Timber-clad home battle with council
30th Jun 2009
A couple have finally won compensation after a six year legal battle over their timber-clad home that took them to the High Court.
Denise and Stuart Howard were determined to take their case as far as possible in a bid to force Castle Morpeth Borough Council to back down.
They were forced to commence a Judicial Review against the council in the High Court over their home in Hadston, near Morpeth, and risked having to pay thousands of pounds in costs if they lost.
But the high costs associated with the legal case and a change in local authority following reorganisation earlier this year finally led to the council conceding defeat.
The couple have been paid around £6,000 in compensation and had all their legal costs met by Northumberland County Council since Castle Morpeth no longer exists.
Neil Carter, a planning solicitor at BHP Law in Newcastle, who represented the couple, said: “After a long, drawn out battle the only remedy left was to challenge the council’s decision. We began Judicial Review proceedings but then the council finally back down.”
Mrs Howard said: “I felt the council’s action had been morally wrong and they were relying on me not to take the next step. But we had to make a stand. We felt bullied.
“Once it had gone so far there was no turning back. I was determined not to give up.”
The case goes back to when Castle Morpeth decided to sell off some land for sustainable housing for local people, with various terms and conditions attached to ensure the development’s eco credentials.
The Howards acquired some of the land at The Pines but did not want to use the council’s preferred contractor as Mr Howard is a joiner, nor the timber cladding which the council had insisted upon.
Mrs Howard said: “The cladding we wanted looked the same as the cladding the council wanted us to use and, although it was thinner, it still met all the contractual requirements.”
Eventually, Mr Howard built the house but the thicker cladding the council insisted he use increased the build cost by £6,000.
Mr Carter explained: “The Howards felt they had no choice but to comply with the council’s demands so reluctantly agreed to use the thicker cladding.
“However, they made it clear that if other properties were allowed to be constructed on the site without the same thickness of timber they would look to the council to meet their additional costs. Of course the inevitable happened.”
The council refused to compensate the family so they twice took their case to the Local Government Ombudsman, who twice backed the council.
Mrs Howard, who has had two children in the time the case has taken, asked for a review and the ombudsman agreed to reopen the case.
At their third attempt, the Howards got the result they hoped for with the ombudsman reporting in their favour in April 2008 and recommending that the council compensate them.
However, the council refused so a further Ombudsman’s report in December 2008 repeated the recommendation for recompense to the Howards.
The council continued to reject the Ombudsman’s findings of maladministration and recommended remedy.
Mrs Howard explained: “I felt that legally there must be an avenue to go down in order to make the council pay the compensation, which isn’t in the ombudsman’s power. That was when we brought in Neil Carter and Tom Lisgo of BHP Law.”
The Howards are living in the house with their children, four-year-old Will and one-year-old Eden.
Mrs Howard said: “We haven’t gained anything because the money was already spoken for in the house. It was a massive risk to start High Court proceedings but I didn’t want to look back and think I hadn’t tried everything. My head told me one thing, but my heart told me another.
“It’s just a shame we had to go that far. It’s been an atrocious waste of taxpayers’ money because it must have cost the council tens of thousands of pounds.
“Initially, it affected how I felt about the house. Now we just want to enjoy it as a happy family home.”
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