A London entrepreneur has been barred from residing in his own rural retreat after investing £300,000 to convert a derelict Lake District waterworks into holiday accommodation.
Mike Brett, 62, acquired The Filter House in 2020, a stone structure nestled in the secluded Hayeswater Gill Valley, with ambitions to create a personal getaway that could also welcome paying guests.
The former 1920s filtration facility sits approximately a mile from Hartsop village, and Mr Brett spent £70,000 establishing access to the remote site.
His plans to advertise the "magical location" for up to ten visitors sparked fierce local resistance.
This month, a six-year planning battle concluded when the Planning Inspectorate rejected Mr Brett's appeal, upholding the Lake District National Park authority's determination that the property cannot be classified as a lawful dwelling due to insufficient "facilities for day to day living".
The proposal became emblematic of wider tensions in the Lakes over second homes and holiday lets, with critics arguing that affluent outsiders are eroding rural communities and transforming scenic areas into tourist destinations.
The National Trust warned the development risked creating a "gentrifying effect" on the area.
Patterdale Parish Council accused Mr Brett of attempting to impose "an unwanted, unneeded and inappropriate holiday home into a remote and sensitive location".
The property in Cumbria
|THE FILTER HOUSE
One neighbour highlighted the "strength of local feeling" in their planning objection, while another declared: "We have never and will never support its use as a holiday let."
Local resident Ben Whitmore objected that the building occupies "an unspoilt quiet valley where there are no other buildings".
He argued that vehicles travelling into the valley would cause "huge unnecessary disturbance", with a property accommodating eight or more guests generating multiple daily car journeys for visitors, cleaners and deliveries.
Despite the ruling, Mr Brett remains defiant and insists he will continue using the property.
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The picturesque valley is popular with walkers
|WIKICOMMONS
"How are they going to stop me from using it as my holiday home?" Mr Brett told the Daily Mail. "Loads of people, loads of my friends have stayed there and used it in the last five years."
He added: "If they want to serve a stop notice on me, that'd be great fun, because I'd take them straight to court."
Mr Brett maintains the building served as holiday accommodation for 15 years, including under a previous owner who purchased it from United Utilities in 2008.
However, planning officials determined he failed to demonstrate continuous use as a holiday home for the four-year period required to establish lawful status.
Mr Brett is facing potential council enforcement action
|THE FILTER HOUSE
The ruling leaves Mr Brett facing potential council enforcement action should he continue occupying the property, though he has made clear his intention to persist regardless.
Planning Inspector Zoe Franks concluded that The Filter House lacked the characteristics necessary to be considered a home.
"The council's refusal to grant a certificate of lawful use for the use of the Filter House as a dwelling in the form of a holiday home is well-founded and the appeal should fail," she stated in her ruling.
The parish council had warned that approving the scheme could establish a "dangerous precedent that anyone can buy a disused building in the Lake District National Park and do whatever they like with it".
Mr Brett believes planning authorities were concerned about setting such a precedent for remote buildings across the Lakes.
He attributed the opposition to a single individual, stating: "One person took offence because apparently he walks up the path on the other side of the valley to go fishing. And he didn't want lights on in the building."