Latest news with #East Yorkshire
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
I chopped down a protected willow tree to build a £75,000 two-storey man cave in my garden... my neighbours hate it but I don't care
A man who illegally chopped down a protected willow tree to build a £75k 'man cave' in his back garden is at war with neighbours and the local council. Justin Claybourn, 56, erected the two-storey annexe without planning permission has now been hit with a hefty fine and ordered to demolish the entire structure. He flouted council rules by constructing the 12-metre-long hideaway behind his detached home in the picturesque Foggathorpe, an ancient East Yorkshire hamlet referenced in the Domesday Book. Despite being granted permission for a single-storey garage, the father-of-two spent £75,000 on a lavish DIY project complete with a steel staircase, French doors, and first-floor balcony that neighbours say invades their privacy. Mr Claybourn, a plumber and builder, also illegally chopped down a mature 50ft willow tree that had been protected under a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). East Riding of Yorkshire Council has now ordered him to demolish the 'entirely unauthorised' building, staircase and an adjoining timber pergola 'in their entirety'. In response, the self-employed plumber denied wrongdoing and accused town hall planners of 'stabbing me in the back'. Mr Claybourn argued the building - used for his hobby of restoring classic cars and offering his daughter a place to stay - falls within permitted development rules, claiming the council misread his original plans. Insisting he is '100% guaranteed to win' an appeal, the defiant tradesman told MailOnline: 'I can't lose. I won't have to demolish it. 'The worst-case scenario is I would have to take the windows and the staircase out, and that's it. 'If push comes to shove, I won't be able use it. But I'm not knocking it down. 'It would never have got to this stage if the council had read the initial plans. But they're being absolutely horrendous. They're doing everything they can to stab me in the back.' Council planners originally green-lit the proposal in 2021, approving a modest brick garage which it said would be similar in height to neighbours', on the strict condition the mature willow tree would be safeguarded. Mr Claybourne admitted lopping down the protected tree after completing the build - an action that led to court-ordered fines and costs totalling £5,644. He admitted: 'I cut the tree down after I built the garage, because a branch fell off and smashed the garage roof in. 'It's a willow tree. It's an invasive species in my back garden and it was out of control. 'Branches were falling off. They smashed the fence panels in on the right-hand side of my house. I had to pay for them. 'I've got grandkids. If my grandkids come in and something falls off it, what do you do? So, I just took the bullet and I cut it down." East Riding council pursued enforcement action claiming that what eventually emerged on the site was not in line with what had been signed off, and included a bathroom, kitchen, reception room and additional Velux windows. Emma Lister, who lives next door, said the giant annexe had left her family feeling exposed in their own garden. In an objection to Mr Claybourn's rebuffed retrospective planning application, the mother-of-two wrote: 'We strongly object to the addition of glass doors, a balcony or seating area, and an external staircase at the rear first floor of the garage/store, which sits directly next to the boundary of our garden. 'The elevated position and close proximity of the structure result in significant overlooking, severely impacting our privacy. It is also completely out of character with the surrounding properties in this residential area.' Mr Claybourn has appealed to the planning inspectorate, with a decision expected later in the year. He said: 'If I have to do, I'll take the windows out and I'll take the staircase down. 'We've got to draw a line under it somewhere and come to an agreement. 'If I thought I had to knock it down, I would never have built it. 'If I have to demolish it, can you imagine the mess?' In enforcement documents seen by MailOnline, East Riding officials declared: 'The appearance of the building has been substantially altered... and as a result appears out of scale with the domestic setting of the site and does not comply with the design code. 'As approved, the garage would have complemented the scale and appearance of the neighbouring garage. However, the development as built appears as a dominant feature when viewed from the street.' The council report added: 'The building has been designed to be capable of being occupied independently of the main dwelling since the accommodation comprises a kitchen, bathroom, reception room and 'store' and has been used for residential accommodation. 'As a result of the building being entirely unauthorised, there is no control with regards the occupation of the accommodation. This could result in an unacceptable impact on the residential amenity of neighbouring occupiers from noise and disturbance.' In response, Mr Claybourn said that stonework was reclaimed from a church conversion to match the original property and that 6.25m height of the annexe was only marginally bigger than that initially approved. He was taken to court in January and ordered to pay £5,644 in fines and costs for lopping down the willow, which was said to have been in 'good health' before being razed. The court heard he initially caused serious damage by pollarding the tree, before then going on to completely remove it. A council spokesperson said: 'The works were undertaken without any consent either for the initial works to pollard the tree, or the works to fell the tree. 'Investigations by the East Riding of Yorkshire council's planning department revealed that the tree appeared to be in good health prior to the work taking place.' Councillor Gary McMaster, of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: 'The council takes protection of trees seriously and takes robust action where illegal behaviour occurs.' If Mr Claybourn loses an ongoing appeal with the Planning Inspectorate, he will have six months to tear down the annexe or face the prospect of again being summoned to court. East Riding of Yorkshire Council said it would not comment during the appeal process.
BBC News
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
JRR Tolkien fans reassured over East Yorkshire statue condition
Residents concerned about the condition of a statue celebrating writer JRR Tolkien's visit to their village have been reassured it will last for years to author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings spent 18 months in Roos, East Yorkshire, recovering from trench fever contracted while serving during World War Gerard Baker said a two-part sculpture of Tolkien and his wife, erected on 6 June, had started to crack due to its "open position in the sunlight".A spokesperson for East Riding of Yorkshire Council said the idea was to depict Tolkien in natural surroundings and a maintenance plan was in place. The wooden sculptures, hand-carved from oak by North Lincolnshire-based artist Allen Stichler, are part of a trail called The Tolkien Triangle, which recognises the impact the area's landscape had on the one of his wife, Edith, depicts her dancing in a nearby wood, which was the basis for a scene in his novel The Baker said he was worried about how long the sculpture stands in direct said: "The sculpture is in a very open space in full sun most of the day."Perhaps it should have been erected in a shadier spot to protect it from sun damage."He is calling on the council to plant trees around the statue to protect it from further damage. "Wood does age", said Mr Baker. "But the rate that this has aged is really unfortunate." The council said seasoning of wood does not typically affect its structural integrity and formed part of the character and charm."As wood is a natural, organic material, it will continue to season and acclimate to its environment," the spokesperson added."The ideation of the project was to depict JRR Tolkien in the naturalist surroundings of the location and we are completely satisfied that the statute will be in situ for many years to come with a maintenance plan in place.'' Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
BBC News
22-07-2025
- BBC News
Peterborough murderer with terminal cancer 'could have been released'
A man jailed for life for the murder of his stepdaughter could have been released early on compassionate grounds when he was nearing the end of his life, a report Walker, from Peterborough, was given a minimum of 32 years in jail for murdering Bernadette Walker, 17, in 2020. He never revealed where her body died with cancer at HMP Full Sutton, in East Yorkshire, at the age of 53 in 2023.A report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has criticised the prison for not acting quickly enough to apply for early release on compassionate grounds before the killer died. It did not rule whether the application would have been successful. During Walker's trial at Cambridge Crown Court in 2021, the jury heard Bernadette had told her mother that Walker, then 51, had been abusing her "over a number of years". Bernadette was last seen when Walker, who was not her biological father, collected her from his parents' home in Peterborough on 18 July is believed he killed her then but despite extensive searches the teenager's body has never been found. Walker died at HMP Full Sutton of acute bronchopneumonia caused by metastatic bladder cancer. Walker was diagnosed in prison with possible bladder cancer in August 2022 and received treatment and support from the prison's healthcare team and the urology specialist ombudsman's findings - first reported in the Peterborough Telegraph - stated that in May 2023 he was told the cancer had spread to his began chemotherapy but declined to have any further treatment in October, as it was making him signed a do not resuscitate 5 October, Mr Walker's prison offender manager started an early release on compassionate grounds application. She completed her report and sent it to the prison GP to complete. However, the offender manager did not send it to the community offender manager for completion as she should have done."There is no evidence that the GP completed the report prior to Mr Walker's death," the report stated. On 8 December, Walker was transferred to the healthcare unit at Full Sutton for palliative care. On the morning of 22 December, prison officers found Mr Walker unresponsive in his cell, and he was later confirmed to have ombudsman's report does not state if the application for early release would have been successful. What is ERCG? Release on compassionate grounds is a means by which prisoners who are seriously ill, usually with a life expectancy of less than three months, can be permanently released from custody before their sentence has expired. Among the criteria for release is that the risk of reoffending is expected to be minimal, further imprisonment would reduce life expectancy, there are adequate arrangements for the prisoner's care and treatment outside prison, and release would benefit the prisoner and their report into Walker's death stated: "We found that despite starting an early release on compassionate grounds (ERCG) application promptly, prison staff did not request a report from probation staff and the GP at Full Sutton did not complete their report before Mr Walker died as they should have done."It concluded that this led to the overall delay in the processing of the application once it had been recommended the prison's governor and the head of healthcare should ensure that ERGC applications are completed in line with policy framework by ensuring that prison staff request a report from probation staff for the application and that "all reports are completed in a timely manner".A Prison Service spokesperson said: "We have accepted and actioned the Prison and Probation Ombudsman's recommendation." Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
