A company, led by retired architect Hekmat Kaveh, have been building residential properties on a site at 9, Culver Street, Newent. They have recently been told they must bulldoze the entire estate, following reports from the Forest of Dean District Council (FODDC) that the ‘development undertaken is fundamentally different when compared with the approved scheme.’

Kaveh’s company, Crystalight Ltd, had permission to build nine houses. When two more started to be erected on the parcel of land within the conservation area, authorities were alerted.

The Council received a complaint alleging that two dwellings had been constructed in addition to the nine which had been approved at appeal. Further to this, there were numerous areas of the development that were not consistent with the approved plan.

Several site inspections were carried out to clarify the full extent of the works on the site, which found that there were many discrepancies when compared with the original plans.

As well as alterations to fenestration, rooflights, road layout and parking arrangements, it was also found that the site had been significantly enlarged. A garage block had not been constructed and instead additional dwellings had been erected up to damp course level.

These works were confirmed by the construction contractor, at the time, to constitute two detached dwellings, and not the garage block as approved.

The planning committee was told that these changes along with spreading the estate onto neighbouring land had completely invalidated the planning permission for the site, which left demolition as the only viable enforcement.

It is considered that the development in its current form is out of keeping, and causes detrimental harm to the character of the area and the Newent Conservation Area.

A spokesperson for FODDC said: “Members voted to agree on the recommendation in the report to take enforcement action, and the formal notice of action has been served.”The recommended compliance deadline is 9 months from the date the Enforcement Notice takes effect. The Enforcement Notice could be appealed if it is held that the Council have acted unreasonably.See the full story in this week’s edition of the Ross Gazette, or subscribe to our online edition here