British Farmer's Secret Castle to be Destroyed

A castle was secretly built on a man's farm and hidden behind bales of straw and tarpaulin to keep it from being discovered by planning authorities.

Robert Fidler finished building his dream castle in 2002, but kept it well hidden from the town planning council as he knew they would not have given him permission to build it. He, his wife and son lived in the hidden castle for four years until he exposed its existence in hopes of taking advantage of a loophole in the law. Planning legislation claims if a property has been complete for a four year period it cannot be removed by council. Mike Miller, a chief planner with the Reigate and Banstead Borough Council said,

"This was a blatant attempt at deception to circumvent the planning process, which particularly in the Green Belt is an important part of trying to protect the environment we live in."

The High Court ruled in favor of council and ordered Fidler to completely remove the castle and return his property to its original state. He has one year to comply. Fidler's lawyer said they will now go to the British Court of Appeal, and if necessary to the European courts to appeal even further. The issues of planning law dealing with a substantially completed property will need to be addressed in the ongoing court battle.