This guy in the UK bypassed planning-zoning laws. . . He has one year to comply or his home/castle must come down.
Moral of the story . . . Check your local zoning requirements . . .
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_britain_secret_castle (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_britain_secret_castle)
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He built the castle and lived in it secretly for four years hoping an arcane law would grant him grandfathership, thus circumventing the approval process. It still would be cheaper just to fine the crap out of him and then give him permission to live in the house. Instead the authorities are spending tons of public money getting the courts to force him to tear it down. Looks to me like he's had some problems with the town leaders in the past and they're using the law against him to satisfy some personal vendetta.