Why council are forcing couple to tear down home gym they built on driveway as residents get revenge

A couple are being forced to tear down the massive gym they built in their driveway after neighbours complained to the council.

After purchasing a £440,000 house in Basingstoke, Hampshire, last year, Paul Willis and Emma Woodley decided to build a large home gym on their drive.

But their neighbours weren't too happy about it.

This is because the feature takes up one of the property's two parking spaces, meaning one of the couple's cars would have to be parked elsewhere - most likely on the street.

"We didn't use both of those spaces prior to the building being built anyway, just because of the constant need to keep pulling out into a road which we didn't have good visibility to see, causing more of a hindrance to pedestrians and drivers," Emma explained.

"There's a bend to the road and a hill, so we have to be on the road to get safe visibility about whether it's safe to move out or not."

Paul Willis and Emma Woodley built a home gym on their drive, but their neighbours weren't happy about it (Solent News and Photo Agency)

Regardless of this, the neighbours kicked off to the local council.

Local Olivia Lucas said in a letter: "As a resident... we already have parking issues with either cars parking fully on the road and other users being unable to get past, or parking on the pavements and pedestrians routinely putting themselves, children and dogs in danger having to walk out from a blind spot behind one of these cars."

She claimed she had 'witnessed the danger' caused by the building and the clients coming to use it.

Following the complaint, the council told the couple to put in a retroactive planning application for the gym.

The couple argue that they do not park on the street and use nearby unallocated spaces. They also ask clients, who train at the gym with Mr Willis, to either park in unallocated spaces or walk.

Paul uses the home gym for his PT business (Solent News and Photo Agency)

Despite their claims, councillors have now reported denied retrospective planning permission to the couple as it would 'set a precedent' with other residents looking to do the same and reduce parking space.

Seven councillors are said to have voted for the refusal of the application, one voted against and one abstained.

At the planning meeting, councillor Paul Miller said: "Parking is a national problem all over; we all know that. Another car unable to park at a property is another car that's going to be somewhere else."

And councillor Karen Watts said: "I don't know if there is something to consider here, it could set a precedent that other people could do the same in the area and there would be no other parking spaces."

The couple now have six months to remove the gym and reinstate the parking area, a decision Mr Willis has called 'ludicrous' as he'd researched planning rules and believed they were allowed to build the single-story building without needing permission.

The couple now have six months to remove their gym (Solent News and Photo Agency)

If the building, which Willis uses to run his personal training business, is knocked down, the couple is set to lose out on income.

Woodley added that the loss of income would potentially lead to them having to sell the house, and they are now looking into alternative options.

Woodley also pointed out: "There was no mention anywhere about the council rules around not changing the use of a parking space.

"It's clearly evident when we walk around the estate, we have got people that have put sheds on their parking spaces. Even caravans - what's the difference between us using it for a caravan? It just seems ludicrous."