Mr Steele also openly admitted ripping out the toilet and shower after learning inspectors were set to pay an imminent visit. He added: 'His actions amount to positive deception to prevent the regular operation of the council’s planning enforcement function.' Records show Mr Steele was registered for council tax and on the electoral roll at another property between 2019 and 2021. 'As far as I was concerned, I thought that if you lived in a place for more than four years and no one complained, then that was permitted,' Mr Steele said. Mr Steele told the Daily Mail he was in a 'limbo' period since being ordered to return the barn to its original state.

Source: Daily Mail February 07, 2026 16:42 UTC