Sarah Beeny ordered to tear down home extension in £3m estate dispute with council

After a long-running dispute with the local council over unauthorised extensions, TV star Sarah Beeny is facing the possibility of tearing down a portion of her £3 million estate.

Property expert Sarah Beeny has been told she must demolish a large extension built without permission on her £3 million countryside estate. The extensive renovation, which transformed her Somerset home into what has been described as a “mini Downton Abbey,” was featured in her Channel 4 series Sarah’s New Life in the Country.

However, her decision to expand the property without full approval has sparked a long-running dispute with both local authorities and residents. Some critics have even compared her actions to Hannah Ingram-Moore, daughter of the late Captain Tom, who illegally built a spa complex on her property and was later forced to remove it. Ingram-Moore had claimed the structure was partially used by her father’s foundation.

Sarah, 53, has been fighting with neighbors and the local council for six years over her ambitious plans to remodel the rural estate she purchased in 2018. The council initially granted permission for a new home, but the prerequisite was that the house’s original 1970s farmhouse and outbuildings be completely destroyed.

However, Sarah extended the structure further, adding features like French doors and a first-floor balcony, to make it safer. Later, she requested retro planning permission, but the council rejected her request in May.

Sarah and Graham Swift’s case was dismissed last week after the Planning Inspectorate rejected their appeal. With a current active enforcement notice in place, the unauthorised extension appears to be unavoidable.

The council stated in a statement that they are “reviewing the case in respect of further action,” noting that the enforcement is related to a planning default that required the demolition of the original farmhouse.

Protected bat roosts in the old farmhouse were one of the main concerns raised in the planning debate. Sarah’s struggle to obtain a permit from Natural England might make things worse, according to the planning inspector, which will make matters worse.

Local residents and the parish council have voiced strong opposition to the works beyond the legal ramifications. It has caused a lot of bad feeling in the village, neighbor Kevin Flint reported to the Mail Online. She was permitted to construct the new home on the condition that she had not retrofitted the previous one and extended and renovated it.

She believes she can move down here and ride roughshod over everyone, but it won’t happen. According to him, it would be fair to destroy anything unapproved on the site, like Captain Tom’s daughter, “he continued.

Sarah’s redevelopment plans have previously drawn controversy for various reasons. After receiving strong opposition from locals, she later turned down a proposal to convert two barns into four new homes. Residents accused her of “blatantly disregarding” an enforcement notice that required her to remove unauthorised earth banks constructed without authorization.

With tensions running high and legal barriers mounting, it remains to be seen how Sarah Beeny will respond to the latest order to dismantle part of her multi-million-pound home. The Mirror has approached Sarah’s representatives for comment on this story.

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Source: Mirror