A couple has been told to demolish their £1m home after they lied to the council and said it was going to be a “horse semen laboratory”.
Jeremy Zielinski and his wife Elaine were given permission to build a “stallion semen centre” with a small upstairs flat in 2014 in Great Abington, Cambridgeshire.
But Mr and Mrs Zielinski built a “typical home from the off” equipped with an island breakfast bar, TVs, sofas and bedrooms, the planning inspectorate ruled.
The two-storey building was set to have a reception, office, kitchenette, lecture laboratory, processing laboratory and staff changing room on the ground floor.
Despite the property looking the same as the plans, the inside was very different, with “little evidence” that the couple’s “stallion semen business” ever got going.
Inspector Chris Peston said that the couple had sold their original house on the site and moved into this new home, called Valentine Stables.
South Cambridgeshire District Council told the pair to knock the home down in July 2023, but they appealed the decision. The planning inspectorate ruled in favour of the council and said demolition was proportionate.
The council said the case showed the importance of “adhering to the specific uses and conditions that justify development in rural areas” to protect the countryside.
Mr Peston said: “No laboratory has been installed, no research or stored equipment associated with the business is apparent, either on the photographs from 2022 or at the time of my visit.
“Upstairs, where the staff accommodation was intended to be, there are two bedrooms, in the locations shown on the approved plans, and a living area/lounge equipped with a sofa and television.
“However, no kitchen appears to have been constructed on the upper floor. In other words, the living space is clearly spread over the two floors, as would be the case in a typical house.”
Mr Zielinski claimed the businesses never got started due to the Covid pandemic. However, Mr Peston found only one £44 transaction for “laboratory fees” for a horse named Dublin.
He said there was no proof the analysis was carried out at the Cambridgeshire home and said it was unlikely it ever was due to the absence of testing facilities.
Cllr Dr Tumi Hawkins, the lead cabinet member for planning at South Cambridgeshire district council, said: “We welcome the inspector’s clear decision, which supports our commitment to upholding planning policies in our local plan and the neighbourhood plan designed to protect our countryside.”
The house must be knocked down, and all waste material removed, by 6 May next year.
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