Landowner told to demolish two buildings erected without planning permission in Harborough district

A landowner has been told he must demolish two buildings he erected without planning permission in the Harborough district.

David Knight was issued an enforcement notice by Harborough District Council in November last year telling him he had six months to remove the buildings from his land in Leire, near Broughton Astley.

Mr Knight had previously been refused permission for the structures in July 2022.

But at the time of the refusal the buildings, one fully and the other half built, had already been on the land off Back Lane for some 10 months.

He appealed the decision to reject his application and the subsequent order to tear them down. The planning inspectorate - a government body tasked with overseeing planning disputes - has upheld both decisions made by the district council.

The completed building was being used to store machinery and as a workshop by Mr Knight, the planning inspectorate’s report said. There were ‘no tangible reasons why the agricultural machinery needs to be stored on the land’ and ‘insufficient evidence’ to show it was “justified or compatible with the countryside location”, planning inspector MP Howell ruled.

The inspector also said ‘limited detail has been provided to indicate why two separate buildings are needed or why the buildings need to be the size and scale proposed’. It meant the inspector could not determine whether they were well-designed or appropriately sized for their use.

The report said the incomplete structure was also set to feature ‘a large roof overhang, a pedestrian door as well as a yellow brick plinth’. Mr Howell said it would have been ‘at odds with the appearance of typical agricultural buildings’.

The inspector added: “I recognise the buildings and fence enclosures have been built and designed to provide security for the appellant’s land, as well as expensive tools, machinery and goods [Mr Knight] wishes to store.

“I appreciate these matters can be concerning, but enclosing the land with a high fence and erecting new buildings is not the only solution to secure property and to alleviate theft. In this instance, security of the site and the fear of crime does not outweigh the harm identified to the character and appearance of the area.”