'Ludicrous...' property earmarked for demolition receives free eco-improvements worth thousands

THOUSANDS of pounds are being spent to make an Evenwood Gate home more energy efficient despite a high court order for it to be demolished.

Retired builder Jim Bradwell was supposed to tear down Newmoor Yard Cottage and a nearby garage by June 26 following a ten-year planning dispute.

Despite the order, Mr Bradwell’s home is benefitting from a scheme that makes homes more energy efficient.

Under the scheme, energy companies are compelled by the government to set money aside for grants to provide wall cavity insulation, loft insulation and replace boilers in people’s homes.

Mr Bradwell has already had wall cavity insulation done and is due to get a new multi-boiler installed in the near future.

Mr Bradwell said: “I told them the council want me to demolish it. But they said ‘that is nothing to do with us’. I do find it a bit stupid – it is just ludicrous.”

A spokesman for the Department of Energy said the scheme is not administered by the government and would not comment on the matter.

Mr Bradwell’s dispute with Durham County Council dates to 2007 when he started building the cottage without planning permission.

He says permission was denied because papers proving the site was brownfield land went missing from his application.

Planners contend the site is greenfield.

Ironically, although the home was built without planning permission, Mr Bradwell says building inspectors gave him advice and approved the building works.

Durham County Council later issued an enforcement order which demanded that the house and nearby garage come down. It also demanded that the foundations be removed and all rubble taken away.

In December 2015 Mr Bradwell appeared at Teesside Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the enforcement order.

He was given a fine which he pays off in £10 monthly instalments.

He was fined a further £8,000 when he appeared at Leeds High Court in March.

Mr Bradwell said: “I’m going to have to live to God knows when to pay it back. They put that many fines on you that they try to buy your land off you. I won’t sell it to them. They have a housing shortage in the country. If they knock this down, where will they put me?”

Now he faces a possible jail term for not knocking the house down within 90 days of the high court order.

Mr Bradwell said: “The judge said to me, ‘I have to warn you, when you come back in 90 days, you are looking at two years’. I can’t believe they would put someone in jail without listening to their side of the story. This is ridiculous.”

The pensioner, who says he also has a heart condition, added: “All they want me to do is comply. They have got as much chance of me going down to meet the queen as they have of me complying.”

Durham County Council declined to comment.