Planners have stopped a man in Buckinghamshire turning his two homes into one big property.

Buckinghamshire Council has refused James Hick permission to amalgamate 3 Well Cottages with 1-2 Well Cottages in the hamlet of Ballinger, Great Missenden.

The applicant has owned the two properties for more than 10 years and is currently living in 1-2 Well Cottages.

Number 3 was occupied, for the last eight or so years, by Mr Hicks’ mother-in-law, with the applicant, and his wife being her carers during this time.

The applicant argued: “The property has, therefore, been essentially occupied as a single dwelling, or a dwelling and an annexe.”

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He claimed this demonstrated that amalgamation would ‘not realistically result in a loss of a dwelling or housing supply in the strictest sense’.

However, a planning officer disagreed, writing: “The proposed development includes the loss of a dwelling, which is contrary to policy H9 of the adopted local plan.

“This is particularly harmful given the Council’s current five-Year Housing Land Supply which stands at 2.7 years.”

Planners said they accepted that the occupiers of both properties are related and ‘in essence are cohabiting’.

However, they disputed that the properties are one, ‘as you would need to exit one house to enter another house and each house has an independent layout and facilities’.

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