Our neighbor has built a “dystopian castle” so high that it towers over the seaside houses – we are forcing him to demolish the top floor
FURIOUS neighbours have forced the owner of a “dystopian castle” to demolish the top floor because it allegedly towers over their seaside homes.
West End showman Adam Spiegel has agreed to downsize his modernist Norfolk home after a decade-long planning dispute.
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Spiegel was given £2.5 million to build the three-storey building, but soon came under fire from planning authorities.
The house is called Arcady, which means “rustic paradise,” but villagers compared it to a “dystopian fortress.”
They claimed the building was larger than planned and in 2019 ordered Spiegel to demolish it.
He submitted a revised planning application, but it was rejected. His appeal was later rejected by state inspectors.
In January, Spiegel submitted a new proposal to demolish the building’s top floor and replace it with a traditional gable roof.
The proposal was opposed by 19 villagers, but councillors finally approved it in April.
This week, builders were seen removing the top floor of a modernist house in the coastal village of Cley.
The new roof will actually be higher at its ridge than the top floor, but will be more like the neighbors’ chocolate box cottages.
A neighbour previously said: “I don’t like it, it’s too big – it just doesn’t fit in with the rest of the village.”
“We call it the Travelodge hotel because it’s so big and everything is lit up at night so it looks like every window is lit up.”
Other neighbors said the apartment “didn’t fit” into the village, which consists mainly of picturesque flint houses.
Spiegel made his fortune producing West End blockbusters such as The Mousetrap and Hairspray.
He has declined to comment on the dispute, which began when he applied to demolish an existing bungalow on the site in 2012.
What is a subsequent building permit?
SOMETIMES a homeowner makes changes to his property without obtaining building permits.
A subsequent application for a building permit is permissible.
Anyone who builds a structure can subsequently apply for a permit.
The municipality may require residents to subsequently apply for a building permit for work that has already been completed and for which a building permit is required.
This usually happens when someone complains to the local council about the new works.
The same considerations apply and permission will only be granted if deemed appropriate by the local authority.
Subsequent building applications are not automatically approved; about one in five are rejected.
If the application is denied, the homeowner may have to demolish everything he has built.
However, if it is approved, the subsequent building permit is just as valid and legal as a permit granted before construction began.
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