Caught by the Bureaucrats

Had a nice letter the other day from the planning dept of my friendly Council saying they had received a complaint regarding my paddock. Long story short, they thought it was so tidy it was being used as an extra garden, the grass was too short and my boundary fence near to my house wasn’t complete. Therefore I must correct this forthwith or apply to change my paddock from agricultural land to my garden.

Intriguing isn’t it, no mention concerning my antennas? I replied to the council explaining that the boundary gap was there because I had demolished my old shed and erected a new shed installed at a slightly different angle, there was now a gap in the boundary. I had no idea that the boundary fence should be kept or that the grass was too short (slightly weird), so I apologised and said I would install a fence and not cut the grass so often!.

I think planning officers at the council always seem to take the negative side. It was obvious from his reply that he didn’t believe me, and it was only then he mentioned the Mosley antenna and the Hustler vertical. Evidently they shouldn’t be there either, he was quite happy for me to move them back to my garden or apply to have permission to have the antennas placed in the paddock for a princely sum of £462, even then he wouldn't guarantee I would get the permission. The mast with the Mosley is a folding winch type, so he wasn’t complaining about height etc, just that both antennas shouldn’t be within the Paddock.

I thought about it for a few days and decided to hell with council I wasn’t going to pay them nearly five hundred quid, so I’m moving the Hustler back in to my garden but sadly the Mosley and the mast have to go to a new home and they are now up for sale.

There’s something about a complete stranger writing to you and telling you that your home or garden doesn’t fit in to their regulations. Nobody likes being told what to do especially by some organisation that you never really had dealings with before. Unfortunately you have to bite the bullet or if you’re feeling that energetic fight them. Personally I can’t be bothered to challenge them, I’ll just move the antennas and let them have their petty way. The annoying thing is I’m right out in the middle of nowhere and I know it’s not my two neighbours that complained because I asked them. This bureaucrat from the council was probably driving past the house noticed either my antenna or the cut paddock and decided to investigate.