End of the good life! Couple who spent five years building eco home must tear it down - because seeking planning permission was against their principles

Matthew Lepley, 34, and Jules Smith, 54, left London five years ago to build their dream house in the countryside

They used railway sleepers, lorry tyres and scrap metal to build up the house, and used no power tools

Home has an outdoor compost toilet, no power or running water, and an underground pantry instead of a fridge

The couple are now facing an order from Torridge District Council in Devon to tear down their home after complaints

They decided not to apply for planning permissions because the process uses up too much paper and electricity




After fleeing a city tower block in search of the good life, Matthew Lepley and Jules Smith spent five years sleeping in a tent and living off the land in a bid to build Britain’s greenest home.

Armed with an axe and hand tools, they pieced together scrap metal, tyres and wooden crates until a one-bedroom cabin – complete with compost toilet – rose out of the muddy field they had bought.

Now the couple have been served with an enforcement notice to tear it all down – because it was against their eco-friendly beliefs to apply for planning permission.

Eco-palace: Matthew Lepley and Jules Smith's home, called Silent Haven, took five years to build

Country retreat: Ms Smith, left, and Mr Lepley, right, left London five years ago to embark on their project

Planning row: Officials from Torridge District Council have now said that the home must be torn down

(In)convenience: The couple have an outdoor compost toilet

They argue that the process would have wasted too much paper and energy.

Mr Lepley, 34, said: ‘We wanted to build a home that would let us truly live as one with nature.

‘The process was a lot slower but it was extremely satisfying. We wanted to reduce carbon emissions as much as possible. We took the decision to build without planning permission because the council’s procedure is not environmentally friendly enough and it goes against our personal principles.’

Five years ago, Mr Lepley and 54-year-old partner Miss Smith left jobs as carers and moved out of the tower block in Wood Green, north London, where they were living.

They bought a 20-acre field in Beaworthy, Devon, put aside £20,000 for construction costs, and set about scouring farmland and scrap yards for unwanted materials which they could use to build their home.

Inside: The couple prepare a meal in their eco-home's kitchen

Heating: Mr Lepley stokes with wood-burning stove to keep the house warm

Attic room: The two pose in the bedroom of their painstakingly-contructed home, made in part from scrap

Happy scrubbing: The couple's bathroom gets heated water from a wood-fired tank

At one with nature: The couple keeps ducks, which provide eggs, and also have sheep for wool and a vegetable plot

FEATURES OF THE ECO-HOME

Attic bedroom

Bathroom with woodfire-heated bath

Kitchen and living area



Outdoor compost toilet

Underground storage chamber

Bore hole for fresh water

Duck pond and vegetable patch

No electricity or running water



They built foundations out of tractor tyres filled with gravel and used haulage pallets and railway sleepers to construct the walls and roof.

Today the house is made up of just one bedroom, a living room, kitchen and bathroom.

Water is drawn out of the ground via a bore hole and they use an outdoor compost toilet.

And just like Barbara and Tom from BBC sitcom The Good Life they grown their own fruit and veg and rear animals – ducks for their eggs and sheep for their wool.

Because they have no electricity, they keep their food cool in an underground ‘fridge’ – a compartment dug two and a half feet deep.

The couple say their neighbours were initially supportive of their ambition to live self-sufficiently.

They were relying on locals not alerting the council to their project so they would be given automatic planning permission after four years. But two years into the build, the couple say locals changed their tune when they revealed plans to run an eco-friendly retreat and host green workshops in their field.

Under construction: The couple built the house, pictured during the process, without using any power tools

Order: Torridge District Council in Devon have told the couple they must tear the house down

Handiwork: Mr Lepley and Ms Smith decided against using power tools for the whole of the five-year construction period

Resourceful: The wood to make the house was partly sourced from old lorry crates

A neighbour gathered ten signatures and submitted the petition to Torridge District Council.

Mr Lepley and Miss Smith appealed against the first enforcement notice three years ago and are now in the process of appealing against the second one. Mr Lepley, who earns a living selling homemade produce and doing part-time care work, said: ‘What we’ve done isn’t illegal.

‘We’ve had a lot of drama with the neighbours. Some have been really supportive while others have gone against us and started a petition.

‘The idea of the conservation project was to provide retreat accommodation and run courses and workshops on sustainable living. The house and surrounding land enables us to be totally self-sufficient. This life is not for everyone but we love it. We would be devastated if we had to knock down.’

A council spokesman said: ‘I can confirm Torridge District Council has served an enforcement notice that they remove the structure.