Planners to decide on granny's tree house scheme

A YELLAND grandmother s plans for a dream tree house are at the mercy of North Devon Council planning officers. The unusual application has been submitted by Joanne Bell, who was told by the council she must supply detailed scale drawings of the wooden

A YELLAND grandmother's plans for a "dream" tree house are at the mercy of North Devon Council planning officers.

The unusual application has been submitted by Joanne Bell, who was told by the council she must supply detailed scale drawings of the wooden tree house she is planning to build in an aspen poplar tree at the bottom of her garden.

In October last year, Mrs Bell - who designed the tree house with the help of youngsters from Instow Primary School - was stunned to discover she needed to pay �150 to submit an official householder application in order to obtain the necessary planning permission.

After reading about her plight in the Gazette, Bude-based architectural design company, R A Rowe & Co, kindly offered to draw up the necessary plans -completely free of charge.

"If the application is successful, I believe I could well have the first 'legal' tree house in North Devon," said Mrs Bell.

Planning officers will make a final decision on the tree house after a period of public consultation ends on April 6.