Sir Cliff falls foul of planners

Sir Cliff has been attending Wimbledon all week

Sir Cliff Richard has been ordered to knock down a £30,000 conservatory built at his house in Surrey because he did not have planning permission.

An enforcement notice to demolish was issued after Runnymede Borough Council rejected a retrospective application for the extension in Virginia Water.

It said the 17ft (5.2m) by 13ft (4.2m) building was "disproportionate".

Sir Cliff's publicist, Bill Latham, said it was a "private issue" which would "soon be resolved".

The council's planning committee said permission for the conservatory, which was built three years ago, should be refused because it increased the property's floor area by more than 30%.

This represented a "disproportionate addition" to the original building and was considered to be a "harmful development" to the Green Belt site, it said.

Planning committee chairman Councillor Geoffrey Woodger said it was "regrettable that Sir Cliff's agent did not check whether the conservatory needed planning permission before proceeding".

"We cannot treat one applicant differently from others," he added.

The singer is expected to appeal against the decision and has until 3 August to do so.