Comedian slams planning laws after he is not allowed to make driveway

Comedian Simon Evans has branded planning laws 'a joke' after he was refused permission to create a driveway at his own home.

Simon - who has appeared in BBC2s Mock the Week, Michael McInytre's Comedy Roadshow and other hit shows - wanted to build the driveway so he could install an electric vehicle charging point.

His family home is surrounded by properties which have removed walls to create spaces to park their cars.

But astonishingly Simon was refused permission to create a similar driveway because his home is in a Conservation Area.

The council claims all the other homes had their drives installed before 1984 when the road in Hove, East Sussex, was made a Conservation Area and became subject to strict planning laws.

Simon, 59, a stand-up comedian and long-time favourite at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, says he is 'astonished' by the council's inflexible position.

The comedian, who lives at the home with his wife, Kate, successfully applied to the council for permission for a dropped kerb crossover.

The council even suggested a list of approved builders and materials to carry out the work.

The crossover, which costs £5,000 in total, was carried out to the exact council specifications.

But his application did not include planning permission to remove his front wall, and when he applied for retrospective permission Brighton & Hove City Council's own Conservation team objected.

Neighbours backed his plans with 14 contacting the council to support his retrospective driveway application and only two objecting to it.

When his application came before the planning committee, Simon said: 'We feel it does not alter the character of the neighbourhood in any detrimental way, let alone the aspects of it protected by the Conservation Area.

'It does not result in a noticeable loss of the site's historic fabric and setting, nor does it give the curtilage of the property an overdeveloped appearance, which would harm the historic character of the property.'

He was supported by Labour councillor Alison Thomson, who voted to approve planning permission alongside Brighton and Hove Independent Mark Earthey.

Councillor Thomson said: 'I feel like we're living in 21st century and we have to be able to make changes. I don't think this is to my mind (causing) significant harm.'

Councillor Earthey said: 'This is an incremental change that does no harm.'

But the committee voted seven to two to refuse his retrospective planning application.

After the decision Simon, who also hosts GB News' Headliners newspaper review programme, said: 'I was astonished to be honest. All my close neighbours have driveways.

'It seems ridiculous to refuse me permission when so many have been given the go ahead - a bit like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted.

'Being a comedian I often return from gigs after midnight and not being able to find a parking space within half a mile of my home is miserable.

'All the houses around me all have purpose-built driveways. It doesn't detract from the character of the road - in fact it would make them look more uniform.

'Our house is an old Victorian villa and we bought it precisely because we love it's age and history.

'We have spent around £100,000 restoring it from three run-down flats into a beautiful family home, taking care to preserve all its original features. We recently spent a lot of money replacing the windows with bespoke wooden sash windows.

'However I feel the council has to move with the times and be more flexible so sympathetic modernisation can allow for more eco-friendly living.'

He added: 'The introduction of a driveway would allow us to install an electric charging point which will future-proof the home and help the council's drive towards Net Zero.

'It's a joke really because a failure to move with the times is exactly what is holding back such environmental initiatives.'

When his family moved into the house in 2011 and began renovating it, a street tree prevented Mr Evans from creating a driveway. That changed when the tree was removed two years ago.

Green councillor Sue Shanks asked how Mr Evans had managed to gain permission for the crossover and was told that it was handled by a different team at the council.

Councillor Shanks said: 'It's a shame that council departments can't work a bit better together. So someone gets permission then they're also told don't go ahead because you may not get planning permission.'

Labour councillor Jacob Allen referred to the character statement from the area, written in 1984, which lamented earlier changes to the roofs and loss of gardens for the homes built in 1860.

In the application statement planners at Brighton & Hove City Council said: 'There are examples of similar arrangements along Denmark Villas.

'They all result in the loss of some of the front boundary walls in lieu of car parking. Regrettably this loss of an historic architectural feature serves to demonstrate how incremental changes can erode the historic character of street scenes in Conservation Areas.

'The historic character of these properties has been severely impacted by these works.'

Simon and his family must now decide whether to appeal the council decision to the Secretary of State.