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'Hobbit home' loses Pembrokeshire demolition vote 'Hobbit home' loses Pembrokeshire demolition vote
(about 2 hours later)
An eco-friendly "hobbit-style" home faces demolition after being refused retrospective planning permission by Pembrokeshire council. An eco-friendly "hobbit-style" home faces demolition after its owner's bid for retrospective planning permission was rejected.
Megan Williams and Charlie Hague built the house using local materials in the garden of her parents' home on land at Glandwr near Crymych in 2012.Megan Williams and Charlie Hague built the house using local materials in the garden of her parents' home on land at Glandwr near Crymych in 2012.
More than 100,000 people had signed an online petition supporting the couple.More than 100,000 people had signed an online petition supporting the couple.
They lost an appeal against a 2013 demolition order and on Tuesday councillors refused to save the house. On Tuesday Pembrokeshire councillors refused to save the house. The couple have six months to lodge an appeal.
Pembrokeshire council officials had recommended refusal, for breaking rules for developing homes in the countryside. Sculptor Mr Hague and Ms Williams argued that the straw-walled roundhouse, which took a year to build, has a low impact on the environment.
Last week planners visited the house before making their final decision.
Sculptor Mr Hague and Ms Williams argue that the straw-walled roundhouse, which took a year to build, has a low impact on the environment.
They lived in a caravan for four years, before moving into the new home just before their son was born.They lived in a caravan for four years, before moving into the new home just before their son was born.
The couple had asked the council to reconsider the issue. Megan Williams said she and her partner wanted to live "an older and simpler way of life".
Nine of the planning committee members voted to refuse the planning request, while four voted in favour of allowing the application. But they had not applied for planning permission at the time and faced calls from the council to demolish the house.
Megan Williams told the committee she and her partner wanted to live "an older and simpler way of life". The couple asked the council to reconsider the issue after losing an appeal against a demolition order in 2013.
Crymych councillor Keith Lewis prompted applause from the public at the meeting when he said there were no local objections to the house and the couple were "ahead of the game in many ways". But officials said the couple had broken rules about developing homes in the countryside and recommended councillors refused their second appeal.
Crymych councillor Keith Lewis prompted applause from the public at the meeting on Tuesday when he said there were no local objections to the house and the couple were "ahead of the game in many ways".
But planning officer David Popplewell said the property fell short of the guidance in the Welsh government's One Planet Development (OPD) policy.But planning officer David Popplewell said the property fell short of the guidance in the Welsh government's One Planet Development (OPD) policy.
Nine of the planning committee members voted to refuse the planning request, while four voted in favour of allowing the application.
In a statement, Pembrokeshire council said it had originally issued an enforcement notice against the roundhouse in December 2012.
It said: "An appeal against this decision was refused by a Welsh government planning inspector last July.
"The inspector said the benefits of the development did not outweigh the harm to the character and appearance of the countryside."
It said the committee members voted to refuse the retrospective application for the house as it was "an unjustified development in open countryside contrary to planning policies".