A ‘hobbit house’ is now facing demolition after a council refused it retrospective planning permission.
Pembrokeshire council planners ruled that the home in Crymych broke the rules for developing homes in the countryside.
The decision was backed by nine councillors and four voted against the decision at County Hall in Haverfordwest.
It comes after the planning committee visited the site of the eco-home in Glandwr earlier this month.
Charlie Hague and Megan Williams built the eco-friendly house to live a self-sufficient lifestyle, winning fans across the world.
They have spent years fighting against the demolition of their distinctive home, which was built on private land without planning permission.
They received a demolition notice from the council as they failed to apply for planning permission.
The couple said that the home has a low impact on the environment because of its unique construction, with its straw bale walls absorbing carbon.
There was hope that Welsh Government guidelines designed to encourage sustainable development – the One Planet Development Policy (OPD) – could have made it possible for the couple to keep their family home.
But planning officers said the home fell ‘significantly short of that guidance’ and ‘failed to demonstrate that it constitutes an exception to the strategy’.
A legal struggle and an online campaign has won of the support of 96,000 people, a groundswell of support of which the committee was made aware of at its last meeting.
And their own Facebook page “Charlie and Meg’s Roundhouse”, went from 200 to more than 13,000 “likes” since they created it last year, with petitioners from as far afield as South America and Australia.
Councillor Rob Summons, Cabinet Member for Planning and Sustainability, said that despite the building’s relatively low visual impact it eroded the rural character of its surroundings and represented ‘an unsustainable form of development in terms of distance from day to day facilities.’
“Planning is a rigorous process with clear guidelines and if it is to be enforced fairly has to be upheld by everyone,” he said.
Charlie and Megan now have six months within which to lodge an appeal to the Welsh Government.
See 19 of the most remarkable houses you will find in Wales today
“We are disappointed, to say the least,” said Megan.
“There were a lot positives from the council members, and I understand some of the concerns that have been raised. Many were very supportive of our way of life and what we have done.
“It is very difficult that only two OPD applications have been approved in Wales, when so many are going in. We feel these are not necessarily being assessed of the criteria by those who understand the policy.”
In the meeting Coun Pete Stock said his heart was telling him to approve the application but his head could not.
“I do not think there is anyone in Wales who would be against this development. I think it is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. My heart is telling me, without a shadow of a doubt, that we must move down that road.
Despite saying he would ‘hate to see the home being pulled down’, Coun Stock said that approving the development would set a precedent, inviting others to flout planning laws. “I hope that we can find a way so that this development can remain, either at the Assembly level or whatever, but unfortunately there are rules and regulations that we must follow.”
More see: After Long Fight, Charlie’s Hobbit House In Wales Faces Demolition