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A FARMER who was ordered to demolish his house has vowed to take his case all the way to the House of Lords.

Robert Fidler was told by the Planning Inspectorate to tear down his castle-style home at Honeycrock Farm, Salfords. He secretly built the house without planning permission in 2001, concealing it behind hay bales for five years.

He hoped to take advantage of a legal loophole which allows developments to remain if there are no objections within four years.

He said: "The whole case is nothing to do with planning permission. The question is, has it been there for four years, substantially complete? And it has.

"For some reason the inspector said the house was not substantially complete and the only reason he found to support his decision was that the building was behind hay bales.

"This is my family home. It is the only house I have got. It is all perfectly legal. They are trying to say that because of a few bales of straw it's not legal. It needs to go to a judge."

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council served 12 enforcement notices on the property last year. Mr Fidler has already been successful in fighting two appeals in the High Court to allow him to keep a barn conversion which he rents as industrial units.

He said: "One of the main appeals was for the industrial uses on the farm, which we took to the High Court and won. They provide our income so we are quite pleased about that.

"I can only be confident that I will succeed. I am a farmer and farming is finished in this country. The Government is telling us to diversify so our buildings are used as industrial units and others we use ourselves. We won on all of that because we took it to the High Court and the house will have to go the same way. I've got no idea how long it will take - perhaps a year.

"You go the High Court on a point of law and the point of law is the stack of bales. Then there's the Court of Appeal and if the court still supports it then it will go to he House of Lords.

"I have a moral responsibility to my family and to myself that this is heard by people who will uphold the law."

Mr Fidler bought Honeycrock Farm in 1985 but two cottages adjoining the farm had been sold by the previous owner.

He said: "That left me with a farm and no house and back then we had 600 to 700 acres. We had an old cow shed so in 1998 we asked the council if we could turn that into a house but they never responded. I applied for non determination but was told I should have done it within six months.

"By that time I had got to the point where I felt they were making an idiot out of me. I had a farm building that I put two rooms inside and a kitchen, a bathroom and a toilet but when you have got a child you can't live in two rooms. I live here with my wife and child. He is seven and has lived here since his first birthday."

See: Haystack "castle" must be pulled down

11:04am Saturday 10th May 2008

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