Pull down your hobbit home, couple told: Eco house made from straw and wood is harmful to countryside, say planners

Took less than a year to build and cost £15,000 to construct

Friends helped them build it in less than a year

Roof is made of grass and walls built from straw bales

Local council says home is not essential for forestry or agricultural worker



With its gently sloping turf roof and rough-hewn timbers, it’s the kind of home Bilbo Baggins would be proud of. 

But this eco-friendly ‘hobbit home’ was built by a young couple desperate for somewhere to bring up their baby son. 

Charlie Hague and Megan Williams, both 25, had spent four years living in a damp caravan before starting work on their roundhouse last summer. 

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Charlie Hague and Megan Williams could have to pull their eco-house down after building it without planning permission The house has been built from wood mostly discovered on a piece of land owned by Mr Hague's father

It was the only way they could afford a home of their own and they completed it weeks before son Eli was born. 

Made from straw bales rendered in lime, it is situated on land owned by Mr Hague’s parents in Glandwr, west Wales. 

However despite spending £15,000 on their dream home, it was built without planning permission – and now the local council wants to pull it down. 

Charlie and Megan moved into the house just weeks before their son, Eli, was born

Pembrokeshire County Council has issued an enforcement notice which describes the one-bedroom property as ‘harmful to the rural character of the locality’. 

The couple’s only hope is to apply for retrospective planning permission to save their home. 

Mr Hague, a sculptor and woodworker, used timber from his own land to create his house.  It nestles at the bottom of a valley next to a small pond. 



A Facebook page set up to showcase their eco-friendly home has attracted hundreds of supporters since news of their plight emerged. 

The couple acknowledge that they built the house without planning permission. 

But they argue it was the only way that they could afford to have a place of their own in the area where they were raised. 



‘We built our house at the bottom of a valley where no one can see it, it’s not harming anyone else and we’ve built it out of as many natural materials as possible,’ said Mr Hague. 



‘There is a great lack of affordable housing across Britain and this seemed like the best option for us as we couldn’t afford to rent or buy a place in the area we have grown up in. 

‘We were born in the area, went to school here and have lived here all our lives.  We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. 

‘There is a difference between a low-impact house tucked away from sight and a block of flats or a slaughterhouse springing up without planning permission.’ 

His partner, Megan, added: ‘I know it’s not a possibility for everyone and our situation here is unique, but if young people are to live and work in the area, they need somewhere to live.’ 

The couple were living in a caravan for four years before the house was completed

The kitchen looks out over a porch and is part of the open plan reception room of the house Inside the cozy bedroom in the house that was built on land that belonged to Mr Hague's father

More than 1,400 people have so far visited the couple’s Facebook page ‘Charlie and Meg’s Roundhouse’ to express support for their hand-built home. 

One of them, Julia Phair, wrote: ‘You have created such a beautiful house.  Best of luck in your battle against the idiocies of the planning department!’ 

Last night a spokesman for Pembrokeshire County Council said: ‘An enforcement notice has been served on this property as it is alleged that an unauthorised dwelling has been built in open countryside without planning permission. 

‘It is currently the subject of an enforcement appeal.’ 

VIDEO Explore the home that Charlie and Megan have created...

The house has a timber frame built out of wood found nearby while the walls are lime-plastered bales of straw

The couple recruited friends to help them build the house which cost just £15,000 to construct

It took less than a year for the house to be built with the roof going on first

The roof is a self-supporting spiral of timbers that lets in natural light Inside the house the couple enjoys a view of the sky through the hole in the top of their roof

A tree trunk stands at the heart of the house and is one of the main features of the construction

The couple hope the eco-house will be completely self-sufficient

The house comprises four rooms and is heated by a central fireplace