Ken and Barbara Mead have now been forced to move into a canal boat paid for by their children after they spent the last of their £250,000 life savings on a dispute with the council over a warehouse development on a piece of land which they purchased in 2006.
This month the retired couple were forced to demolish the property after council chiefs said they had flouted regulations.
Ken, 81, and 77-year-old Barbara were given permission to use the land they had purchased to build a warehouse for commercial use in 2012. However, they were unable to find a tenant and later moved into the property in Macclesfield and used it as a home – which Cheshire East Council said contravened the original agreement.
Despite the council having said they made the regulations 'very clear', the couple said the council gave them incorrect information when they applied for their original planning permission, and had been inconsistent in its advice.
Following the dispute, the grandparents, who both suffer from high blood pressure and heart problems, had to sell their furniture and keepsakes to fund the battle and claim the ordeal has 'broken' them after they were left with criminal records for contravening planning law.
The council issued the pair with enforcement notices in 2016, instructing them to demolish the property.
One year later the order was upheld by a government inspector, who found that the building had been constructed 'from the outset as a dwelling'.
The report cited the building's plastered walls, 'domestic style' bathroom, doors and windows and 'luxury' under floor kitchen heating.
'It seems to me that the structure would be entirely unsuited to use as a warehouse,' it said.
Speaking to the BBC Barbara added: 'It was our dream really. I'm devastated that it's come to this because we didn't have anywhere else to go'.
MailOnline
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