A mum has been given the green light to carry on living in an annexe next to her son’s home – despite his objections.
Juliet Light had sought the legal right to continue to live at the annexe, which had been converted from old stables, at the farm she owns in the village of Llanvihangel Crucorney in Monmouthshire, Wales.
She claimed she had moved into the building in December 2019 and that it was independent of the home next door lived in by her son, submitting utility bills as evidence.
This was however disputed by her son, Gareth Rees, who claimed her main residence was another property in a nearby village.
He alleged the longest period of time the annex had been lived in was for eight months from December 2021 and said Mrs Light had intended to sell it.
He acknowledged that Mrs Light made use of the property but said she “does not ever stay overnight and use it as her main residence”.
A planning condition put in place for the annexe in 2011 meant it could only be used as another part of the main home on the farm and not as a separate home.
In an application to Monmouthshire County Council for a certificate of lawful development, Mrs Light however argued that because the council had failed to bring enforcement action within four years of the planning breach, it was lawful.
The annexe had been converted from old stables at the farm in the village of Llanvihangel Crucorney
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The application read: “…The breach of a planning condition that results in the change of use of a building to a single dwelling house is subject to an enforcement period of four years.
“When the four-year period has elapsed, that breach is deemed lawful, and a certificate can be issued by the local authority to that effect.”
Council planning officer Kate Bingham granted the application on December 22, 2025, “on the balance of probability”.
She made reference to a statuary declaration submitted by Mrs Light which “states that the applicant moved into the annex building in December 2019 as a dwelling with no connection to [the neighbouring home], despite the occupier of that dwelling being the applicant’s son”.
The property is located in a village in Monmouthshire, Wales (file photo)
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GETTY/MIKE KEMP
Ms Bingham said Mr Rees had not wished to make an affidavit to back up his claims that disputed this.
She stated: “It is also noted that another neighbour has also stated that the annex has not been lived in for a continuous period.
“However, this neighbour did not provide an address and therefore it is difficult to corroborate this information.”
The council concluded that the annex had been “continually occupied for at least four years”.
Ms Bingham wrote: “The planning authority has no evidence to contradict the Statutory Declaration and evidence provided by the applicant.
“Therefore, on the balance of probability, it is concluded the building…has been continually occupied for at least four years as a separate dwelling…”