A West End theatre producer’s £4million ‘fortress home’ that has been compared to a budget hotel is being reduced in size following a long-running planning row.
Builders were this week seen removing the top storey of Adam Speigel’s modernist home in the coastal village of Cley, Norfolk.
Mr Spiegel, who has produced London West End shows The Mousetrap and Hairspray, has battled for nearly five years to be able to keep the house.
Mr Spiegel and his wife Charlotte were originally ordered to tear down the three-storey house after breaching planning rules.
However, Mr Spiegel agreed to demolish the top floor of the home to reduce the property in size in April – in an attempt to keep the house standing.
The home in Cley, Norfolk, has been compared to a Travelodge by neighbours
Builders were this week seen removing the top storey of Adam Speigel’s modernist home
The house has been compared to a budget hotel by some angry neighbours
The house is seen from a slight distance surrounded by greenery
Theatre company producer Adam Spiegel and his wife, Charlotte (pictured together) have been locked in a long-running battle with town planners over their controversial property in Norfolk
Mr Spiegel’s home in North Norfolk. The extraordinary planning row saw the theatre producer ordered take off the whole of the top floor of his £2 million mansion
The property viewed from above. Building work started in 2016 the following year builders were told to stop work after it was discovered that the property was not being built to the approved plans
Its towering top storey is set to be replaced by a pitched roof more in keeping with the quaint countryside and coastal properties around it.
The home is named Arcady which means ‘rustic paradise’, but locals in the village have likened it to a ‘dystopian fortress’.
Neighbouring residents previously said the modern property ‘doesn’t fit in’ with the village, which is mainly made up of quaint flint cottages.
A resident, who wished to remain anonymous, previously said: ‘I don’t like it, it’s too big it just looks out of character with the rest of the village.
‘We call it the Travelodge hotel because it is so big and at night it’s all lit up it seems like every window is lit up.’
Villager David Villings said last December: ‘It is a real mystery how they got permission in the first place. It just doesn’t fit in with the village and its surroundings.
‘This is a traditional Norfolk village and the house sticks out like a sore thumb. Every other property in the village is either original or made to look traditional.
‘But this place is just an eyesore – it looks as if it designed by a five-year-old with a box of Lego bricks.’
Work begins to remove the top floor of the property in Norfolk
The huge box-shaped modernist home, named Arcady which means ‘rustic paradise’ in Greek, has provoked controversy among locals who claimed the house ‘stood out like a sore thumb’
The Arcady house viewed from the village. In the past residents have compared the design to a Travelodge and another local called it a ‘dystopian fortress’
The Arcady property has caused anger among locals in the coastal community with complaints it was ‘lit up like a Christmas tree’ at night while others criticised its modern design as ‘dystopian’
Mr Spiegel came under siege from North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) soon after work began in 2016, with officials claiming the property was larger than originally planned.
Mr Spiegel lodged a new application with NNDC in January, with the council proposing the demolition of the top floor of the property for it to then be rebuilt.
His agent, Ian Scholfield, said the redesign had been drawn up after a public consultation event in the village.
Despite the revisions, the new pitched roof will be higher than its predecessor at the apex.
Although there were 19 objections to the planning application, from villagers who thought it was still too overbearing, councillors agreed the plans.
Mr Spiegel has declined to comment throughout the saga, which began when he applied to demolish the bungalow which previously stood on the site and build a new house in 2012.