Council considers legal action against luxury cabins built without planning permission

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

Luxury cabins, complete with hot tubs, should have been demolished by now and legal action could follow as a result, according to council officials.

The four self-contained cabins in Landimore overlook the Wales Coast Path and Loughor Estuary and seem to be popular with tourists who pay upwards of £175 per cabin per night.

The booking website which markets them encourages prospective visitors to watch the sunset and sunrise and lose themselves under the night stars.

They’re also advertised on the holiday accommodation website Airbnb, where the latest person to review hailed “an amazing night’s stay”. She added: “The place was exactly as described, hot tub was amazing in a perfect location. Will definitely be back!”

That remains to be seen as the Swansea council considers its next move more than three months after a Welsh Government-appointed planning inspector ruled that the cabins, which don’t have planning consent, had to be knocked down and the land restored.

The demolition deadline of October 31, 2025, followed a requirement for their owner John Phillips to cease occupation of the holiday cabins 11 months previously on November 30, 2024.

Speaking this week the council said: “Mr Phillips built the chalets without planning permission. Retrospective planning permission was refused by the council. Our position was endorsed by the Welsh planning inspector when Mr Phillips appealed.

“The council is fully aware of the lack of compliance by the resident with the enforcement notice. We are in the process of considering our next steps and this could include legal action through the courts.”

It added: “This action is a reflection of the importance we and the Welsh Government place on protecting this area of natural beauty for the enjoyment of residents and visitors from unlawful development.”

The council had turned down retrospective planning permission for the cabins in July 2023 and issued Mr Phillips with the enforcement notice four months later. It required him to stop using the holiday cabins within a day and to demolish them within six months.

Those deadlines were extended following Mr Phillips’ appeal. His planning agent argued there was significant demand for high-quality tourist accommodation and that occupancy rates for the cabins were above average.

The agent did not agree with the council’s conclusion that the work undertaken would have a harmful impact on the designated Landimore conservation area, and said the cabins were partially screened from the nearby coast path.

Deadlines

Planning inspector Richard Duggan upheld the council’s enforcement notice but varied the compliance deadlines. His decision report of October 2024 said the cabins seriously harmed the view from the coast path and that a “previously rural and tranquil site” had been eroded “to an unacceptable extent” by the cabins, parking area and areas of gravel.

Mr Duggan said their positive impact on tourism in Gower did not outweigh the “significant harm” and added that the location was unsustainable from a highway safety point of view. He also said the cabins were built without ecological surveys being carried out and that excavation work had affected the roots of some nearby trees.

Mr Phillips said at the time he felt the inspector’s decision was “totally unfair” and that he planned to take court action.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted Mr Phillips this week to ask if he wished to comment in light of the measures being considered by the council but he is yet to respond.

Gower councillor Richard Lewis said he’d backed the council’s planning department all the way through. “My view is that the planners (planning officers) did an excellent job,” he said. “Everything was watertight.”

‘Not happy’

Cllr Lewis said he had been aware of the unauthorised cabin development at an early stage. “I had so many people knocking on my door saying they were not happy,” he said.

He felt the attitude that seemed to come across from Mr Phillips was “I can do what what I like in Gower” when he said other businesses and residents had to tow the line.

“Why should someone carry on carte blanche?” said Cllr Lewis. “Everybody else has to obey the rules. I think there will be very little sympathy from villagers across Gower.”