Residents oppose ‘party cabin’ plans at ‘prison watchtower’ Airbnb

Richard Evans, Local Democracy Reporter

A new structure – dubbed a “party cabin” by critics – could be built at a Airbnb after a “prison watchtower” was dismantled following an enforcement order by the council.

Conwy County Council ordered Jim Oates of JAM Domestic Properties Ltd to demolish his garden structure at Tan y Bryn Road, Rhos-on-Sea, after the planning inspectorate threw out an appeal.

Mr Oates was criticised by neighbours for building the “prison watchtower” overlooking neighbours’ gardens without planning permission after several retrospective planning applications were refused.

But a plan for a smaller structure at the same location is set to be debated at a planning committee meeting at the council’s Coed Pella HQ this week.

The applicant now wants to build a smaller “cube-shaped” structure on the remaining concrete platform with a flat roof and a footprint “measuring 4.2m by 3.6m and a total height of 2.5m”.

Planning officers have advised councillors that they are “minded to grant” the proposals.

But the council has received several objection letters from neighbours.

One unnamed neighbour said the proposed building was “excessive in scale” and “out of keeping with the established character, grain, and roofscape of the immediate street”.

“The design would appear visually intrusive from surrounding properties and the public realm and would harm the character and appearance of the area,” they said.

Another said: “This proposed cabin and glass balcony overlooks numerous houses, including my own, and has an extended glass balcony, which is clearly intended to enable tourists and visitors to the property to overlook the gardens around them in order to socialise.

The idea of being looked down on and watched by repeated different groups of visitors is not comfortable.

“This design potentially enables Airbnb visitors to repeatedly party, week after week, on the balcony without any curfew or controls, and so risks persistent disturbance to numerous residents.”

They added: “So the ‘party cabin’ design would not only be visually intrusive but also out of keeping with this peaceful residential area, as it risks persistent disturbance to families and older residents nearby, myself included.”

Another wrote: “We have no wish to be reduced to being similar to animals in a zoo. There is every likelihood of noise, light, and disturbance impacting on surrounding properties. This is unacceptable.”

A planning statement issued by Cadnant Planning said: “This proposal relates to a householder application for the erection of a garden room of an alternative design to that previously approved by the local authority.

“The proposed structure is of a smaller scale than the partially constructed version and would serve as an ancillary element to the dwelling house at 89 Tan y Bryn Road, situated within the curtilage of the rear garden.”

Demolition

A spokeswoman for Conwy County Council said: “An Enforcement Notice was served in May 2025. The resulting appeal was dismissed by the Welsh Government’s Planning Inspector. The notice has since been complied with, by demolition of the unauthorised building.

“The planning application seeks consent for a new smaller building, similar in scale to that previously granted consent by Conwy County Borough Council. “The Planning Committee will consider this further at a meeting on 11 March.”

Planning consent for a cabin was secured in 2016. But in February 2024, neighbours complained a larger outbuilding was being constructed than that given permission.

Investigation

The council’s planning enforcement officer then investigated, and the owners agreed to cease work.

A new retrospective planning application to regularise the work was then submitted and refused in June 2024, with a further application being voluntarily withdrawn in March 2025.

The council then issued an enforcement notice in May 2025, but the applicant appealed the planning decision with PEDW, which was thrown out.

Whilst the appeal was being processed, the applicant then submitted a third planning application.
The committee will meet on Wednesday.

Mr Oats was contacted for comment.