A COUPLE have been ordered to stop using their luxury barn after neighbours complained they were too noisy.
Victoria and Richard Kerrison have been told by their local council to shut down their holiday lets after 10 years.
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It comes after the two cottages in Norfolk, which can accommodate 20 people, were at the heart of noise complaints.
According to North Norfolk District Council, the countryside rentals were operating without the required planning permission.
Courtyard Barn and Pear Tree are up for £800 per night – which the couple were given permission for.
However, the site also has a bed and breakfast called The Orangery.
Officials claim The Orangery should only be used as an extension to Pear Tree and not a holiday let on its own.
Victoria and Richard have also been ordered to move out of their home on the site and remove its kitchen and bathroom.
The local authority state the barns should only ever have been used as an office – but the couple say this was never the plan.
The Eastern Daily Press reported a statement submitted on the couple’s behalf said: “The whole building has never been solely used as an office as alleged.
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“It makes no sense to suggest, as the council has done, that the whole building was used as an office to service the administrative requirements of a business letting three small cottages whose admin needs are more than adequately met by a laptop, some shelves and a filing cabinet.”
A council spokesperson said the area shouldn’t be home to these kind of developments because the countryside needs to be considered.
They said: “The appeal site is deemed to be considered as the countryside where development is restricted to particular types of development to support the rural economy, meet affordable housing needs and provide renewable energy.”
Close friend, neighbour and film producer Lady Anwen Hurt is expected to support the couple’s appeal.
The wife of late actor Sir John Hurt claims she has had no issue with noise and will submit a statement.
It is understood the Planning Inspectorate will make a decision later this year.
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