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.
6 comments:
Hi ya,
Just wandered by today, and saw the these lovely cottages . I cant believe what is happening. What a travesty.
I'd like to be able to help, but alas.... The morons appear to be in control. Good luck with your fight, and remember.
"It aint over till the fat lady sings!"
what is going!! on we on the island are supposed to keep as much history as we can as it is interesting to people who visit us as well as keeping our heritage its not as though there are a blot on the landscape as they have been there before there was such a thing as planning. who in their right mind think that they should go, even if used as living accomodation i cannot see as they would interfere with anyone unless they just want to cause a problem or have friends in high places
Hello Sabrie,
I passed by CB yesterday afternoon whilst surveying footpaths for the council ( voluntarily - unpaid)and noticed that there is an area lower down that has been cleared and graded;does this mean that you have capitulated and are in process of erecting alternative accomodation for your sheep paraphernalia?
I suggest you do not demolish but get the papers/ITV/BBC involved and kick up a right stink in the media.That's a sure way to embarass the council.I thought we were a tory council these days and that conservation was the order of the day.
Thereagain it may be that the council doesn't want a precedent set that would allow some rich city banker to knock it down and erect a 6 bedroom mansion with swimming pool and tarmac road with electronic gates etc etc.
Hope you weren't responsible for all the Couthy Butts Farm notices regarding walkers ,dogs and sheep - posted everywhere;anybody would think it was an area visited by idiots who would even think of letting their dogs off the lead in fields with sheep in.As a townie that loves to walk unhindered amongst the Island RoWs I get thoroughly peeved with notices like this - we are not all daft and those that are wouldn't take any notice of the notice anyway.
Good luck with your fight with bureuacracy - long may the cottages survive...........as they are lovely.
I am glad I managed to get some photos of them.
I know nothing about planning permission and little about the local politics. But I do know that demolition of our heritage is always regretted sooner or later. This time we won't be able to blame faceless bureaucrats. We can have our say.
I hope people have seen in the County Press that we have an opportunity on Easter Monday to go along to Couthy Butts and talk to Brian and Sabrie about what they want to do there.
Let's hope people will take this opportunity to inform themselves further.
We live on the mainland but love the island with a passion. Don't let this valuable asset to the Islands history be lost. Once refurbished it would make an ideal heritage centre for the agricultural history of the island, the Romans have their site at Brading, the Victorians theirs at Osborne, but not much for the important agricultural past.
Have you contacted the BBC's restoration team?
Do not let there be a repeat of the Mornington shambles at Cowes.
Having walked up to these cottages on Sunday and having read the depressing catalogue of events on the Planning Application site I can only say I am amazed at their attitude. I will certainly be writing a letter of support for this application as I cannot see that it is 'detracting'. I do feel that if all the support offered in your previous applications has not achieved the desired result my one small voice will probably be drowned out but I will have at least tried.
Have you contacted the Isle of Wight Society?
Good luck .. bon chance ..and anything else you can think of!
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