Fire the trebuchets! Prepare the torches!

[Raziaar]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080125/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_britain_castle

A man in London has created a mock castle and lived there... using hay bales as a disguise to prevent regulations.

Truly living the Medieval European dream.

:thumbs:

LONDON (Reuters) - A farmer built an entire mock castle behind a screen of hay bales and lived there concealed for four years to evade planning regulations, officials said on Friday -- but it may be torn down anyway.

Robert Fidler hopes to take advantage of a provision of planning law that allows buildings without planning permission to be declared legal if no objections have been made after four years

But Reigate and Banstead Borough Council in Surrey is not impressed.

"It does not count because the property was hidden behind hay bales," said a spokeswoman. "No one knew it was there."

The council wants the building near Redhill some 30 km south of London to be demolished, along with an associated conservatory, marquee structure, wooden bridge, patio, decking and tarmac racecourse.

"It looks like a mock-Tudor house from the front and it's got two turrets at the back," the spokeswoman said. "I understand there is also a cannon."

The couple would have been unlikely to get planning permission as the farm was in "green belt" land where building was restricted, she said. A hearing takes place in February.

Fidler's wife Linda told the Daily Mail newspaper the children grew up looking at straw out of the windows of the house and that they kept their son away from playschool on the day his class were due to do paintings of their houses.

"We couldn't have him drawing a big blue haystack," she said. "People might ask questions."

Planning inspectors had been called to the site by concerned neighbours shortly before Fidler took the hay bales down in summer 2006 but had not seen the house.

"When the inspectors went there, all they saw was hay bales and hay bales on agricultural land are not that unusual," the spokeswoman said.

"I think the neighbours thought there might be something going on but it is difficult to tell, isn't it?"

 

[CptStern]

I thought this was a preview for Age of Conan ....cock tease

 

[Krynn72]

Hahah stern. I can just envision you getting all excited and clicking on the link, then being disappointed. That makes me smile.

Anyways, without pics this story is funny, but not hilarious.

 

[Raziaar]

Hahah stern. I can just envision you getting all excited and clicking on the link, then being disappointed. That makes me smile.

Anyways, without pics this story is funny, but not hilarious.

Yeah, I'm looking

 

[taviow]

Damn they found my castle. What do I do now hl2.net?

 

[Druckles]

Bloody planning inspectors.

 

[Eejit]

How much did they have to pay the builders to keep quiet?

 

[Dan]

He is a modern day hero

 

[simonjedi]

Pics!

 

[CptStern]

what am I looking at? is the top one his "castle" and the bottom one is a real castle?

 

[simonjedi]

bottom one is his "castle", the top one is how he hid it

 

[CptStern]

lol, no one noticed a giant box covered in canvas and old spare tires? do people get around by airplane or something cuz you'd have to be blind to miss that

 

[Atomic_Piggy]

Criminal or not, you've got to give him credit.

 

[Jintor]

Damn, that's some pretty fine work there.

 

[nurizeko]

Green belt shmeen pelt.


The council are just being cocks. Green belt regulations only hold as long as your a small time project with a harmless project, but when a company comes along to build a nice big commercial estate, you better believe the green is getting tarmacked over.
GG, farmer guy, GG.

 

[CyberPitz]

Wow, that's beautiful. Too bad it's getting torn down ;(

 

[Dan]

Wow, that's beautiful. Too bad it's getting torn down ;(

Not if he gets the moat built real soon and has enough stores to last out a siege.

 

[CyberPitz]

Very true, keep the jerks at bay, and use a draw bridge to get across, and fill it with gators!

 

[Parrot of doom]

He would have been better advised to give a backhander to one of the planning committee. That's how it works in England.

 

[Krynn72]

lol, no one noticed a giant box covered in canvas and old spare tires? do people get around by airplane or something cuz you'd have to be blind to miss that

You totally missed half the story. They look like bales of hay, and on a farm, is not that conspicuous. The inspectors obviously saw it, but the thought "Hey, hes hiding a castle there!" probably didnt come through their mind.

 

[Sulkdodds]

My god, that's amazing. He'd better be able to keep it. If not by bureaucracy, then by a war!

"I understand there is also a cannon." Best line.