Georgian Cottages
Hi, my name is Sabrie Harvey, I live at Sunnyside Farm, Godshill, Isle of Wight and I want to tell you a story.
Once upon a time the Harvey family owned a farm called Downcourt and on that farm we had a couple of old derelict cottages, now known as Couthy Butts.
Around 2000/01 the Health and Safety executive said 'Make the cottages safe or someone will sue and we will support them even though they would be tresspassing'.
So as good law abiding citizens of the Isle of Wight, 'we did'.
We cut down the ivy growing over the walls, rebuilt the portion which fell down in the process and put a rusty corrogated iron roof on (the old chicken shed came in very handy for this), boarded the windows and doors up with old door and window frames, surprising what you can find on a farm!!!
Feeling very proud of ourselves we walked away, content that we had made it safe and were preserving these 200 year old cottages..ah bliss.
STOP!!! you can't do that cried the local Council, you're building with a view to residential use???
eh! what! sorry, but we were told by the Health and Safety executive that we had to make it safe.....
Oh, that's all right then, said the planning officer.
A few months passed, we decided to put the farm on the market (bo-hoo) never mind said my husband, we'll be better off at Sunnyside.
The farm was split into 4 lots.
Lots 1,2, and 3 went relativly quickly and although we had a couple interested in Couthy Butts, before anything was finalised the Council cried......
"NO, you can't leave it like that, you must do something with it, you'll have to put in a planning application".
Oh, dear me, we thought what shall we do with it, I know said my husband, we'll use it as a general store....storing sheep wire, fences, post and railings etc and..(wait for it).........a few chemicals!.!.!.and as a sick bay when a sheep becomes poorly.
ahh!! cried the neighbours, we don't want chemicals stored around here, we'll have to object, and they did.
The Council said.. no we don't want a building there, it's a blot in the landscape, it was built without permission, you've built an extension, it'll have to come down and the stone removed from site (so there).
What, you want us to knock down the VERY LAST REMAINING PAIR OF GORGEION COTTAGES ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT!!!!!.
Yes, they said, and remove the stone from site.
Oh dear, what shall we do I said to my husband, it seems a shame to demolish our Islands History, I know...we'll talk to the CPRE (Campaign for the Protection of Rural Endland) and the CLA (Country Landowners Association) and the Kitbridge Trust and the English Heritage and the National Trust and uncle tom cobly and all.
CPRE, CLA, Kitbridge Trust and uncle tom cobly and all, supported us and set about writing to the Council with letters of support stating various reasons to keep the cottages.
Hurray I cried, they must listen to the professional bodies and re-consider...but no, alas they are adament, the cottages must be pulled down, but we need a shed to store things in we said, you can build another one over there said the planners!
But I don't want another one I said, it'll be big and ugle and not pretty like what is there....
Never mind said my husband, we'll go to appeal....
But, at the appeal hearing ( hearing no less) what the protesters claimed was.... (don't get me started) sorry folks, I'd rather not say here want went on at the hearing, but, surfice it to say we lost, the island lost, the future generations lost, (did you know that a family with 10 children lived in one of the cottages not so very long ago, one of the children died only last year and her children still live in the area to this day), the historians the lovers of the counrty side lost, but, the Council and neighbours won.
Hurray said the one's that objected, bo hoo, said the one's that supported.
The moral of the story is.
If the council tells you that you must do something with anything....don't do it, don't listen save your time and effort for something else, because they'll do a U-turn and you'll be left speechless.
The end.
This is a lighthearted look at what happened, but all joking apart, if you would like to know what happened in more detail please do get in touch either on 01983 840283 or e.mail sunnyside@talktalk.net.
More importantly if you agree that these two cottages should be allowed to live, then get in touch with your local Councillors, MP, write to the planning section, County Press etc anything you can think off to help will be gratefully appreciated.
