A million-pound property built by Jeremy Zielinski and his wife Elaine in Great Abington, Cambridgeshire, has been razed to the ground following a council enforcement order.
South Cambridgeshire District Council ordered the two-storey structure to be pulled down after discovering the couple had secretly constructed a three-bedroom house instead of an agreed horse-breeding clinic.
Work to dismantle the building began in April after a government planning inspector upheld the enforcement decision, leaving only the footprint of the two-storey structure remaining.
Great Abington is a village in South Cambridgeshire, an area where local planning rules strictly regulate countryside development to preserve rural land.
The couple, who are keen horse enthusiasts, originally bought the site containing an outbuilding and 17 acres of land for £100,000 in 1986.
In 2014, South Cambridgeshire District Council granted planning permission for a commercial equine business on the land. The approved plans specified a ground floor with a reception area, office, kitchenette, laboratory space, staff changing room and toilet, together with two bedrooms and en suite bathrooms upstairs for staff.
Contractors began work on the property in 2017. Mr Zielinski, 75, a former marketing manager for the Injured Jockeys Fund, and Mrs Zielinski, 80, a receptionist at a GP surgery, sold their family house in 2019 and moved into a static home on the grounds.
Planning Enforcement and Appeal
The couple believe a neighbour informed council officers that the building did not match the approved design, prompting an official inspection and a July 2023 enforcement notice ordering the property to be razed.
The Zielinskis appealed against the notice to the Planning Inspectorate, the government body responsible for handling planning appeals in England. They argued that the onset of the Covid pandemic had ruined their commercial plans for the clinic, forcing them to convert the building into a home while continuing commercial interests on the land.
They also stated that the loss of their daughter, Claire, who died in 2021 at the age of 55 after receiving a Covid vaccine, had severely affected their ability to contest the enforcement proceedings.
They told the appeal inspector that ordering the complete destruction of the building was disproportionate and would leave them without accommodation.
However, planning inspector Chris Preston dismissed the appeal after inspecting the site and identifying a decidedly residential interior. He noted the presence of a kitchen with an island breakfast bar, domestic furniture, appliances, a dining area, a living room, a home office, and upstairs bedrooms with a sofa and television.
Mr Preston concluded that the building had been constructed as a dwelling from the start rather than converted from an approved laboratory. He highlighted that the couple had sold their previous home and another plot of land with residential planning consent.
The inspector noted that there was very little evidence the stallion semen collection and analysis business ever operated to any notable degree, with records showing only a single £44 laboratory fee for a horse named Dublin, with no proof the analysis occurred on site.
Addressing the couple's housing needs, Mr Preston ruled that given the clear and flagrant breach of planning policy, interference with their human rights was proportionate.
Dismantling of the Property
To avoid the estimated £30,000 cost of full demolition, the Zielinskis arranged for a contractor to systematically dismantle the building. This allowed reusable components, including timber frames, windows and bifold doors, to be salvaged by the trader.
Initial stages of the work involved peeling away the roof to expose internal wooden support beams, followed by the removal of exterior walls and internal fittings until only the ground-floor timber skeleton remained surrounded by scaffolding.
The entire above-ground structure has now been cleared, leaving only the concrete foundations visible on the site.
A spokesman for South Cambridgeshire District Council confirmed that the foundations remain on site and must be removed to achieve full compliance with the enforcement notice, adding that the council is reviewing the situation and considering appropriate next steps.
Reactions and Future Plans
Mr Zielinski expressed deep bitterness over the ruling, stating that the decision had wiped out £1 million overnight. He maintained that they moved in while construction was incomplete, intending to live upstairs and operate the business downstairs.
"Anyone who knows the situation, every single person I have spoken to, they all think it is absolutely ludicrous because the original planning permission was given for the physical building as it was," Mr Zielinski said. He added that people had questioned why the council was forcing them to pull down a home during a housing shortage.
Mrs Zielinski stated that they had believed their actions were legal and expressed distress at the prospect of leaving. "We want to carry on living here. It is a warm and comfortable home. I love it," she said, adding that it made no sense to tear it down and that they did not want to live in a caravan or rely on state support.
However, a local resident supported the enforcement action, stating: "I just can't believe they're still complaining about it. The house looked okay, to be fair, but they weren't given permission for a house."
The couple expect to receive no more than £350,000 after selling their stables and surrounding land. They plan to use the remaining funds to relocate to Thailand.
Mr Zielinski noted that they would have preferred to move to Australia, where another daughter and four grandchildren live, but said the financial losses suffered made that option unaffordable.
