Stephen Price spent £5,000 building a driveway to help his disabled wife navigate to their home in Hengoed, Wales. The 65-year-old plumber faces a devastating blow after Caerphilly County Council ordered him to tear down the nearly completed project.
Kim Price, 67, suffers from heart failure, achalasia, arthritis, anaemia, and fibromyalgia. The couple typically parks on another road due to space shortages, creating significant mobility challenges for Mrs Price.
Planning rejection
Council planning committee members rejected Price's retrospective application by eight votes to four with two abstentions. A planning official urged rejection, warning that removing the elevated front garden would clash with the "distinctive character of the area".
The officer also cautioned that other homeowners might follow suit if approval was granted. Price began transforming his front garden around 10 weeks ago and was nearing completion when council officers halted the work.
Financial devastation
Price now faces removal costs of approximately £13,000 to restore his property. He told councillors: "To put it all back - we haven't got the money to do it anyway."
The couple saved for years to afford the driveway construction. Price had hired a digger and spent weeks excavating part of his property before council officers intervened.
Council confusion
Price claims the council failed to warn him about planning permission requirements when he installed a dropped kerb 15 to 20 years ago. He paid roughly £500 in today's money for the kerb installation.
Price said: "I told the council I wanted a drive and they said I'd need a dropped kerb so I paid them what would be about £500 in today's money to put one in. I can't understand how the highways department didn't speak to the planning department at the time. Nothing was said about any restrictions on using it."
When questioned about the gap between installing the kerb and building the driveway, Price explained: "We weren't really desperate for a drive then. It was more of a want at that point but now we are desperate with my wife's health and the parking issue getting worse. We saved up to do it."
Councillor sympathy
Several councillors expressed sympathy during the planning meeting. Councillor Nigel Dix urged colleagues to "show a bit of compassion" and overrule the officer's recommendation, saying: "I think in this case we should allow the residents to have their parking bay."
Councillor Shane Williams said he "sympathised" with the applicant's case but "if every homeowner decided to do this that would totally undermine" the street. Councillor Mansell Powell called the case "a bit untidy" with Price "caught in the middle" of planning rules.
Appeal plans
Committee chairman Roy Saralis told Price he had a "tremendous amount of sympathy" for him and confirmed his right to appeal the decision. He added: "Obviously it's a sad situation but planning is planning."
Price plans to appeal on grounds that the council is discriminating against his street. He argues that around 20 other houses on the estate have driveways, while few homes on his specific road do.
Sources used: "Mirror", "Manchester Evening News" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
