Latest news with #ElaineZielinski
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- News.com.au
Couple ordered to demolish dream home
A UK couple have been ordered to demolish their £1 million ($A2 million) dream home after they were found to have made a 'flagrant breach' of the rules. Jeremy and Elaine Zielinski were given permission to build a stallion semen collection centre and laboratory. The two-storey building was set to have a reception, office, kitchenette, 'analysis and lecture' lab, processing laboratory and staff changing room on the ground floor, The Sun reports. While the first floor would be a staff living space with two bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom, and a combined living/kitchen space. But instead the pair turned the property into a three-bedroom home overlooking the countryside in Great Abingdon, Cambridgeshire. The council got wind of the unauthorised house and ordered the duo to knock it down. The Zielinskis appealed the order, arguing it was excessive and the property could simply revert to the permitted use. But a planning inspector has thrown out their appeal, saying the couple 'constructed a dwelling from the off'. The pair were criticised for their 'clear and flagrant breach of planning policy'. Despite the judgement, Mrs Zielinski, 79, told the Daily Mail she and her husband didn't know they were breaking the law. 'We want to carry on living here. It's a warm and comfortable home. I love it,' the GP's receptionist said. 'It doesn't make sense to tear it down. I don't want to go and live in a caravan. If we are chucked out, we will be having to rely on the state. 'We would not have gone on and built this and put all our money into it unless we thought it was totally legal to do it.' Her husband, 73, added: 'I have not had a decent night's sleep in years and, from the moment when we got the first visit in 2020 [from council officials], life has been shaky … 'We have lost £1 million ($A2 million) overnight as a result of this decision. If we could have a semen clinic on the site it would be worth at least £1 million.' The couple bought a house with an outbuilding set on 17 acres of land for £100,000 in 1986. Planning permission was granted in 2014 by Greater Cambridge Shared Planning to build a replacement stable block and a specialist 'stallion semen' horse laboratory, with a small upstairs flat linked to the lab use. The plans were approved on the basis that it would be for a countryside business use, with the residential flat only to be used in connection with the laboratory use. Instead, the planning inspector said it was built and used solely as a residential house from the start. He said there was no lab or business running at the site, nor any evidence to show there ever was and that he house was a full home, not just a place for a worker to stay. He also pointed out that the owner had sold their original house on the site and moved into this new home. 'Photographs provided by the appellant in February 2022 in response to the Council's Planning Contravention Notice (PCN) show a complete absence of any laboratory space or research facility and that remained the case at the time of my accompanied site visit,' Inspector Chris Preston wrote. 'The ground floor has a decidedly residential appearance, with a domestic kitchen, equipped with kitchen units, cooker, island breakfast bar, with domestic furnishings and appliances. 'A dining area is present next to the kitchen in the space which was shown to house a kitchenette/container storage and distribution on the approved plans. 'Next to that, where the plans depicted an office, is a domestic living room. 'What appears to be an office is present to the front in what was shown on the plans as a reception area. 'Throughout, the ground floor is decorated and equipped in a manner that belies a residential use. 'There is no obvious reception area that would indicate use by customers of a business. 'No laboratory has been installed, no research or stored equipment associated with the business is apparent, either on the photographs from 2022 or at the time of my visit. 'Upstairs, where the staff accommodation was intended to be, there are two bedrooms, in the locations shown on the approved plans and a living area/ lounge, equipped with a sofa and television. 'However, no kitchen appears to have been constructed on the upper floor. In other words, the living space is clearly spread over the two floors, as would be the case in a typical house.' He said the council had been told the flat would be used by an additional worker, but in fact the appellant and his wife had since sold their existing house and moved into the new property. He added: 'The overriding impression is that what has been constructed is a dwelling house, occupied by the appellant and his wife, as opposed to a stallion semen collection centre/laboratory on the ground floor with residential accommodation above which is what the approved plans depicted.' He said there was also very little evidence that the stallion semen and collection business had 'ever got off the ground to any notable degree.' He added: 'The lack of any clear record of the semen collection and analysis business, when added to the evidence that the laboratory and associated storage and analysis areas were never constructed raises serious doubts as to whether the 2014 permission was implemented. 'If the pandemic did cause issues with the business, the logical thing to do, if implementing the approved planning permission, would have been to construct the building as permitted, with accommodation at first floor level and space for the laboratories etc at ground floor level, even if that led to a delay in installation of those facilities. 'What actually appears to have happened is that the appellant constructed a dwelling from the off. 'The Inspector agreed that knocking the house down was a proportionate and necessary measure as the local planning policies had been clearly broken, and keeping the building but just stopping people from living there alone would not be enough. Cllr Dr. Tumi Hawkins, Lead Cabinet Member for Planning at South Cambridgeshire District Council, said: 'We welcome the Inspector's clear decision, which supports our commitment to upholding planning policies in our Local Plan and the Neighbourhood Plan designed to protect our countryside. 'This case shows the importance of adhering to the specific uses and conditions that justify development in rural areas. 'Planning rules are there for a reason – including protecting our countryside, and this decision demonstrates that we will act when those rules are broken.' The house must be knocked down and all waste material removed by May 6 2026.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Couple told to demolish £1m home they claimed would be ‘horse semen lab'
A couple has been told to demolish their £1m home after they lied to the council and said it was going to be a 'horse semen laboratory'. Jeremy Zielinski and his wife Elaine were given permission to build a ' stallion semen centre ' with a small upstairs flat in 2014 in Great Abington, Cambridgeshire. But Mr and Mrs Zielinski built a 'typical home from the off' equipped with an island breakfast bar, TVs, sofas and bedrooms, the planning inspectorate ruled. The two-storey building was set to have a reception, office, kitchenette, lecture laboratory, processing laboratory and staff changing room on the ground floor. Despite the property looking the same as the plans, the inside was very different with 'little evidence' the couple's 'stallion semen business' ever got going. Inspector Chris Peston said that the couple had sold their original house on the site and moved into this new home - called Valentine Stables. South Cambridgeshire District Council told the pair to knock the home down in July 2023, but they appealed the decision. The planning inspectorate ruled in favour of the council, and said demolition was proportionate. The council said the case showed the importance of 'adhering to the specific uses and conditions that justify development in rural areas' to protect the countryside. Mr Peston said: 'No laboratory has been installed, no research or stored equipment associated with the business is apparent, either on the photographs from 2022 or at the time of my visit. 'Upstairs, where the staff accommodation was intended to be, there are two bedrooms, in the locations shown on the approved plans, and a living area/lounge equipped with a sofa and television. 'However, no kitchen appears to have been constructed on the upper floor. In other words, the living space is clearly spread over the two floors, as would be the case in a typical house.' Mr Zielinski claimed the businesses never got started due to the Covid pandemic. However, Mr Peston found only one £44 transaction for 'laboratory fees' for a horse named Dublin. He said there was no proof the analysis was carried out at the Cambridgeshire home and said it was unlikely it ever was due to the absence of testing facilities. Cllr Dr Tumi Hawkins, the lead cabinet member for planning at South Cambridgeshire district council, said: 'We welcome the inspector's clear decision, which supports our commitment to upholding planning policies in our local plan and the neighbourhood plan designed to protect our countryside.' The house must be knocked down, and all waste material removed, by 6 May next year.
Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Telegraph
Couple ordered to demolish £1m house they claimed would be ‘horse semen lab'
A couple has been ordered to demolish their £1 million home after they lied to the council that it was going to be a 'horse semen laboratory'. Jeremy Zielinski and his wife, Elaine, were given permission for a replacement stable block and a specialist 'stallion semen' horse laboratory, with a small upstairs flat linked to the lab use, in 2014. A planning inspector has now ruled that the unauthorised house at Valentine Stables in Great Abington, Cambridgeshire, must be knocked down. The plans were approved on the basis that it would be for a countryside business use, with the residential flat only to be used in connection with the laboratory. The two-storey building was set to have a reception, office, kitchenette, 'analysis and lecture' laboratory, processing laboratory and staff changing room on the ground floor. The first floor would be a staff living space with two bedrooms, each with an en suite bathroom, and a combined living and kitchen space. Even though the outside of the building looked like the approved plans, the inside was very different. The planning inspector said it was built and used solely as a residential house from the start, with no evidence that the laboratory use was ever implemented. The council issued an enforcement notice in July 2023 requiring demolition of the property and the owner appealed against the notice. The planning inspector has now agreed with the council that the building was constructed as a house from the start. He said there was no laboratory or business running at the site, nor any evidence to show there ever was, and that the house was a full home, not just a place for a worker to stay. He also pointed out that the owner had sold their original house on the site and moved into this new home. Inspector Chris Preston wrote: 'Photographs provided by the appellant in February 2022 in response to the Council's Planning Contravention Notice (PCN) show a complete absence of any laboratory space or research facility and that remained the case at the time of my accompanied site visit. 'The ground floor has a decidedly residential appearance, with a domestic kitchen, equipped with kitchen units, cooker, island breakfast bar, with domestic furnishings and appliances. A dining area is present next to the kitchen in the space which was shown to house a kitchenette/container storage and distribution on the approved plans. 'Next to that, where the plans depicted an office, is a domestic living room. What appears to be an office is present to the front in what was shown on the plans as a reception area. 'Throughout, the ground floor is decorated and equipped in a manner that belies a residential use. There is no obvious reception area that would indicate use by customers of a business. 'No laboratory has been installed, no research or stored equipment associated with the business is apparent, either on the photographs from 2022 or at the time of my visit. Upstairs, where the staff accommodation was intended to be, there are two bedrooms, in the locations shown on the approved plans and a living area/lounge, equipped with a sofa and television. 'However, no kitchen appears to have been constructed on the upper floor. In other words, the living space is clearly spread over the two floors, as would be the case in a typical house.' He said the council had been told the flat would be used by an additional worker, but in fact the appellant and his wife had since sold their existing house and moved into the new property. 'The over-riding impression is that what has been constructed is a dwelling house, occupied by the appellant and his wife, as opposed to a stallion semen collection centre/laboratory on the ground floor with residential accommodation above which is what the approved plans depicted,' he added. He said there was also very little evidence that the semen and collection business had 'ever got off the ground to any notable degree'. 'The lack of any clear record of the semen collection and analysis business, when added to the evidence that the laboratory and associated storage and analysis areas were never constructed raises serious doubts as to whether the 2014 permission was implemented,' he added. 'What actually appears to have happened is that the appellant constructed a dwelling from the off.' The inspector agreed that knocking the house down was a proportionate and necessary measure as the local planning policies had been clearly broken, and keeping the building but just preventing people from living there alone would not be enough. Cllr Dr Tumi Hawkins, lead cabinet member for planning at South Cambridgeshire district council, commented: 'We welcome the inspector's clear decision, which supports our commitment to upholding planning policies in our local plan and the neighbourhood plan designed to protect our countryside.' The house must be knocked down and all waste material removed by 6 May next year.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Couple who illegally built dream £1million home instead of horse breeding clinic are ordered to tear it down after planning inspector criticises 'flagrant breach' of rules
A couple who have been ordered to demolish a million-pound property they secretly built and moved into have complained they will have nowhere to go to. Jeremy Zielinski and his wife Elaine were given permission for a two-storey commercial building for a stallion semen collection centre and laboratory, with a small first floor flat for staff. But while the outside of the property in 17-acres of land they bought in Great Abington, Cambridgeshire, adhered to their planning application, they turned the interior into a well-appointed three-bedroom home with stunning feature windows overlooking the countryside. Council officials got wind of the subterfuge and issued an enforcement notice in 2023 to tear the structure down. The couple appealed against the order on the grounds that it was excessive and the property could simply revert to the permitted use. But a planning inspector has thrown it out after seeing evidence they had 'constructed a dwelling from the off' and criticised them for their 'clear and flagrant breach of planning policy'. Despite the excoriating judgement, Mrs Zielinski, 79, insisted to the Mail she and her husband had been unaware they were breaking the law. The GP's receptionist said: 'We want to carry on living here. It's a warm and comfortable home. I love it. 'It doesn't make sense to tear it down. I don't want to go and live in a caravan. If we are chucked out, we will be having to rely on the state. 'We would not have gone on and built this and put all our money into it unless we thought it was totally legal to do it.' Her husband, 73, a former marketing manager for The Injured Jockeys Fund who now does home deliveries for a pharmacy, added: 'I have not had a decent night's sleep in years and, from the moment when we got the first visit in 2020 [from council officials], life has been shaky… 'We have lost £1 million overnight as a result of this decision. If we could have a semen clinic on the site it would be worth at least £1 million.' Most neighbours supported the decision, however, with one saying: 'People should obey the rules. I don't have any sympathy because they shouldn't have changed the use.' Another commented: 'He's overstepped the mark. He's gone too far.' But David Hamper, 61, said: 'I genuinely feel sorry for him. He's flouted the rules to a certain extent and would admit to that but to have your neighbours saying 'pull it down' is a hard thing for him to see.' The horse-mad couple bought a house with an outbuilding and 17 acres of land for £100,000 in 1986. In 2014, they were given planning permission by South Cambridgeshire District Council for a countryside business with a reception area, office, kitchenette, laboratory space, staff changing room and toilet on the ground floor and two bedrooms with en suite bathrooms on the first floor. But planning inspector Chris Preston noted the property had a 'decidedly residential appearance', including a kitchen with island breakfast bar, domestic furnishings and appliances, a dining area, living room and home office. Upstairs were two bedrooms with a 'lounge equipped with sofa and television'. Contractors began work on the property in 2017 and Mr and Mrs Zielinski - who had three children, although one tragically died in 2021 after taking the Covid vaccine - sold their own house two years later, moving into a static home. The couple believe a jealous neighbour informed on them, leading to planning officers visiting their home and the July 2023 enforcement notice which ordered it to be razed to the ground. In the submission to the Planning Inspectorate, they claimed lockdown wrecked their business plans for the clinic and they were forced to turn the property into their home, while continuing to run their commercial interests in their grounds. The order to pull down the entire building was over the top and would leave them without a roof over their heads, they added. Mr Preston turned down their appeal, concluding it had been built as a house from the start, rather than converted from the approved lab and flat, and the couple had sold their own home and another plot of land with permission for a dwelling. He also noted there was 'very little evidence that the stallion semen collection and analysis business every got off the ground to any notable degree'. The only payment for laboratory fees was £44 for a horse named Dublin but there was 'no indication as to whether the analysis was carried out at the appeal site'. Mr Preston also considered the owners' claim to need somewhere to live but concluded: 'Given the clear and flagrant breach of planning policy and the associated harm arising, I find that interference with the human rights of the appellant and his wife would be proportionate in this case.' The Zielinskis, who have six grandchildren, are now taking legal advice to see if they can overturn the decision. Otherwise, the house must be demolished within 12 months. Mr Zielinski added: 'If we have broken the rules, we didn't know the full ramifications. 'We did not get any advice from the planners along the way. The first we knew something was wrong was in 2020. There was not much communication. Don't throw us out on the street.' His wife said: 'At least the building should be allowed to stand and revert back to what they expected it to be. 'There have been new housing estates going up all over the place in and around Abington. That's the daft thing – the fields around here where we used to ride have all been built up.' Cllr Dr Tumi Hawkins, the district council's lead cabinet member for planning, said he welcomed 'the inspector's clear decision'. He added: 'This case shows the importance of adhering to the specific uses and conditions that justify development in rural areas. 'Planning rules are there for a reason – including protecting our countryside and this decision demonstrates that we will act when those rules are broken.'
