And finally…

A couple who tried to rely on a legal loophole which allows a property to evade planning permission if it has been lived in for more than four years are facing eviction, after the High Court called their scheme a ‘fraud’. The couple were granted planning permission to build a barn for agricultural use, but transformed the interior into a three-bedroom house with a gym, and applied for a certificate of lawfulness that would make their home legal after four years. The High Court’s decision overturned an earlier decision by the government planning inspector which ruled the couple were entitled to stay in the property. They plan on appealing.