Cornwall Council says a planning enforcement notice requiring the removal of an unauthorised garage, office and outdoor swimming pool at a multi-million pound property in Mawgan Porth has been upheld by the Planning Inspectorate, and the structures must be removed by July 2025.
The owner, businessman Dean Robson, has argued the additions fell within permitted development rights and said the garage and office were built to meet an oversight during construction. Cornwall Council and the Planning Inspectorate rejected that claim after two retrospective planning applications in 2021 and 2022 were refused and a subsequent appeal was dismissed.
The property sits in Mawgan Porth, a small village on the north Cornish coast that has become popular with high-profile buyers. Rightmove data cited by local reports put the average house price in the area at about £5.74 million over the past year, and names including Cate Blanchett, Jason Statham, Imogen Stubbs, Jamie Dornan and Stanley Tucci have been reported as owning or building homes nearby.
Cornwall Council said it took enforcement action after concluding the land had been changed from agricultural paddock to residential use by the unauthorised development. A council spokesperson said the owners exercised their right to appeal, but the Planning Inspectorate dismissed the appeal and upheld the enforcement notice with a compliance date of July 2025. The council said it is communicating with the landowner to ensure the notice is complied with.
Local Reform Councillor Rowland O'Connor told the Daily Mail he had been "expediting resources and attention into getting it enforced," saying enforcement must be seen to be carried out or it sends the wrong message to the community. He said enforcement is a last resort and that the council was following the required process.
Residents who spoke to local media described frustration at the development. One lifelong villager said the additions represented a "blatant disregard of the planning process" and suggested the fact the structures remained in place without being removed could influence others.
Robson, who runs a solar and renewable energy company and several other local businesses, told a Cornwall Council planning committee in 2022 that he believed the property retained permissive development rights when he bought it in 2017 and that the main house was built in 2020. He said the garage and a small office were constructed after it became apparent a garage had been omitted from plans during the pandemic and that a "fundamental mistake" was that the new buildings sit a metre or two outside the established curtilage of the house, which he said would have meant planning permission was required.
Two retrospective planning applications submitted in 2021 and 2022 seeking to regularise the garage/office building and outdoor pool were refused by Cornwall Council. The subsequent appeal to the Planning Inspectorate was dismissed, leaving the enforcement notice in place.
The dispute has drawn wider attention because Mawgan Porth has seen a marked transformation in recent years, with traditional stone cottages replaced or renovated into large, white-rendered houses with extensive glazing. Some residents and commentators have linked the controversy to earlier planning disputes in the area, including unapproved works carried out ahead of the 2021 G7 summit held nearby.
Cornwall Council's enforcement action focuses on what it described as a material change of use of land from agricultural to residential. The council did not specify what further enforcement measures it might take if the structures are not removed by the compliance date, but its spokesperson said the authority was intent on ensuring the notice is complied with "shortly."
Robson has previously told the planning committee the public perception of the development had been shaped by an "irresponsible" narrative and defended his actions as reasonable. He did not respond to a request for further comment on the enforcement timetable.
The case highlights tensions that can arise in high-value coastal communities between development pressures, permitted development rights, and the planning enforcement process. By law, owners may appeal enforcement notices, but where appeals are dismissed the council can pursue compliance through planning enforcement routes, which may include prosecution, fines, or further legal action if notices are not obeyed.
As the July 2025 compliance deadline approaches, council officials said they were increasing contact with the landowner to clarify next steps and to ensure the enforcement outcome is implemented in line with the Planning Inspectorate's decision.