Norfolk's most extraordinary - and expensive - planning row has come to a spectacular end after 12 years with the owner of a £2.5m mansion agreeing to demolish its top floor.
London theatre impresario Adam Spiegel has been embroiled in the epic wrangle with officials over his controversial property, Arcady, in the picturesque seaside village of Cley.
The overbearing modernist home has provoked enough drama to rival the excitement of Mr Spiegel's West End Shows, drawing the ire of locals, who describe it as a "dystopian fortress", as well as North Norfolk District Council, as it breached planning rules.
But the curtain has finally come down on the saga, which property experts estimate will have cost at least £4m, after councillors approved the producer's latest application this week.
Under the plans, he will have to remove the upstairs floor of the home and replace it with another, with a pitched roof.
BATTLE OF 'CLEY CASTLE' COMMENCES
Mr Spiegel, whose theatre company produces the world's longest-running play - Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, and his wife Gay have been locked in a dispute with North Norfolk District Council since 2012.
That year they lodged their first application to knock down the small existing bungalow in Holt Road to make way for their grand design.
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The plot sits within the Cley conservation area and is close to the Grade I Listed St Margaret's Church, considered one of the finest in the county.
The application was rejected by NNDC the following year after planning officials decided it was an inappropriate design for its surroundings.
Mr Spiegel then lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate - the government body that presides over planning disputes.
After assessing the proposals, the inspector decided to overturn the council's decision and the development was allowed to take place.
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FORTRESS FOLLY
Building work began on the project in 2016, which was to become the principal home of the Spiegels and their children.
However, the next year builders were told to down tools by the council after it was found the property was not being built to the approved plans.
The authority said it was built too high, which included the ground level being built up, and Mr Spiegel was told he would have to make a new application due to the inconsistencies.
But construction work continued and no new application was made to the council.
The structure caused uproar among villagers in the coastal community.
People complained it was "lit up like a Christmas tree" at night while others blasted its modern design as "dystopian" and resembling a medieval castle.
It led NNDC to issue an enforcement notice, telling the owners to demolish all the buildings on the site and provoked anger among locals.
This included an annexe and swimming pool as well as the main house.
APPEAL AFTER APPEAL
The issuing of the enforcement notice ramped up the legal tussle between the Spiegels and the council.
An appeal was made against the demolition order and a fresh application was lodged with NNDC that attempted to overcome the row by having the existing design approved.
It led to accusations the homeowner was attempting to "rewrite history" but it was refused by the council, spurring Mr Spiegel to appeal again.
Ultimately his efforts flopped and the appeals were refused by the Planning Inspectorate, who gave a deadline of October 2024 for the buildings to be demolished.
Although there was a small victory for Mr Spiegel, as he was allowed to keep the annexe and swimming pool.
THE FINAL ACT: RAZING THE ROOF
The 12-year saga came to a head this week when NNDC councillors met to debate the Spiegels' latest construction bid.
In January this year, Mr Spiegel lodged a new application with NNDC, which proposed the demolition of the second floor of the three-storey property for it to then be rebuilt.
The new designs got rid of the flat roof and replaced it with a pitched design which aimed to be more in-keeping with the character of the more traditional properties surrounding it.
However, while giving the property a softer profile, the new structure will in fact end up taller than the existing building at the apex of the roof.
Ian Scholfield, agent for the applicant, argued the redesign had been a collaborative and inclusive process and had been created following a public consultation event in the village, which helped direct the new approach.
A GRAND REDESIGN?
The new proposals continued to divide the village.
At a planning committee meeting, neighbour Jane Platt spoke on behalf of the 19 other objectors in the village who reiterated complaints that it would be too overbearing and have a "detrimental impact" on the church and conservation area.
She said the developer had taken a "jazz hands" approach to rebuilding plans and complained that it would be taller than how it is now.
She railed against the "unlawful" building up of land levels by the developer, arguing the ground floor was at bedroom height of neighbouring homes.
Despite the uproar, there were more people in favour - 30 letters of support were sent to NNDC.
Yet this was dismissed by Ms Platt, who highlighted that of the people living in nine properties in Newgate Green, six households had objected.
"If this was a popularity contest, well done," she said.
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Councillors voiced concerns about the project and struggled to consider the proposal in its own right, considering the history.
Councillor Peter Fisher described it as a "strange edifice" and resigned himself to the fact that the new design was "probably the best we are going to get".
It was ultimately approved by 12 votes for, one against and one abstention subject to a number of conditions.
This included a rule that removed permitted development rights, which means the Spiegels have been banned from making any extensions or improvements to the property without getting planning permission first.
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Mr Spiegel declined to comment.
A COSTLY SAGA
While the exact details of the costs involved have not been revealed, the debacle has likely cost the Spiegels millions.
According to a property expert based on the north Norfolk coast, the original bungalow and land was bought for £750,000.
They said that a building on this scale and to this specification would have cost at least £1.8m to build.
The cost of the demolition and rebuild will add substantially more to the overall bill of the project and inflation has likely increased the cost of building materials.
Combined with the legal fees and architect costs accrued during the 12-year wrangle, it is estimated the total cost would be in the region of £4m.
The property expert believes the market value of the site would be about £2.5m following the successful rebuild.
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