A hotelier who spent £55,000 building his own canal and a ‘giant cupcake’ wedding venue in his garden says he faces having to rip them down – after falling foul of planning laws. Stephen Cuddy, 59, made headlines after building his own mini-canal system with a functioning lock and a narrowboat, which he converted into a swimming pool.
His next wacky project involved constructing a cupcake-shaped wedding venue within the grounds of Grimscote Manor Hotel in Coleshill, Warwickshire. Both creations were hailed by TV’s George Clarke as being among the best ‘Amazing Spaces’ he had ever featured on the Channel 4 show. But it has now emerged that Stephen didn’t have council approval to build either, and he has been warned they may have to be torn down if he doesn’t get retrospective planning permission.
Stephen fears will have no choice but to demolish his labours of love as he can’t afford the legal fees to fight the local authority.
The self-taught architect said: “Its’ really stressing me out and I don’t know what to do as I don’t have the money to fight them.
“I had issues from the start with the council, but I thought I could build these things as a result of my permitted development rights.
“I don’t agree the canal is a structure, I thought it would be classed under landscaping and all it does is harvest rainfall.
“You try and create all these beautiful things for people to enjoy and this is what happens. I’m sure they will try and make me pull them down.
Stephen previously purchased a 35ft (10m) long vintage barge off eBay for £5,000 and spent £25,000 constructing an accurate reproduction of a Victorian canal lock to house it.
North Warwickshire District Council also say a marquee erected at the hotel breaches planning laws and also requires planning permission.
Stephen added: “They also have issues with the marquee which I’ve had for over ten years at which point you can claim lawful use regardless of permission.
“But because I took it down during Covid, they are also pulling me up on that as it doesn’t come under the ten-year lawful use period.
“It’s a £100,000 defence I’ve estimated if I fight it all the way, which I just don’t have.
“We’ve had no complaints whatsoever, exactly the opposite, everyone loves them. There would be uproar if I had to tear them down.
“I’m just trying to run a business and want to move on to other projects but have this lingering over me now.
“I think the council need a lesson in how to deal people with a bit of tact and humility instead of threats because this has really broken me.”
North Warwickshire District Council said several options were still open to Stephen before enforcement action would be taken.
In a letter to Stephen, a planning officer said: “During the subsequent tour of the hotel grounds, breaches of planning control were identified here.
“Located between the hotel building and the marquee is a round structure with a turret style roof, externally this structure resembles the shape of a cupcake.
“It is nearing completion and has been constructed on top of an existing stable block structure.
“Upon entry to the site, a canal feature comprising a to scale canal lock, boat and tunnel can be seen.
“There is no planning permission to account for this. This is not ‘permitted development’ and would be considered an engineering operation.
“For the avoidance of formal enforcement action, you are advised to submit a valid ‘Full Planning Application’ detailing retention of the Wedding Marquee, ‘Cupcake’ structure and Canal feature, as identified above.
“If you do not wish to apply for retrospective planning permission, a timeframe for removal of these developments may need to be agreed.”
A North Warwickshire Borough Council spokesperson said: “We have explained the planning situation to Mr Cuddy and have outlined several options open to him.
“At present, these do not include threats to close or curtail his business. We are working with him to agree on a resolution, and hopefully, he will respond so that we can move forward.”
