Taylor Wimpey was forced to demolish 24 brand new homes after it was discovered a 1.8-acre corner of the site was subject to a historic covenant dating back to the 1930s which protects it from development. The covenant was put in place when it was sold in 1936 by owner Henry Edward Ripley, stipulating that no building is permitted on the 1.8-acre area south of Mill Lane.
In 2011, a three-day Land Tribunal hearing ordered Taylor Wimpey to demolish 24 properties built in this area.
Taylor Wimpey bought the Cheltenham site of 124 homes for £11.5million in 2006.
The 1.8 acre plot is now thought to be only worth £20,000.
The Land Tribunal hearing in January heard how Taylor Wimpey had been aware of the covenant before they started building!
A group of around 30 residents launched legal action as soon as the company encroached on the protected land in 2007.
Geoff Beardmore, leader of the resident's action group said:
'We did not seek confrontation with the developers and did everything possible to persuade them to respect the covenant.
It is regrettable that we were forced to go all the way to the wire to obtain this result, but I hope it will give encouragement to other groups who are challenging inappropriate developments.'He added....
'This decision sends a clear message to all developers. They cannot ignore either restrictive covenants or the views of residents entitled to benefit from them.'FULL STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS
