Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan have won another planning battle to build their dream family home, following opposition from local councils.
The couple had already been granted permission to demolish a £1.3 million farmhouse and construct a five-bedroom house in Ongar, Essex, complete with bar, gym and outdoor swimming pool.
Last month, they submitted a new application to make the proposed house bigger, bringing objections from Epping Forest District Council and Stanford Rivers Parish Council, who said the original plans were already pushing planning laws to the limit.
Big win! Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan have won another planning battle to build their dream family home, following opposition from local councils. Pictured in 2018
However, the district council’s planning department gave the green light on Wednesday and have set very generous working hours, allowing construction from 7.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 6pm on Saturday.
They’ve also been allowed to install an electric charging point on the estate, which wasn’t in the original plans.
Despite the good news, the couple still face another hurdle, as they’re required to produce a plan for removing their sewage waste, a flood risk assessment and monitor the impact on bird nesting season from March to August.
Previously, the parish council stated their disapproval to these plans, writing: ‘At the time of the original applications, the Parish Council considers the impact the proposed new dwelling would have on the green belt…
Smashed it! The couple had already been granted permission to demolish the farmhouse and construct a five-bedroom house in Ongar, Essex (Mark pictured demolishing the property)
‘[A]nd whilst it was felt that the dwelling itself would represent a much grander and greater dwelling than the original dwelling, the demolition of the associated cart lodge was also taken into account.
‘For these reasons, the council did not object to the application, albeit some concern was raised that the property was perhaps rather large and potentially out of keeping with the rural setting.
’This new amended application further increases the size of the dwelling, and the Parish Council feels that these proposed changes increase the size of the dwelling over the original dwelling size to such a degree that it would for reasons of its bulk and size, now represent an unacceptable increase and as such have a detrimental impact on the green belt.’
Luxury additions: They’ve also been allowed to install an electric charging point on the estate, which wasn’t in the original plans
The TV personalities have also been forced to withdraw plans to turn their home into ‘a fortress’ after local council complaints.
Former TOWIE star Mark and Our Girl actress Michelle wanted to make the estate more secure by surrounding it with a ‘rendered wall’ around two metres high.
The district council branded the plans ‘inappropriate’, claiming they’re not in keeping with the tone of the ‘rural area’ and they would have to cut down trees to make way for the wall.
It added: ‘Whilst we accept that the existing conifer screen could be considered to be incongruous within this setting, to replace it with a 2.1 metre high rendered wall would be totally out of keeping, and fail to enhance the rural landscape setting.
More plans: Former TOWIE star Mark and Our Girl actress Michelle wanted to make the estate more secure by surrounding it with a ‘rendered wall’ around two metres high(pictured in 2019)
‘None of the other properties on this lane have such inappropriate boundary treatments.’
The parish council complained again, stating: ‘The design of the high walls, together with the pillars and the gates, are out of keeping with the rural setting, and would detract from the rural nature of this particular area of the Parish.’
The couple bought the home for £1.3 million in October 2019 and it was revealed in January 2020 that they planned to rip it down to create the lavish new house with ‘classical design’.
It comes after Mark recently shared an unseen home video of himself demolishing the property over the summer in order to start building their dream home.
Lavish: They bought the home for £1.3 million in October 2019 and it was revealed in January 2020 that they planned to rip it down to create the lavish new house with ‘classical design’