Sculptor Charlie Hague and his partner Megan Williams could see their eco-home in Glandwr, Pembrokeshire being knocked down, after failing to apply for planning permission.

The couple, who built the home on land owned by his father, are at the centre of a planning battle with the Pembrokeshire County Council.

The eco-home, which cost £15,000 to build, has a grass roof and lime plastered straw bales for walls. The framework is made of branches and trees.

The couple planned on living in the home with their newborn son.

Mr Hague said: "On the smallholding we have a small woodland, from which we were able to harvest all the timber we required for the building. I was apprehensive to start the build, as I'd never done anything like this before and didn’t really know where to begin, but with the persuasion of my old friend to 'just start' and his ability to do just about anything, the site was cleared and the initial structure was raised. I had considered a few different designs for the house but when it came to it, it sort of designed itself. Using timber straight from the tree is an organic process, not really lending itself to straight lines, or too much pre planning. I was influenced by Simon Dale's house at Lammas, and he gave me good advice, but much of the building was trial and error. Our budget was small and we wanted to use recycled and locally sourced materials as far as possible. It was important to us to make the house as energy efficient as we could, and to use natural materials when we could. There are many potentially carcinogenic materials used in conventional buildings, and we wanted to avoid using these.


"With the birth of our baby in July 2012 we moved into the house and put in an application for planning as ancillary to the main house. We were told this was invalid and two weeks before Christmas received an enforcement order telling us to demolish the house. We have now appealed against this and put in a fresh application for a stand alone dwelling."

Pembrokeshire County Council issued the following statement: "An enforcement notice has been served on this property as it is alleged that an unauthorised dwelling has been built in open countryside without planning permission. It is currently the subject of an enforcement appeal."

(CD)