That Roundhouse

It was constructed without planning permission during the winter of 1997/1998 by Tony Wrench and Jane Faith and helpers as part of the then secret Brithdir Mawr intentional community.

[1] The natural building was designed by Tony Wrench and Jane Faith as their home and was built with the help of friends and volunteers, including labour exchange with their permaculture group.

That Roundhouse was built mainly from immediately available materials, which meant primarily wood, all of which they cut themselves (as opposed to using commercially sourced lumber from a sawmill).

At one point they announced that they were going to comply with the court and 'deconstruct' the building, however on the day the deconstruction was due to start a well-organised protest was arranged by supporters who threatened to squat the roundhouse to delay its destruction further.

[5] An enforcement notice was issued at the end of the period of the 18-month temporary permission[6] and in October 2003 they received a summons to appear at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court where they were fined £300.

The judge fined them £800 commenting that "he thought the reasons for building the roundhouse were highly commendable but that planning regulations were necessary for the functioning of society".

Two weeks before the second case conference the national park announced that it would suspend all legal activity until May 2006 when the new planning guidance was to be published by the authority.