29 July 2023 , 23:33
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A millionaire businessman has been pictured for the first time after being ordered to tear down a mansion he built during the pandemic without planning permission.
Neighbours of Gareth Wilson say the tycoon is a "nice chap" who's helped the local economy - and that no locals objected to his £3million five-bedroom home.
Mr Wilson began building the beautiful sandstone house on his Tennox Farm estate in Kilbirnie, Ayrshire after Covid-19 had locked the country down. It was completed in 2021 and featured a Spanish slate roof, a spiral staircase, a stacked balcony, and a lush lawn with a winding path.
The property would have provided the perfect country escape in Tennox Farm - where Mr Wilson has several other business ventures including holiday rental properties.
Gareth Wilson has been described as a "nice chap" by neighbours (Linkedin)However, Mr Wilson failed to submit formal planning permission before work got underway and is now suffering the consequences of that decision. Although North Ayrshire Council ordered him to complete paperwork for the house in March 2022, they refused Mr Wilson retrospective planning permission months later.
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As a result, Mr Wilson has been ordered to bulldoze the plush property, the Daily Record reports. The council ruled the building had a “negative impact” on the area and was not in keeping with its “established character”. However one neighbour disputed this, saying the house is "gorgeous" and "so secluded you wouldn't even know it was there".
Another told the Daily Mail: "He has been here a long time. He is a nice chap. He must be devastated and he will be furious considering the amount of business he has brought to the valley. We all know each other and we would all help each other but nobody has their nose in anybody else's business. That's not what the farming community is about."
Fears were also raised by the Coal Authority about the risk of the building collapsing due to past shallow mining. Planners ordered the building to be demolished and returned to its former state. Mr Wilson appealed to the Scottish government but was rejected and the decision was upheld. He claimed the council enforcement was invalid due to a lack of specification and said it was “excessive”. He had also insisted the decision was against his human rights.
In a written ruling, government reporter Fortune Gumbo said: “The appellant has other dwellings within the farm. In the alternative, should alternative accommodation be sought outside the farm, the appellant, by his admission, is of considerable means and as such this would not be an insurmountable obstacle. The enforcement action proposed does not infringe on the appellant’s (and family) human rights.”
Mr Wilson was approached for comment by the Daily Record while his lawyers, Brodies, said they did not comment on client matters.