I went to war with council over ‘illegal’ garden deck & WON thanks to Google Earth – they didn’t have a leg to stand on

A HOMEOWNER has won an ongoing row with the council over his decking, thanks to Google Earth. 

Gareth Leek, 58, was left stunned after planning officials claimed he needed retrospective permission for a garden decking that had been in place for eight years. 

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Mr Leek used Google Earth to prove that he should be allowed to keep his decking[/caption]

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According to the satellite images it had been in place for eight years[/caption]

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The decking stands 83cm tall[/caption]

According to councillors, the raised grey and white platform stood too tall at 83cm high, which is half a metre over the limit requiring planning permission. 

But, instead of backing down, Mr Leek, who lives in Pontypool, Gwent, took to Google Earth to save his beloved decking. 

If an unauthorised extension has been in place for more than four years without enforcement action you may legally be allowed to keep it.

The aerial snap provided by the app showed the decking firmly in place in June 2018. 

This proof that it had been there for eight years meant that Mr Leek should legally be allowed to keep it. 

He was also backed up by a neighbour who claimed the decking was in place in the garden since at least 2019. 

A planning hearing heard Mr Leek had retrospectively applied for a certificate of lawful development.

According to the MaileOnline, planning officer Simon Pritchard acknowledged the evidence presented by Mr Leek, which came complete with a Google Earth aerial image from June 2018.

Mr Pritchard said the council had no evidence or reason to doubt that the decking had not been ‘substantially completed for less than four years’ and Mr Leek was told he could keep it.

This also isn’t the first time technology has been used as evidence in planning rows. 

In 2023, Dorset Council used Google Earth to prove that a resident had illegally built a decking and an extension. 

Satellite photos were able to prove that Colin Thomas’s claims that his decking had existed for more than four years, were false. 

As a result, Mr Thomas now faces the prospect of demolishing his rear extension and raised decking. 

Earlier this month, Oldham Council also rejected a retrospective planning application over a porch extension that left neighbours in uproar. 

While Mr Leek’s neighbor seemed to come out in support, The Khanom family faced backlash from the community and a £2,000 fine from the council for building a porch that locals claim resembled the Trafford centre. 

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This isn’t the first time Google Earth has been used in planning rows[/caption]

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Mr Leek’s evidence once over the council and he was told he could keep his beloved decking[/caption]

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The decking measured 4.84m wide and 3.82m long[/caption]

A Gloucester businessman was also locked in a bitter row with developers earlier this year, over a two brick high wall which he insisted belonged to him. 

Roger White, 58, went head to head with the developers of a new housing estate in April, after they revealed plans to knock down the wall to create an emergency access route, required in their planning permission. 

With both parties declaring ownership, White has been left feeling as if they want to “bulldoze” the wall that he claims he inherited from his father in 1997.