A couple claim they have been forced to sell their ‘dream’ seaside home because of a council’s bid to boost local tourism.
Ann and Stephen Frew, aged 68 and 70, were diagnosed with cancer and Parkinson’s disease and bought the five-bedroom property in Great Yarmouth with the intention of moving in extended family as caretakers.
But after spending £40,000 on renovations to make the home accessible to them, the pair’s ‘dream’ turned into a ‘living nightmare’ when they received an enforcement notice from the council – saying they didn’t have permission to use the building.
The note stated the property’s inclusion in the borough’s GY6 policy, preventing the change-of-use from tourist accommodation to private residence in a bid to protect the local tourism-driven economy.
The building had previously functioned as the Merivon Guesthouse.
Mr and Mrs Frew submitted a retrospective planning application to alter the building’s purpose to residential, but it was allegedly refused by the council due to an ‘unjustified’ loss of tourism supply.
The couple’s appeal to the planning inspectorate was also refused for the same reason, and the property has been put on sale for £250,000 as a business venture.
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Speaking to the Eastern Daily Press, Mrs Frew said: ‘We were completely blindsided. The enforcement notice threw our world and what we wanted to do completely.’
Now forced to sell up, the elderly woman said: ‘We’re in absolute limbo.
‘We’re sitting on a £250,000 house which in reality is our lifetime’s work combined and it’s worthless.’
She added: ‘It’s worthless because somebody will have to come in and buy it as a business at £250,000 and that’s not going to happen.’
The couple claimed that during the conveyancing process, the solicitors went through everything but the searches did not mention planning restrictions.
However, one neighbour allegedly claimed to the council that the pair were aware of the house’s history as they ‘had to remove all its furniture and contents before moving in’.
A spokesperson for Great Yarmouth Borough Council said: ‘The council empathises with the situation in which Mr and Mrs Frew find themselves.
‘However, the policy approach set out in Policy GY6 of the council’s Local Plan of protecting tourist accommodation from change of use to non-tourist uses has been in place for some time and is designed to be an effective way to protect the vital tourism trade for the local economy.’
Tourism delivers £648million to the area every year and provides nearly a quarter of all jobs, according to the local authority.