'I JUST FEEL THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS RATHER STUPID' ONE MAN'S 14-YEAR BATTLE WITH THE PLANNING LAWS

摘要

Gerald Ringe had one of those classic dreams: buy an old wreck in the country and turn it into arnrural retreat. But he hadn't counted on thernidiosyncrasies of our planning system. Fourteenrnyears after his first planning application, he'srnfinally giving up. He tells Katie Puckett why ...rnWhen Gerald Ringe first laid eyes on the Old Mission Hall in the Essex village of Norton Heath, he had no idea of the heartache it would cause him over the next 14 years. He bought the derelict deconsecrated chapel in 1993 for £15,000, intending to renovate it for his family to live in. Ever since then, he has been banging his head against Epping Forest council's door in a frustrating, fruitless attempt to obtain planning permission.