause.

People are worried. We did have a party once.

That was over four years ago.

One party in five years, which was quite noisy.

I've got one, almost two kids now and we're going to be living here.

We can't have noise happening right by the house.

-A comet.

-It's a comet?

To silence his neighbours, Anselm's come up with an idea.

He wants to sound proof his venue using an ancient rammed-earth

technique, with mud from beneath the fields of his estate.

This is a mini version of the real deal.

You essentially put a layer of our earth and then you do another layer

and you keep building it up until you've gone right up to the top.

It's quite experimental and a bit crazy,

but I think it's going to be amazing.

You can tell how unfit I am.

Anselm is going to show his idea to Stroud's planning committee

who are in charge of making the final decision on his

planning application.

-Are we near the ice cream factory?

-That's the other side.

-Right.

I get confused with commons.

Joining the planning committee for her first site visit,

is retired teacher, Liz Ashton.

I received the papers, as we call them, on Friday.

I had an appointment with the couch and the television all weekend

so I've spent the last day

and I was up at five o'clock this morning swatting it up.

Can we follow in then?

The applicant is now proposing to use the house for wedding

-ceremonies.

-Do we actually lay down in planning a wedding venue?

-Or is this effectively a function venue?

-It's a function.

You could have 24-hour people come into the car park, noise,

everything like that. It couldn't just be weddings at weekends.

It could be right through the week, seven days a week.

The time has finally come to introduce,

Anselm's noise abatement strategy to the councillors.

Could I draw to your attention a section of rammed-earth walling?

-Was that just for environmental reasons, was it?

-Mainly noise.

-It's good for noise, is it?

-If we don't get it, what will I do?

I don't know. It'll be bad.

All the people that work here will probably have to stop working

because I won't be able to afford to keep paying their salaries.

It's very much in the hands of the councillors once something

goes to committee, so it has the potential to go very right

and also the potential to go very wrong.

In Tarporley in Cheshire, homeowners living next door to

a field are fighting plans to build 100 houses.

The planning committee are due to meet in a few hours' time

to decide on the application, but with an officer

recommending for approval, the neighbours are not confident.

I think we've got to the stage now where we don't expect anything.

We expect it to be approved.

The expectation is that the planning would be approved.

It's going to happen whatever we do.

Whatever their village does as a community, it's going to happen.

Retired RAF pilot, David, and his wife, Angela, live in a four-bedroom

house near the proposed housing estate.

When we moved in back in the early '90s,

this was a green field and that development was processed

round about two years after we moved into here.

We had cows grazing there which we looked out on.

We've been hemmed in over a period of time.

But it's actually all part of the same field.

That field that the planning permission has been

submitted on, goes all the way round,

so that was part of the same field originally.

If the latest housing development goes ahead,

they'll lose another view from their window.

-It'll change the village for ever.

-It'll change the village for ever

and it's something that once it's done, it's done.

But not everyone shares the objectors' views.

I get more than slightly irritated

when people are objecting to a development

who live in houses that were built within the last 20 years.

I think there is a degree of hypocrisy there

and what they would be far better doing is accepting that there

is a need for these communities to grow and there is an opportunity

here for the community to benefit from the new developments.

At Cheshire West Council headquarters, the elected members of

the planning committee will decide if the housing scheme can go ahead.

I'll take a couple, all right?

Michael George will be the spokesman for the villagers.

He's got plenty of support from his neighbours.

It's great to see the community turn out in force.

I think it puts a bit of pressure on councillors

and helps focus their minds in terms of the decisions

they are making and how it impacts local people.

He's got three minutes to try to save

the field at the end of his garden.

By approving this application,

you'll set a precedent for the building

of nearly 300 houses in one village in a few years.

Councillors, you have an opportunity to stand up for local people,

local democracy and common sense by making the right decision

and rejecting this application.

Hear, hear!

Planner Fiona Edwards is recommending the scheme go ahead,

so the developers decide they don't want to address the committee.

The councillors have to weigh up Michael's objections

with the need for new housing.

We're damned if we do and we're damned if we don't.

-It's a very, very difficult...

-No, you're not!

Whatever decision we take, we're in a very difficult situation.

If we approve this application, it's irrevocable for the community.

I'm going to move rejection of this application, Chairman.

APPLAUSE

I'll give my reasons in a few minutes.

The committee can't reject the plans just because the villagers object.

They must show the scheme doesn't follow planning regulations.

Chair, I now need credible planning reasons to record for that refusal.

The application is contrary to local adopted plan,

and contrary to the provision of paragraphs 11, 17 and 69.

Just saying it's contrary to the local plan is not sufficient.

I need specific policies and I need you to identify

the specific harm caused to each of those policies.

I'm sorry, councillor, but I have to have those.

I'm sorry, I'm moving refusal and I've said those grounds

and I'm sticking to them and not moving away from them.

You have to accept them.

They are contrary to the local adopted plan

and to those three paragraphs, full stop.

APPLAUSE

Councillors can now vote on the fate of the field.

Those in favour of refusal of this planning application.

Six, against.

Could we have a named vote, please?

The planning application's been refused.

APPLAUSE

We'll just give you a few minutes to leave if you wish.

The committee have gone against Fiona's professional advice.

I feel that members don't have to listen to me.

I'm quite happy for them to disagree with my recommendations

if they've got reasonable thoughts behind that decision-making process.

Here, you could say that perhaps it was an emotional decision

as opposed to a reasonable decision, but that's not unexpected.

I wouldn't have the members' job, I'd far rather my job.

At the end of the day, we live to fight another day.

But the residents' victory is short-lived.

The developers immediately appeal against the decision

and the application will be reconsidered in eight weeks.

So a battle has been won, but the war continues.

In Cheltenham, planning committee is about to decide on a proposal

to create a parking space in front of a historic house.

In preparation for the meeting, applicant Geraldine Beatty

has hired yet another planning consultant.

We've got four bodies of expert input that we've paid for,

to put together the best possible proposal,

and at best my advisor says it's 50/50.

Even though every other house in the street has a dropped kerb,

the conservation officer opposed the application,

saying it would destroy the original garden layout.

Geraldine hopes that the councillors will see things differently.

I want it to be refused, that's my recommendation,

but they are the ones who will make the decision.

Geraldine has brought her husband along for support.

But she won't speak at the meeting.

She has a consultant to do that.

All the properties fronting onto Albert Road, a total of 16,

have vehicular access to the front.

The precedent set by this is therefore very significant.

The impact of one more property,

the final one in the immediate locality, having vehicular access

to the front would not harm the conservation area.

It's now down to the councillors to debate the application.

And the first signs look good for Geraldine.

Every house there has got access to a driveway from the road.

I think...it's bordering on churlish to not approve this application.

Councillor Driver.

But next to talk is Barbara,

who clashed with Geraldine on the site visit.

This house has got plenty of room at the back for parking.

They could even move the entranceway further down and make it larger

if they wish, if they're having trouble.

There is no need to change the front.

I shall vote to refuse.

With a split of opinion in the committee,

the councillors go to the vote.

All those in favour of approval?

That's six.

Those against approval.

That is seven.

It is refused, thank you.

Regardless of the money Geraldine spent on getting expert advice,

the planners have had their way.

And so has Barbara.

I don't vote on whether I like somebody or don't like somebody,

or indeed do I know them.

I vote on the issues that are there.

What do we do now?

I think we sleep on it, to be honest.

I have spent in total about £15,000 and it has got us nowhere.

It's the end of the road for Geraldine.

She will have to look for a completely different parking solution.

In the spring of 2012 we followed entrepreneur Danny Lees

and his Jack Russell, Bertie,

as they prepared to take on the planners.

Oh, he's a brilliant dog.

I'll miss him when he goes.

He's 13 now.

I brought him home in the front of my shirt from a pub.

I bought him for 50 quid in a pub.

Cracking dog.

Danny made his money making industrial doors

and spends it doing up run-down barns and houses.

That was derelict, and we turned it into that.

Over about two years, I built that.

That was the downstairs bathroom.

His own house used to be an old stone cottage,

which he flattened and rebuilt from scratch two years ago.

It's in a conservation area.

So they wouldn't let me go much bigger.

Stuck to the roofs but we went down below them, put a basement in.

It was called Stone Cottage so I decided to build it in stone.

Just put some nice stone features on the corners

to make it look olde worlde.

There's a nice feature there, everybody goes mad for Bully.

There's me Jack Russell on this end of the building.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I put me mark on that.

Every house I've built since I started, they're just unique to me.

Can't wait to get stuck into this pub and getting cracking with that.

Danny's latest purchase is the Farmer's Arms,

a historic pub in the village of Huxley.

Part of the pub was used as a military hospital

during the Napoleonic Wars.

But after two centuries in operation,

the last pint was pulled two months ago.

Come on, Bertie.

Danny's plan is to flatten the Farmer's Arms

and rebuild it in his own way

This was the restaurant.

It's rotten as a pear.

If you look at all the damp and everything in the walls.

We've got to build a new cellar, the cellar's collapsed in this one.

You're better to knock it down and rebuild.

I keep pinching myself thinking I'm mad, but...

can't wait to get cracking.

You can imagine out here, tables and chairs,

looking over the view having your lunch of a day like today.

Nice steak, half a roast duck,

olde worlde food.

You have to leave the pies to me.

I make the best pies in the world.

Come on, let's go.

Danny has submitted his plans for public consultation.

But not even the local historical society

objects to losing their 200-year-old pub.

Realistically, a building has a natural life.

When it comes to the end of that natural life,

it's important that the function's not lost,

but the building itself can be another incarnation.

We certainly need a pub in the village,

because every village has to have a pub, to be its heart.

Great. Very needed in the village...

Danny has public support.

But before he can knock down the old pub,

conservation officer John Healey needs to decide if it's worth saving.

It's very charming, very typical rather than exceptional.

It's representative of something that is becoming rarer and rarer,

and that is something which originated as a public house

in the true sense of the word. In other words, it was a small cottage

which basically served home brew in a domestic setting.

The age of the building and the amount of original fabric

surviving internally and externally is also providing

strong justification for the retention of the building.

Unfortunately, there is a mindset here to provide a completely new building.

The place would be sadder for its loss.

With John recommending refusal for Danny's application,

he's preparing for the worst.

If I couldn't take it down, I'd have to put it back on the market again.

Simple as that.

It's three weeks since plans to build houses on a field in Tarporley

were rejected by Cheshire Council.

The developers have appealed against the decision.

I've been up the high street today and so many people have had

these little letters saying it's been rejected.

"We've won, we've won!"

No, no, not yet. You've got to wait.

Since the committee meeting, the locals have complained

about the way head planner Fiona handled the application.

They made a complaint about me

and they went through our complaint system,

and everybody's entitled to make a complaint, that's right and proper.

The ombudsman found there wasn't a complaint to uphold.

The thing people get worked up about is when that green field

that they've looked out on for five, ten, 15 years

is going to be developed, and that's the thing that upsets them.

It's as if she's made her mind up a long time ago,

that this application should be approved, and that's it,

no matter what people say, or what evidence we put in front of her,

whatever regulations or planning policies that we quote,

she just turns round and says, "No. Not interested."

If there's something that we feel very frustrated about,

that we can't change, it's easier to blame somebody else.

It's easy to blame somebody rather than actually

take some action to change a system.

I suspect some of the objectors would say

that I'm a very hard person, I'm very difficult to deal with

and I'm quite scary, but I'd like to believe in real life I'm not.

The application is now out of Fiona's hands

and those of the local planning committee

and down to the government-appointed inspector to decide.

My name is Keith Manning and I'm a chartered town planner.

I've been appointed by the Secretary of State

to determine this appeal.

You could almost say it's a bit like a court of law.

The planning inspector who's appointed from the inspectorate

will sit as the judge, and there's no jury,

and there will be expert witnesses on both sides

cross-examined by the other parties.

The appeal is scheduled to take nine months

and will consider everyone's views...

Yeah, I think your shoes are probably clean by now.

..including that from Norma and Frank's bedroom.

You can have two vantage points, one from the study

and one from the bedroom.

So that's... We're at the high point?

Even if it goes against us,

I think he'll have taken everything into account

and given us a fair hearing.

Who's going to determine the output? Would you like to bet on it?

I wouldn't.

I wouldn't bet because I'm a Scotsman

and Scotsmen don't give money away easily.

I would imagine that little line there is the edge.

These are the buildings.

How do you think this is going to go?

Absolutely honest, I don't know.

I mean, it used to be it wasn't the amount of objection,

it was the substance of the objection.

It will be interesting to see if amount outweighs substance.

We won't know that until the inquiry has finished,

so the wait for Tarporley goes on.

Come on, Bertie. There's a good lad.

In the Cheshire village of Huxley,

the 200-year-old Farmer's Arms is facing total demolition.

Self-made millionaire Danny Lees wants to flatten it

and put a new pub and restaurant in its place.

I don't count my chickens before they hatch.

We're going to get on with it

and going back a bit olde worlde,

there'll be nothing modern about that pub,

but it'll be class.

I got all ten out of these out of Altrincham Railway Station.

They're going to be the beer garden.

Conservation officer John Healey recommended the building be saved.

But with no official historic listing,

the final decision is down to the planners.

He's got quite big living accommodation.

He's basically showing two flats above,

so he's got living accommodation for staff.

He's got predominantly a large lounge and restaurant,

and a decent kitchen to actually serve the restaurant,

so economically it is important.

It might only create one, two or three jobs,

but in this day and age it's good to get any jobs created.

It retains wealth within the borough.

Just because it's survived doesn't mean it's of sufficient merit to warrant its retention.

In this instance, we're taking a pragmatic view

and we're going to recommend approval.

This time, Conservation Officer John Healey has been overruled.

His word's not law.

We do take his advice on the board, we don't always agree with him.

I would say 85% of the time we do

but sometimes we have to agree to differ, because we have

perhaps a slightly different agenda. We're about promoting growth

and sustainable growth, and John is perhaps more about

preserving what he considers is good of the past.

Over in Huxley, Danny wastes no time in pulling down the Farmer's Arms.

He's even bought his own digger.

I'm glad they saw sense and let us get on with it.

At the end of the day, wasted a lot of time

and I'm trying to employ people.

At the end of the day, when it's here and up and running,

it will be an asset for the area.

It's a sad end to it, really, isn't it?

It's a...pile of rubble.

We have lost a part of the historic environment of the district.

In Stroud, the planning committee is about to meet to decide

the future of Elmore Court.

Anselm Guise recently inherited the 13th-century house

and its many treasures.

Here we go. Miss Florence Nightingale, 1820.

Charles Dickens, he's got a hell of a signature.

Check it out. Charles Dickens's signature.

There's nervousness. The planning thing is a big thing.

If we don't get it, we've probably got to sell the whole place

or at least seriously consider it.

Once or twice a week, I wake up at four in the morning, I'm like...

HE GASPS

I can't stop thinking about it and have to go downstairs

and drink coffee, make myself think about it more.

The future of everything is in these people's hands.

At the council chambers,

Anselm's application is about to go before committee.

His family have come out to see what the future holds

for their ancestral home,

and his seven staff, to see what it holds for their jobs.

But Anselm's party past threatens both.

Part of the objection is this sort of attitude that he wants

to build a nightclub round the back, which I think is really funny.

I shouldn't say that, because it's someone's legitimate concern,

but we've got a child who's due, we've got another one on the way.

Also, the idea of having a nightclub in Elmore is quite funny.

The objectors won't be speaking at the meeting.

They're hoping that the planners' reports raise their worries about noise.

Anselm has three minutes to present his case.

I believe there is someone who would like to speak on behalf of the application.

Would you come forward now, please.

Dear committee members, my family has been living at Elmore

for 750 years. The house was built to entertain.

The plan is to primarily create a catered events space.

It has been designed so that when music is played inside it,

it'll actually be quieter than the sound of someone breathing normally

in the gardens of our neighbours.

Should you grant us permission,

we will create something that is great for Elmore.

Please give us the green light to do this. Thank you.

Now it's down to the committee to decide the fate of Elmore Court.

It's come to a vote.

Contenders on the table as per officer advice.

All those in favour, please, show.

That is unanimous for this to go.

APPLAUSE

So I just wanted to say... wicked!

We got it and thanks very much to everyone.

So, cheers to Stroud District Council.

Well done, Anselm!

Securing planning permission in September 2012

was just the first step to securing Elmore's future.

Anselm managed to convince the planners to let him

build his walls out of rammed earth.

Eight months later he's having a tougher time

convincing the earth to stay in place.

They are having a real problem because the clay is not sticking to the metal,

and when you ram it, it vibrates the metal,

and then it all pings off.

This is the entrance so it's got to look like this.

It's not good enough if it's not looking perfect.

The rain's been coming in now over the last couple of weeks.

It's virtually impossible to keep it out.

Those little areas that had water,

they need to pulled out and redone again.

Anselm was hoping to spend £600,000 on the build

but he will have to fork out another 240,000

as a result of these hold-ups.

My budget's overrun a bit,

enough for me to have to go the bank and say,

"It's going to cost a little bit more than I originally said to you."

Now I've got to get bookings in to pay for the increase

on the cost of the whole project.

After successfully taking on the planning committee

and the bank manager, Anselm's final battle is against time.

We have our launch party on the 25th October.

The schedule end is...

25th October

So...a little bit stressful.

In Tarporley, Cheshire, it's been 15 months

since a planning inspector was appointed by the Government

to decide on an application to build 100 new houses on a green field.

The decision has finally come.

29th of August this year, the Tarporley decision was published.

We were all...what's the decision going to be?

Someone came in and said a decision had been made.

We've had a pretty torrid time in the last few months

with indecision. I think that's the most dangerous situation of all.

The inspector's recommendation was that the appeal should be dismissed.

In other words, planning permission shouldn't be granted.

The refusal of the scheme by the planning inspector

was a victory for local objectors, but celebrations didn't last long.

I read the first bit

about the inspector recommended that it be refused,

got quite excited, only to be dealt a real blow.

Unfortunately for these objectors, the planning inspectorate

is only the second highest planning authority in the UK.

Central government is where the buck stops.

The inspector's decision is final,

except in a small number of cases,

the Secretary of State may decide to recover an appeal.

What that means is the Secretary of State can take over

the final decision making.

That's quite proper, because he is democratically elected.

The proposal to build 100 houses on green belt land in Tarporley

became a matter of national importance

and once again hung in the balance.

That is a total of 20,000 cases a year.

The number of times that the appeal is recovered

by the Secretary of State is very small indeed.

Nevertheless, they will be significant appeals.

They will be appears where there are national policy implications.

The current Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

is Eric Pickles MP.

He was chosen by the Prime Minister to enforce Government's policy

in matters relating to planning.

We inherited the lowest level of house building

since 1924.

It's going to take some time to recover from that.

What we need to ensure is that people start to plan

a reasonable level of housing for their location.

And Eric Pickles's final decision on the Tarporley application

was that the 100 proposed houses should be built.

The Secretary of State said,

you haven't got the housing land supply at the time this appeal was heard,

and he determined that planning permission should be granted.

That's the decision that we have.

Throughout the whole long-running saga of the Tarporley development,

taking us probably the best part of two years,

the appellants have got their planning permission at the end of the day.

We know we need more housing, we're not stupid people.

But developed and positioned by the people that live in the village.

-Exactly.

-Which is the important thing.

Not by some faceless gnome in Westminster.

If the Secretary of State has never been here,

how the hell does he know what the village is like?

Head Planner Fiona had originally recommended approval

for the scheme much to the disgust of the local population.

I'm sure she's feeling very smug.

I'm sure she's thinking, "That's the decision I wanted anyway.

"Wasn't I right?"

I didn't celebrate! I didn't celebrate.

There's nothing to celebrate, it isn't about winning.

It's about getting development in the right place. You're not going to get me ever to say I celebrated.

It's not going to happen. Not on camera!

One shouldn't celebrate the decision, so much as say

that there is a positive side to it.

As more houses are developed,

there is no doubt that the community becomes a stronger community

and the high street of Tarporley

does rely heavily on the community spirit and the good will locally.

In Cheltenham, it's been 10 months since Geraldine Beatty

lost her battle with the planners over a parking space,

and £15,000 in consultancy fees.

Now, she has found a solution to her parking problems.

One which bypasses the planners completely.

So we can basically go to the estate agent and pick up the keys now?

Cheers then! Bye!

It's done.

We now own another house.

Geraldine has sold her house of 13 years

for twice the price she paid for it.

The profit may be big, but leaving the house is not easy.

The house for me is almost perfection.

It's like stepping out of a show house when I walk out the door.

It's beautiful, it's lovely and I enjoy living here.

Parking at the back is the one blot on the landscape.

If we had the drive approved we would have stayed living here,

but that's obviously not possible.

Goodbye, house! It's been good.

Losing her planning battle has driven Geraldine away.

Soon the new owner will take possession of her house.

We've put together a list of things she should know about.

-Handover.

-The perils of planning...?

Haven't mentioned that at all! Haven't mentioned planning.

Jim, you've got to reverse out that drive one last time.

Beep, beep, beep! Beep, beep, beep!

For her new property, Geraldine decided not to scrimp

on access and parking.

This is the driveway to our new house we're just about to get onto.

As you can see, it's quite a big drive.

Can take about a minute to drive up the drive.

It's a bit different, isn't it?

Here we are! New adventure.

Here's my husband arriving at his new house.

We're all here and we've all fitted on the drive!

But Geraldine's bad experience with planning has not

put her off home improvements.

I'd like this to be a garden room, so oak timber, oak frame,

with a roof, a proper roof.

Her next dream is to transform her 1970s house

into a traditional Cotswolds country house,

all of which will require planning permission.

I've learnt how the process works.

I'm not saying it was £15,000 well spent,

but I'm sure it will stand me in good stead.

It's really useful to understand that you are dealing with lay people,

therefore you present yourselves in a way that appeals on a personal level.

And...site visits, they're entitled to do one,

so I can't tell them not to, but I'd probably stay out of the way.

At least Geraldine won't have to deal

with Councillor Barbara Driver any more, as her new house

is outside the Cheltenham borough boundary.

What would Barbara Driver make of this place?

She'd probably be jealous. She'd probably wish she lived here.

With a garden like this!

Just over 12 months ago in Huxley, Cheshire,

millionaire Danny Lees demolished the 200-year-old Farmer's Arms pub.

Is there any part of you that is sad at getting rid of that?

None whatsoever.

What do you think when you look at that now?

Bag of...whatdoyoucallit.

Here you are, Bertie.

He's 15 in a fortnight.

He's a bit fussy. You can see he's a bit anorexic.

A bit undernourished.

As Danny prepares to visit the building site,

he is determined to show his objectors

that he won't make a dog's dinner of the new pub.

This will be something special, you mark my words.

When you see this finished, it will be summat special.

It won't be corny, there's nothing plastic in it.

There's the roof in the distance.

The new Farmer's Arms is double the size of the old one.

Danny used new bricks designed to have the appearance

of old reclaimed ones.

This is going to be state of the art kitchen.

All freshly prepared. We're even going to cut our own carcasses up.

Sides of the beef and all the rest of it.

Sunday dinner will be second to none.

You can have half a roast duck, anything you want.

There'll be nothing frozen. The only thing frozen here is ice.

Thank God for the planners, they let us have planning permission,

otherwise this wouldn't have been here now.

There'd be half a dozen houses. Gone forever.

The new Farmer's Arms may only be a building site

but a Huxley resident has already reserved it

for his 60th birthday party in nine months' time.

People see it being built now

and they know they're going to get what I promised, a pub.

The local pub for the locals.

Are you OK, are you going to have a bit of lunch? Lovely.

Is this your local? Oh, no, all right.

Danny's inspiration for the interiors of the new pub

was Joule's Brewery in Market Drayton.

This is what we are going to replicate for the pub.

It'll give it a nice olde worlde effect. You can see the oak beams,

log burner, nice and countrified for the locals.

I think John Healey will be pleased when he sees that going in.

Summat you'll not see ever again anywhere else.

Apart from Joule's Brewery in Market Drayton.

But one thing Danny hasn't decided on yet

is the main entrance door to the pub.

As he visits the joinery, he hopes his experience in the field

will guide him in his choice.

I've been in doors for 30 years, only big industrial stuff.

I know what quality's about.

Used to call me Danny Doors. They used to call my missus Diana Dors!

Just want to have a look at this door here.

This is exactly what we'll have on the pub.

Speaks for itself, don't it? Once you walk in a door like that,

you think you're somewhere. You're there, you've arrived.

-Lock them in, keep them in.

-Absolutely.

Get that steak pie on the table for them.

Go on, Bert.

Danny hopes the Farmer's Arms's new front door

will be open to the public in seven months' time.

But for now, another day's work is done for him and Bertie.

Come on, Bertie.

The stuff that's in here now, God, look at the finials up on the roof.

Be there for another 500 years.

Don't know whether they'll need pubs then, it'll be all tablets.

Protein tablets.

Come on, Bertie.

I'll miss him when he goes, I'll tell you.

I might have him stuffed.

In Elmore, Gloucestershire,

Anselm Guise is still trying to catch up

with the building schedule for his new party venue.

Have I got my lighter? Yes.

Really need to smoke a lot at the moment.

Anselm has invited the great and the good of Gloucestershire

to the opening party of the new building which is due to take place

in just 48 hours. But for now, the place is still a building site.

The glasses were supposed to arrive day before yesterday.

Didn't arrive. I got a text message from John at four this morning,

saying I'm going up to Birmingham to go and get it.

I'll be there at six and I'll be back at 8:30.

It's going in now so just in the nick of time.

If he hadn't gone up to get it...?

We'd have had to cancel tonight, or done it without any music,

which would have been rubbish.

The council is also breathing down Anselm's neck.

As soon as the glass is up, they will want confirmation

that the building is soundproof before it's used for functions.

You can get it up to 95 dB inside the building.

They'll see what the levels are out here.

The whole point of this is to show you can have a party here

and no-one can hear a thing.

Which is part of our conditions, the planning.

If these mud walls fail to keep the 5000W generated

by Anselm's sound system within the building,

he will have spent £840,000 for nothing.

LOUD MUSIC PLAYS

So 50, 32...

-32.

-Quite a big drop.

-It is, yeah.

-It gets really flat.

-It's weird.

You still have a fly on your moustache.

I want to see what it sounds like outside.

HE YELLS

That is amazing!

There's a big sound system in there, and you can't hear it!

With virtually no noise escaping the building, Anselm gets the all clear.

-Wonderful, so that's it?

-That's it, yeah.

Wonderful. Thank you very much indeed.

Which means that his party can finally take place.

Tonight, 750 years after Elmore Court was first built,

its newly designed party venue will open its doors to the public.

I'm really, really pleased with it.

Really pleased with it.

I've got a party venue behind my house.

Of course it's my dream come true.

It's weird thinking back on the whole process,

18 months ago when we were

asking permission from the authorities to do it.

Anselm's scheme to secure the economic survival

of his ancestral home has finally come together.

The first paying guests have now checked in,

in the historic part of the house.

There's a couple of guests staying here,

the spreadsheet had them the wrong way around.

I went upstairs and showed this lady called Mel her room,

and I walked into the room

and there's another girl I've never met and her boyfriend

having a little moment on the bed!

It was like, "Oh, hello!"

But the real climax of the evening

will be the opening of the new venue.

The whole build started when I had a nine-day-old baby.

It's been very difficult but I think every inch of work has paid off.

It's a world away from the place where Anselm's dad,

the Baronet of Highnam, grew up.

I lived in this house as a boy, as a young man.

It's better now than it has ever been in my lifetime.

The whole place might have been sold, and as it is,

it's going to keep going.

How about the new extension?

Amazing. Amazing! Isn't it?

Noisy!