Decking must go as photos end row

A COUNCIL has won a dispute with a homeowner over garden decking by using photographs from estate agent websites as evidence.

- TWM OWEN

Homeowner Belinda Klugah Cavill had argued that the raised platform in her garden at Woolpitch Wood, Bayfield, Chepstow, was already in place when she purchased the property in 2023.

She claimed it had been installed by the previous owner in around 2004 or 2005. That would have made the decking exempt from enforcement action due to its longevity because, if that were true, it would have been in place well over the decade-long threshold.

It would have been able to remain as it was despite it being higher than 30cm above the ground, meaning it would have originally required planning permission, which was never sought.

But officials at Monmouthshire County Council found photos on estate agents’ websites, including Rightmove, showing differences in the decking between when the property was advertised in June 2023, and when it was listed in February 2013.