Roundhouse (eco-dwelling) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

That Roundhouse is a roundhouse

Roundhouse (dwelling)

The roundhouse is a type of house with a circular plan, originally built in western Europe before the Roman occupation using walls made either of stone or of wooden posts joined by wattle-and-daub panels and a conical thatched roof. Roundhouses ranged in size from less than 5m in diameter to over 15m...

sited in woods within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in West Wales.It was established as a National Park in 1952, and is the only one in the United Kingdom to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline...

near the village of Newport

Newport, Pembrokeshire

Newport is a town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, lying on the River Nevern in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.- History :The town was founded by the Norman William FitzMartin about 1197...

in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. It was constructed without planning permission

Planning permission

Planning permission or planning consent is the permission required in the United Kingdom in order to be allowed to build on land, or change the use of land or buildings. Within the UK the occupier of any land or building will need title to that land or building , but will also need "planning...

during the winter of 1997/1998 by Tony Wrench and Jane Faith and helpers as part of the then secret Brithdir Mawr

Brithdir Mawr

Brithdir Mawr is an Intentional Community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The name is Welsh for "Great Speckled Land".-Community:The community is based on a farm. It is home to 10 adults and 4 children who live in individual family flats around the farmyard. The land is farmed organically and the...

intentional community

Intentional community

An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They...

. The structure was discovered in 1998, challenged by the authorities, and threatened with demolition; it was granted retrospective planning permission in September 2008, with a review in three years. The “radical experiment” has attracted considerable media attention issues surrounding green building

Green building

Green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...

, affordable housing

Affordable housing

Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...

, low-carbon building

Low-carbon building

Low-carbon buildings are buildings designed and constructed to release very little or no carbon at all during their lifetime.-Buildings and Climate Change:Buildings alone are responsible for 38% of all human GHG emissions...

and sustainable living.

Construction

The natural building

Natural building

A natural building involves a range of building systems and materials that place major emphasis on sustainability. Ways of achieving sustainability through natural building focus on durability and the use of minimally processed, plentiful or renewable resources, as well as those that, while...

was designed by Tony Wrench and Jane Faith as their home and was built with the help of friends and volunteers, including labour exchange with their permaculture

Permaculture

Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...

group. That Roundhouse was built mainly from immediately available materials, which meant primarily wood, all of which they cut themselves. It uses a wooden frame of hand-cut Douglas Fir, infilled with cordwood walls

Cordwood construction

Cordwood construction is a term used for a natural building method in which "cordwood" or short pieces of debarked tree are laid up crosswise with masonry or cob mixtures to build a wall.-Construction:Walls are usually constructed such that the pieces of wood are "proud" of...

; cordwood construction was a technique common in the pioneer days of deciduous North America. The building has a reciprocal frame

Reciprocal frame

A reciprocal frame is a class of self-supporting structure made of three or more beams and which requires no center support to create roofs, bridges or similar structures.-Construction:...

green roof

Green roof

A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems...

planted with grapes and other productive and native plants, over a pond liner

Pond liner

A Pond liner is an impermeable geomembrane used for water retention, including the lining of lakes, garden ponds and artificial streams in parks and gardens. Pond liners need to be protected from sharp objects below the liner and from being punctured by any objects in the water body. Protection can...

and straw insulation. The cost of the 30 ft diameter building has been reported at between £3,000. The design is based on permaculture principles of using local resources where possible, to meet one's needs without producing waste and to work with nature rather than against it.

Summary

Constructed without planning permission during the winter of 1997/1998 as part of the secret Brithdir Mawr

Brithdir Mawr

project, That Roundhouse was discovered by the authorities from the air in 1998. Wrench applied for planning permission which was turned down and a 10 year legal battle ensued, which included appearances in the magistrates court, county court

County Court

A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of county courts held by the High Sheriff of each county.-England and Wales:County Court matters can be lodged...

, crown court

Crown Court

The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...

, fines, threats of injunctions and a public inquiry

Public inquiry

A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...

. At one point they announced that they were going to comply with the court and 'deconstruct' the building, however on the day the deconstruction was due to start a well-organised protest was arranged by supporters who threatened to squat

Squatting

Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....

the roundhouse to delay its destruction further. During this whole process the National Park was also developing a new more sympathetic policy towards Low Impact development to which Wrenchs were providing evidence. Every move in the process led to renewed interest from the media who were generally more sympathetic with the Wrench's than with the authority especially where the chair of the planning authority received planning permission for a large new building within sight of a land around the roundhouse. and in the end the enforcement of the court's original decision was delayed long enough for the park guidance to be approved and finally for the roundhouse to be given planning approval.

Phase 1: Courts, appeals, fines and summons

Their appeal against the rejection of planning permission led to a 3 day public inquiry which upheld the original decision with the inspector reporting that the building was "seriously out of keeping with the general character of buildings in the National Park" and that the appellants "had failed to establish a functional need for this dwelling to serve the agricultural and forestry enterprises". The inspector did however grant the couple personal temporary permission to remain in the building for a further 18 months on compassionate grounds. An enforcement noticed was issued at the end of the period of the 18 month temporary permission and in October 2003 they received a summons to appear at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court where they were fined £300. By chance, on the following day they were providing evidence to the public inquiry into the new policy of Low Impact Development being developed by Pembrokeshire Council and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Lawyers acting for Wrenchs appealed against the authority's decision but it was rejected

Phase 2: The decision to demolish, protest, more court cases

They received a further Enforcement notice a month later and announced their intention to comply with the order and invited people to a "deconstruction camp" to take place between 9 and 17 April which resulted in not only people arriving to take the building down by also intense media interest and a protest organised by supporters of their cause. The Land is Ours

The Land is Ours

The Land is Ours is a British land rights campaign advocating access to the land, its resources, and the planning processes.The group was set up in the 1990s by George Monbiot and others....

, a land rights

Land rights

Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these species of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use agreements, including renting, are an important...

campaign, simultaneously 'squatted' their house so they would have to evict them before they could demolish it; and also squatted the roundhouses at Castell Henllys

Castell Henllys

Castell Henllys is an important archaeological site in north Pembrokeshire, Wales, between Newport and Cardigan....

, a visitor attraction and example of reconstruction archaeology

Experimental archaeology

Experimental archaeology employs a number of different methods, techniques, analyses, and approaches in order to generate and test hypotheses, based upon archaeological source material, like ancient structures or artifacts. It should not be confused with primitive technology which is not concerned...

built by the park; and protested on the A487 road

A487 road

The A487 is a trunk road in Wales, running up the western side of the country from Haverfordwest in the south to Bangor in the north.It starts at Merlin's Bridge near Haverfordwest, from where it travels north west to St David's, then switches back north east through Fishguard, Cardigan, Aberaeron,...

. The protest then moved to the offices of the parks authority in Haverfordwest

Haverfordwest

Haverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales and serves as the County's principal commercial and administrative centre. Haverfordwest is the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire, with a population of 13,367 in 2001; though its community boundaries make it the second most populous...

. Meanwhile a survey by BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

's Countryfile
Countryfile
Countryfile is a British magazine-style television programme produced by BBC Birmingham, first aired on 24th July 1988, which reports on rural and environmental issues within the United Kingdom. For its first 20 years it was fronted by broadcaster John Craven, until he stepped back from the role of...

reported that 29,500 people supported the roundhouse, whereas only 2,500 were in favour of its demolition.

A further summoned to appear at Magistrates' Court in Haverfordwest followed where the magistrates decided to refer the case to the Crown Court in Swansea to be sentenced. The judge fined them £800 commenting that "he thought the reasons for building the roundhouse were highly commendable but that planning regulations were necessary for the functioning of society". The parks planning Committee then announced that and would start proceedings in the County Court

County Court

to request an injunction

Injunction

An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...

forcing them to demolish the roundhouse and they were summonsed to Carmarthen

Carmarthen

Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....

County Court April 26, 2005 for a Case Management Conference which was then adjourned until June 2005. Two weeks before the second case conference the national park announced that it would suspend all legal activity until May 2006 when the new planning guidance was to be published by the authority.

Phase 3: New policies, failure and then success

In August 2004 the UK Government published Planning Policy Statement 7: Sustainable Development in Rural Areas

PPS 7

Planning Policy Statement 7: Sustainable Development in Rural Areas commonly abbreviated as PPS 7, is a document produced by the British Government to advise Local planning authorities on planning policies for rural areas...

. When the new Parks guidance for Low Impact Development became available the Park's authority reviewed the case and again ordered that the dwelling should be demolished. After various deferrals and a joint application with the neighbouring Tir Ysbrydol community who had constructed similar buildings they were given the building temporary planning approval with a review after three years by 9 votes to 2 in September 2008. A spokeswoman for the park said, "It was pleasing that support could be given at this stage for this longstanding, complicated case".

External links

That Roundhouse official site
'Planning for a Low Impact Society' an article by Tony Wrench
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=473023&in_page_id=1770Why are the authorities intent on tearing down the most eco-friendly home in Britain? - Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...

- August 2007]
Contesting sustainable development: low-impact development in Pembrokeshire Coast National Park - Wiley InterScience
Local Agenda 21 - Pembrokeshire County Council
Countryside Council for Wales - Low Impact Development – Planning Policy and Practice
Pembrokeshire County Council, Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) - Low Impact Development Making a Positive Contribution in Pembrokeshire (2006)
Do local authorities want low impact development? A report by Ecotrack for The Land is ours

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