A family kicked out of their illegally built home have claimed they were forced to leave after a disgruntled friend reported their secret to the council after a furious row.
Emma Branch, 49, her partner Anthony Batey, 50, and their eight year old daughter Georgia Batey have lived in a log cabin on land owned by Emma’s mother Vivienne in rural Horspath, near Oxford for more than a decade.
However, the couple did not get planning permission when they built the property for £36,000 in 2013 and have not paid a penny of council tax for it.
The secluded cabin sits on a private road behind a locked gate, tucked away out of sight of the public.
Neighbours and family were happy to keep their secret until – they allege – Vivienne fell out with a male friend and in a fit of rage he reported them to South Oxford Council.
Council officials have told now told Emma and Anthony they must move out of their two-bedroom home and find somewhere else to live.
Vivienne said before the falling out with her former friend, the family had never received any letters or notices from the council and they assumed the local authority were unaware of their building.
Vivienne Branch, 80, said: ‘There was one bloke who used to have cups of tea with us and then we fell out. I have no proof it was him but he would have known.’
Emma Branch (right)and her mother Vivienne outside the house that Emma’s family have been told they must leave
The log cabin where Emma and her family have lived for eleven years and are now being told to leave
The main room in the small family home in Horspath has a satellite TV, a log fire and two sofas
The family were handed an eviction notice in 2023 but appealed the decision, which was finally rejected on New Year’s Eve 2024.
Vivienne and her husband had the cabin built for her daughter so she could be near stables where they kept their horses.
Eight-year-old Georgia has lived in the family home for her whole life.
Emma said: ‘It is very sad, this has been our life for eleven years.
‘It is a massive stress for us. We may have to live somewhere else, we don’t know where we would go.
‘It was a complete panic when we got our eviction notice. It was complete and utter disbelief. We were told we had a month to get out.’
Vivienne added: ‘They have done it just out of principle, someone sticking to the letter of the law. I see no point in upending everything. If it was in somebody’s back garden or in a road it would be different. There was no harm done. It is so sad.
‘I see no point in knocking it down. It is not an eyesore, who is it harming?’
The log cabin is accessed from a private road behind a locked gate, making it hidden to the public
Vivienne and her husband had the house built for her daughter to live on the site of their stables
The council has told the family they must remove all of the kitchen appliances from the property
‘All my neighbours knew about it and they thought it was a good idea.’
When the family initially received an eviction notice, Vivienne stepped in and paid £5,000 to appeal the decision.
‘It was the right thing to do because the process has taken three years and they have been able to keep living here,’ she added.
‘It was a huge shock, you don’t quite know how to cope with it.’
Emma said the initial notice caused the couple to ‘panic’, but said the appeal had given them more time to prepare for the result.
Emma said: ‘At the time it was complete despair, we felt like we were being kicked out the very next day.
‘Since then we have realised that the council are really slow and we are still here now.’
The family are now planning to convert a barn on the land which currently holds their six horses.
But the process is likely to take longer than a year, which could leave the family without a home next Christmas.
The family now has planning permission to convert their barn on the same patch of land into a family home
The family keep six horses in a barn on the site of the home which they have been told to vacate
The hidden home means for eleven years the family has had no address, no bin collection and no mail delivered to their house.
In eleven years, the family has never paid council tax on their home, but said they were prepared to pay for years of backdated bills if they were ever found out.
Vivienne said: ‘They understood that if they were to continue living in the home they would have to repay that time in council tax. They were prepared for that.’
The Planning Inspector said in a report that the family were not trying to conceal the residential use of the building. Satellite TV had been installed, roofers had visited and even midwives had been called to the home.
Initially the building was set to be demolished, however now the inspector has written that it may remain in place, but all fixtures and fittings must be removed.
This includes kitchen cupboards, the sink, cooker, bedroom and living room furniture, toilet and shower and television/satellite aerials.
He also called for the removal of the timber fencing and stone path outside the home to be removed.
Anne-Marie Simpson, South Oxfordshire District Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning, said: ‘Our role is vital in maintaining the faith of the community in a fair and equal planning system based on the latest planning regulations.
Emma Branch with a pony in the barn which they now have to convert to become their new home
‘Not only was this development built without planning permission or Building Regulations approval – representing a significant breach – it was never registered to pay council tax.
‘Following our enforcement notice in March 2023, the owner appealed to the Planning Inspectorate.
‘The Planning Inspectorate upheld the enforcement decision and dismissed the appeal in December last year.
‘The inspector ruled the residential element of the building should now be removed and the owner has 12 months to comply with this.’
