Planning Outlaws

Britain’s green and pleasant land is protected by a complex web of planning laws, and it is a brave and determined person who dares to challenge the system.

Melody Howse’s very British film tells the story of three individuals who have taken on planning regulators with extraordinary and sometimes disastrous consequences.

Jim built a straw bale house on agricultural land. He had planning permission for an educational centre but loved the house so much he decided to live in it instead. Jim has spent four years fighting to keep his home.

Mr Gulzar erected six-foot stone lions on the ancient Pevensey Marshes without planning permission. He faces a community at odds with his tastes, and the vandalism of his beloved lions.

And 76-year-old Nicole Harper watches in horror as the granny flat her son built for her is demolished for violating planning regulations.

As these people fight to the bitter end to defend their structures, ‘Planning Outlaws’ charts the highs and lows that challenging the planning system can bring.