A company director has been granted permission to keep a large golf simulator cabin in his garden in Highcliffe, Dorset, despite neighbours accusing BCP Council of allowing him to “do what he wants”.
Pete Bransky built the timber structure at the bottom of his garden, but residents objected after claiming it was larger than the building described in his original planning application.
The cabin is 23ft wide and 13.5ft long. Neighbours said the initial plans wrongly put its height at just under the permitted 8.2ft, before Mr Bransky later submitted revised measurements.
Residents also alleged that the building posed a fire risk because of its proximity to their fences and had damaged the roots of nearby trees. A parish council representative objected on grounds including its size and alleged overdevelopment.
One neighbour said the dispute was not about Mr Bransky’s use of the building, but about the council’s handling of the planning process.
“If Mr Bransky wants to whack away in his black plastic shed then that’s no one’s business but his,” the neighbour said. “The problem is the credibility of BCP [Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole] Council to govern it.”
The resident questioned how several different sets of measurements could be submitted for a structure that had already been built, adding: “It seems bizarre that you can put in a drawing with half of the false information removed and then get it passed when the historical anomalies are there in black and white.”
They said the decision could undermine confidence in the planning system, claiming: “It is obviously very good news if you want to build anything you like, there’s not much point in the planning process as you can obviously make it up as you go along.”
Golf simulator cabin
The cabin fills the width of the garden and has been fitted with acoustic panels on its walls and ceiling, soundproof carpet tiles and a rubber anti-shock base intended to reduce noise when golf balls are struck.
Mr Bransky, who runs a printing business and is a member of Brockenhurst Manor Golf Club in the New Forest, also installed an impact screen so the balls do not hit the walls.
He said he had not objected to building work carried out by neighbours, including a six-metre rear extension and an outbuilding, and argued that his structure was necessary to provide enough room to swing a club.
“Lots of people have got garden buildings, yes this is slightly bigger than some but it needs to be to have the space to swing the clubs,” he said. “It doesn’t affect anyone, I think we need to just let people have what they want. It’s all properly insulated and we’re not out there all the time.”
In granting permission, BCP Council advised Mr Bransky to arrange for a reputable tree surgeon to check the health and stability of trees that could be affected by the building within the next two years.
