"Hay Bale Castle" developer to demolish house or face jail
After seven years of battling, it looks as if the case of the "hidden castle" has now finally been resolved.
Mr Fidler was given a three month suspended jail sentence, by Mr Justice Dove, yesterday afternoon. The High Court making it absolutely clear that he would be imprisoned if the house had not been demolished by 6 June 2016.
Whilst imprisonment is a very rare punishment for breaches of planning control, the facts of this particular case are somewhat exceptional. Mr Fidler built the property in the green belt - without planning permission - in 2000. He hid the property for four years behind a large stack of hay bales (pictured), only removing them when he believed the house would be immune from enforcement.
Mr Fidler and Reigate and Banstead Council, who are the local planning authority for the area, have been in a pitched battle over the fate of the property ever since.
For those interested in the facts of the case, a brief chronology can be found here: http://property.thomaseggar.com/post/102cziv/is-the-hay-bale-castle-saga-finally-coming-to-an-end
Mr Justice Dove said Mr Fidler would be jailed for three months for his "intentional defiance" unless he complied with the order by 6 June.
A spokeswoman for Reigate and Banstead Borough Council said: "This is a situation of Mr Fidler's own making. He has had plenty of opportunity to comply with the outstanding enforcement notices.
"Mr Fidler can be in no doubt that the judge's expectation is for the house to be demolished and all the enforcement notices be complied with in their entirety before 6 June 2016."”
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