More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
By Katie Heslop and Sean McPolin
A grandad has accused a council of going "over the top" after he was taken to court over a treehouse he built for his family, saying: "Anyone would think I had built the Taj Mahal."
Dean Geering, of Stansted, near Sevenoaks, has been hit with a hefty fine by magistrates and ordered to remove the structure after a four-year dispute with Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (TMBC).
KMTV's report on the treehouse
The Plaxdale Green Road resident, who is a plumber, built the wooden deck and staircase in his back garden with a neighbour.
He spent thousands on it – the timber alone was worth between £3,000 and £4,000 – envisioning it as a space for his two grandchildren to enjoy. He had planned to eventually add a slide and a zip wire.
The 50-year-old says he didn't realise he was doing anything wrong when he built it in 2017, which is five metres off the ground, due to unclear planning rules on the council's website.
Last week, Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court heard a complaint had been made about the treehouse by a nearby resident.
In September 2018 he was given an enforcement notice by TMBC which required him to take it down.
Mr Geering appealed against the notice to the Planning Inspectorate but was unsuccessful as it concluded it was "inappropriate on greenbelt land".
Following the ruling, he had six months to dismantle it.
When TMBC officers visited to check if he had complied, they found the structure was still up.
Mr Geering said he had started work to bring it down in March but was unable to complete it because of nesting birds and wild bats.
As a result, the council gave him more time.
"There was so much work that went into it, it was all hand made out of some crates with chainsaws."
However, multiple visits from the council between the end of October last year and March this year showed no progress had been made with dismantling it.
Mr Geering was then summonsed to appear at court last week where he pleaded guilty to breaching an enforcement notice.
Speaking after the hearing, he said he started building the treehouse while also overseeing the construction of a home for himself and his wife Jackie, 50, after they bought the plot which already had a house on it.
He said: "We wanted somewhere a little bit out of the way. Somewhere nice for the kids and where anyone would want to have a drink and just chill out.
"There was so much work that went into it, it was all hand made out of some crates with chainsaws."
Mr Geering says he went on the council's website to look at what could and couldn't be built without planning permission but there was no mention of treehouses.
It was not until council workers arrived to inspect the structure, which is constructed around a 500-year-old tree, that he was told it was defined as a 'platform'.
"One of them stood up on the top and said 'Oh, this is beautiful, you don't overlook anybody. Hopefully I can't see it being a problem.'
"I asked 'where would you build a treehouse if not in the countryside?'"
It transpired he needed planning permission due its height so he put in a retrospective application.
"It isn't intrusive in any way. If I had built a big glass dome over it I could understand it, but it's covered in foliage."
He also removed a gazebo from the treehouse, in an attempt to placate TMBC.
However, the application was rejected, as the council said the size and position of the structure would result in a "highly visible and intrusive feature within the landscape".
Mr Geering said: "It isn't intrusive in any way. If I had built a big glass dome over it I could understand it, but it's covered in foliage."
He added that the treehouse does not look into anyone's house and can be seen only from a public footpath if people are looking for it.
He says bat boxes will have to be taken down which had been attached to the structure and he has been advised by the Bat Conservation Society not to touch them while the bats were nesting. He said a peregrine falcon had also used the tree as a base for hunting.
The council wanted specialist reports on the wildlife but the RSPB and the Bat Conservation Society were unable to come out due to being short staffed during the pandemic, Mr Geering said.
He added: "I didn't think I was doing anything wrong. Once it's built it's built and I'm going to argue my case."
Speaking about the council ordering him to take it down, he said: "Anyone would think I had built the Taj Mahal. It's really over the top considering what other people build."
Explaining why he pleaded guilty, he said: "I had spent so much money with the appeal, I didn't know where else to go with it. Wherever I turned that was going to cost me money."
However, the family have never been able to enjoy the treehouse fully and Mr Geering is now resigned to taking the treehouse down.
He adds that a neighbour suggested starting a petition for Mr Geering to keep the treehouse, but said: "I think that ship has sailed."
Magistrates told him to pay a £500 fine which was reduced to £333 due to his early guilty plea and previous good character, as well as £400 in prosecution costs and a £33 victim surcharge.
A spokesperson for TMBC said: “Planning permission was refused in April 2018 due to the height, size and position of the tree house and an Enforcement Notice was served.
"The owner of the property used his right of appeal against the notice and the Planning Inspectorate dismissed that appeal meaning the notice was upheld and should have been complied with by May 2020.
"This did not happen so we were left with no choice but to take further action.
"It is important and only fair for others that we ensure effective planning enforcement takes place where breaches exist.
"We will be taking steps to ensure compliance with the notice without any further delay.”
