A couple who paid nearly £2 million for their dream home in the Cotswolds have been told that it must be demolished.

Gerrit and Angela Pies only discovered after the purchase that their thatched mansion near Chipping Campden had been vastly extended without proper planning permission.

The couple, who live in Solingen, Germany, bought the four-gabled house from a local builder, Mark Rathbone, for £1,911,000 last September.

Mr Rathbone completely rebuilt and extended the property, more than doubling the floor space and creating what neighbours describe as a Disney mansion out of keeping with the area.

The original house and garage had 185 sq m of floor space and Mr Rathbone had permission to extend it to 290 sq m. The current house is 450 sq m.

Cotswolds District Council is now insisting that the building be restored to the size agreed in the planning permission obtained by Mr Rathbone.

The couple said that they were “distraught” and bought the house in good faith believing all the necessary consents had been obtained.

They have submitted an appeal against the demolition order, saying: “We were delighted to acquire what we regarded as an ideal property for our home in the UK. We were, and remain, distraught that the ideal home which we thought we had purchased is now under threat of enforcement action. We have checked with our solicitor, who has confirmed that a local search certificate was obtained in connection with the purchase and that showed no entry indicating any problem whatsoever.

“Our solicitor obtained the building regulation approval together also with a building regulation completion certificate detailing 14 inspections of the property by the council.

“We completed the purchase of the property in good faith, relying upon the information supplied, and we hope you will accept that we are entirely innocent parties caught up in this dreadful situation. We are extremely upset and worried as to what is going to happen to our home.”

Martin Perks, of the Cotswolds planning department, said: “The completed dwelling bears little resemblance to the appearance of the original house or the approved scheme.

“The introduction of a large number of gables, most notably the large two-storey gable looking towards Chipping Campden, in combination with the detailing of the thatch, proportions of fenestration and external chimney stacks, give the dwelling a rather elaborate and overdetailed appearance.

“The design of the dwelling has variously been described as a Disney or Hollywood version of the Cotswold style. Its design has little in common with other thatched properties seen in the Westington area of Chipping Campden.”

Mr Rathbone declined to comment.

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