North Norfolk holiday let battle ramps up as appeal emerges

Mark Short and his husband Lawrence Wolfe had to shut down their five-star holiday let at Lilac Cottage in Swafield over road safety fears after North Norfolk District Council said their driveway was too small. 

The couple have now taken their battle with the North Norfolk District Council to the Planning Inspectorate.

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The couple have lodged an appeal over the council's decision (Image: Submitted) The issues began after North Norfolk District Council refused their retrospective application for a holiday let, which was submitted after the couple discovered they needed one to sell the house.

However, the council said there is not adequate visibility of the main road from the drive or enough space for cars to turn around and manoeuvre onto the road from a forward position.

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The council has raised road safety fears over the driveway (Image: Submitted)

However, the couple says despite running the converted shed let for a year and having 120 guests, they have had no accidents. 

They had spent over £16,000 renovating a modest carpenters shed in their back garden into luxury holiday accommodation over a period of around five months. 

Mr Short argues that out of 120 guests who have come to stay at their accommodation, which has a maximum capacity of two, nobody has ever had an accident.

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The holiday let is a converted carpenters shed, which was initially built by a previous owner. (Image: Submitted) READ MORE: Norfolk council calls for views on parks and woods management

Mr Short had said of the refusal: "It has ruined our life here in Norfolk. 

"It has changed our life completely. We cannot afford to stay here now.

"It was going to be our forever house."

Mr Short and his husband moved to North Norfolk in November 2022.

Their holiday let was in use from March 2023 hosting more than 120 guests and charging £85 a night.  

North Norfolk District Council had refused the retrospective application saying: "The proposed development, by virtue of its resultant intensification of on site parking, would fail to provide sufficient space for three cars to park and manoeuvre in order to join the highway in forward gear."