Overview

• Councillors voted 8–4, with two abstentions, to refuse retrospective permission for Stephen Price’s front-garden conversion in Hengoed.
• Planning officers cited extensive excavation, loss of amenity space and concerns about setting a precedent that would harm the area’s character.
• Price says he spent about £5,000 on the driveway to aid his wife, Kim, who lives with multiple serious health conditions that affect her mobility.
• He has been told to reinstate the raised garden and estimates the work would cost a further £11,000–£13,000.
• He plans to appeal and says he paid £300 for a dropped kerb around 20 years ago after notifying the council, claiming he was not advised that planning permission would later be required.