A yoga teacher’s plans to run retreats and classes from a huge yurt in her back garden have upset her neightbours.
Sacha Latham put up the large tent in the back garden of her house in Arundel Road at the end of May, where it still stands.
In a Facebook page called Brighton Yurt, she says it will be used for classes, healing circles and mini retreats.
She’s now applied to Brighton and Hove City Council for retrospective planning permission.
But people living in Lewes Mews, whose gardens back onto hers, say it’s already leading to noise issues
One, whose details have been redacted on the council website, said: “I believe the height and width of the urt to be excessive and too close to all boundaries. It dominates the whole of the back gardens of Arundel Road and directly affects Lewes Mews with its dominance.
“Noise levels have already been the subject of disturbance and have been reported to the police and the environmental department.”
Another said: “Is this to be a business? If it is to be a business, is it permitted to conduct a business from a tent in the back garden without prior permission to do so
Any noise from a tent with canvas sides will be obvious and will impact on me and quite possibly my neighbours.
“Any noise from the yurt will impinge on my privacy and enjoyment of this outside space in my own front garden. I cannot even escape this if I move inside as any noise from the yurt will impact directly on my living spaces.
“I have found the erection of the yurt to be distressing with the anticipated noise levels which will emit from there and have considered that I may have to move away from my much loved home.”
A third said “By common courtesy this should have been applied for before erection of this very oversized yurt.
“Twice now in the very recent past music has been coming from the yurt, which is disturbing.”
And a fourth said: “There’s concern that a firepit (believed to be housed in the yurt) would constitute a fire risk, especially as the structure is close to sheds and fencing and the canvas covering of the urt.
“There may also be smells from the compost toilet.
“The proposed use would appear to be business related, something which is not mentioned in the application.”
The application must be decided by 2 October.
pull it down
BUNCH OF SNOBS LIVE AND LET LIVE YOU BUNCH OF SADDOS
So if your neighbours did the same (or worse) in their gardens and you’d just happly accept it?#
I don’t think you would and you know that
Anyone know where I can buy a yellow, blue and pink tie-dye toga?
Looks really good to me! What a hateful bunch of entitled neighbours!
What’s really hateful is the yurt owner not bothering to consider the impact on her neighbours at all.
What a selfish woman. Fancy building a huge yurt next to people’s houses and running classes, retreats, even an airbnb, and not even applying for planning permission until it’s already done. Entitled !! Does she think the rules don’t apply to her?
I am a resident of this street, in fact I live a couple of doors down from the house in question. The yurt in question has not even been completed yet and certainly hasn’t been used at all, not even once…! This is a home of 4 teenagers, an amazing mum and dad, who are responsible, friendly, accommodating and central to the street community. If there is any noise in the garden it is from the teenagers who sometimes dare to have fun !!!! They are always respectful of the community and the noise is always turned off or down before the Witching hour. It sends shivers down my spine knowing that there is a group of neighbours in the ‘middle england’ mews behind that need to spend time inciting so much bitterness. Perhaps these people could come and have a conversation with the extremely friendly and accommodating Sacha… They could hear her incredible story and reasons for erecting the yurt, in the first place.
In the mean time please know that any noise coming from this joyous, friendly household is absolutely nothing to do with the yurt!
Really? Well, did the “extremely accommodating Sacha” consult any of the neighbours in Lewes Mews, even once, over the many years she’s been planning this? It’s a retrospective application. Rather than accusing people of inciting bitterness, perhaps it’s better to ask whether Sacha has bothered to consider the impact on others, at all.
It’s not really about her incredible story and reasons for putting up the yurt, though, is it? It’s about whether she’s complied with planning law and whether she’s going to create a disturbance and eyesore for her neighbours. I feel rather sorry for her, she’s obviously put a lot into it judging from her facebook page – but she didn’t think it through properly. She’ll probably have to take it down, but she’s the architect of her own misfortune in this regard.
You lot need to get a life glad I left that place. God does not live there and neither does good. Pure evil and bitter to the core. I live on top of a mountain without any English with out any complaints. Here from sunny Spain with a smile. Laughing at you all the way to the bank as we live off grid
I wonder if she’ll be liable for Council Tax at the business rate?
Yes, and I wonder if she’ll be declaring to HMRC. She hasn’t asked for planning permission to run an airbnb. What are the fire safety requirements too?
Having said that, I think it’s a wonderful idea that she’s running classes and healing circles.
I wouldn’t be to chuffed about my neighbours taking dumps in a compost toilet next to my fence either tbh.
Love and let live maybe but if it’s a business venture which will be making a racket then no, go and rent a shop and do it properly
Yes, and quite apart from the smells, really don’t want to hear “noises” when people take a dump next to the fence. Yuk !!
Needs planning permission over 2.5m in height
Really??!! People do building work on their houses all the time which disturbs neighbours. It’s the nature of living in a built up city. People put all sorts of structures in their gardens all the time too, from offices to spare bedrooms, to outdoor bars to playing structures for their children (which typically are a pretty noisy demographic). All the things mentioned in the article as concerns haven’t even happened yet, and may never happen. Surely if the neighbours complaining developed some interpersonal skills they could be in dialogue with the neighbour in question instead of running to the newspaper to condemn.
Im not a british but if the pub would be open next to her she won’t complain im sure about it,
Jealous people never will trive plus wait ressesion is ona way the neighbours will need yoga classes soon to get rid of stress and anxiety
Respect for a women who does yoga classes ❤
People are so judgmental these days! What on earth is wrong with running yoga classes in your own back garden? Good on her, I say. Nosy neighbours… get a life!
The wellbeing of the guests using the tent.. sorry, Yurt,… is far more important than the wellbeing of the neighbours with a compost toilet at their fence.
The guests are paying.
It’s about the money.. sorry, I mean, it’s about the wellbeing and spiritual enlightenment of the guests that need to find peace. OOOMMmmmmmmmm…..
Someone mentioned money. My view is that if you’re offering a service, money does come into it. There’s the cost of training, registering, public liabilities insurance, CPPD (which most compliementary therapists do in order to maintain membership if they’re in a professional body), not to mention any products used, advertising, websites and so forth. There’s also the practitioners time and expertise. People have to earn money, providing they do it honestly and with integrity, great. I’ll just add this on, please can someone run some healing and meditation circles in Fiveways please?