White stuff founder's built wrong stuff

South Hams tennis court will have to go

The founder of the White Stuff fashion and lifestyle brand will be told to tear down a building, skate park and tennis court he built without permission in a Devon beauty spot.

Millionaire fashion boss Sean Thomas built a two-storey double garage on farmland behind his house at Gerston Point in the South Hams, in the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and alongside the Salcombe to Kingsbridge Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Mr Thomas and his wife subsequently acquired an adjoining strip of agricultural land and on that, built a tennis court, skate park and garage without planning permission.

After complaints from residents, an initial retrospective planning application for the unauthorised additions to the house was refused in 2019.

In April 2020, Mr Thomas submitted new plans; this time with the new planting of more than 1,000 native trees to ensure there will be a ‘clear net biodiversity’ gain. But last week, South Hams District Council planners once again refused the scheme.

They said that the development still represents an unwelcome and incongruous intrusion into an undeveloped countryside location and the development fails to conserve and enhance the natural beauty and special qualities of the South Devon AONB.

As a result, they have passed the application over to the enforcement team to commence formal enforcement action and serve notice with regards to returning the land to its former condition, including the removal of the building and engineering operations undertaken to provide a tennis court and skate ramp facility

Refusing the plans, the officer report said: “While the loss of a small amount of agricultural land is not considered to be significantly detrimental, the development is considered to represent incongruous development in a highly sensitive area of the open countryside that lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is part of the Undeveloped Coast.

“The development has a detrimental impact upon the surrounding landscape and has introduced inappropriate built form within this highly sensitive rural and estuary location, resulting in adverse impacts to the natural beauty, special qualities, distinctive character, landscape and scenic beauty of the South Devon AONB.

“It is recognised the landscaping proposed represents a substantive improvement upon the previous application, however, no means of securing it have been put forward given it involves land not owned by the applicant, although if it had, this wold not outweigh the harm.

“The application fails to demonstrate exceptional circumstances that would allow for overriding the clear and strong policy conflicts and should once again be refused.”

Mr Thomas will have up to six months to file an appeal against the decision, but enforcement action to require the returning the land of the two storey carport/storage building, the tennis court and skate ramp/bowl to its former condition is set to begin.