A Wiltshire couple have been ordered to demolish the four-bedroom home they have lived in with their disabled daughter for more than four years after a planning dispute over the property’s basement and decking.According to a report published by The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, Pim and Sheree de Witte built the hillside property at Little Orchard in Kingdown, between Corsham and Bath. The house, which replaced an earlier dwelling on the site, was completed and occupied in 2022.The couple are now appealing to the Planning Inspectorate after Wiltshire Council refused retrospective planning permission for the house as built. The appeal has put the enforcement notice requiring demolition on hold.
Couple say basement was needed for disabled daughter
The de Wittes were originally granted planning permission in 2019 for a replacement dwelling with ground and first-floor levels. However, the completed property included an additional basement level and a decking area.The couple say the basement was constructed as part of the foundations for engineering reasons and was not an arbitrary addition. They subsequently converted the space into residential accommodation for their disabled daughter.They argue that the property remains a replacement dwelling rather than a new-build home and maintain that the original planning permission was lawfully implemented.The couple have also argued that the need to provide suitable accommodation for their disabled daughter should be considered a “material consideration” in the planning decision.
Council says house breaches Green Belt policy
The property is located within the Green Belt, and Wiltshire Council has argued that the house as built is materially larger than the dwelling it replaced.A planning application submitted in 2024 seeking to regularise the changes was refused.The couple returned to the council in 2025 with another proposal. Under the revised plans, part of the basement floor area would have been sealed off and concealed by depositing soil around it. The size of the decking would also have been reduced.However, the council rejected the proposal, saying the dwelling remained materially larger than the one it replaced and conflicted with Green Belt policy.The council also said the application failed to demonstrate material considerations or special circumstances that could outweigh the harm identified.
Couple call council’s approach “harsh and punitive”
The de Wittes have criticised the council’s decision, describing its response as “unnecessarily harsh and punitive given the individual circumstances and merits of this case.”They have now taken their case to the Planning Inspectorate, which will consider whether the property can remain.The couple have also proposed alternative solutions if their appeal is dismissed, including reinstating the house to its previously approved form.
Demolition order put on hold
In February this year, the couple were ordered to demolish the property by the end of August. Their appeal has since put that enforcement action on hold while the planning inspector considers the case.The dispute centres on whether the additional basement and decking amount to a breach of the planning permission and whether the circumstances of the family, particularly the accommodation needs of their disabled daughter, provide sufficient grounds for the changes to be retained.A decision from the Planning Inspectorate is expected in the autumn.
