Yoga teacher loses planning battle over garden yurt in Brighton

A yoga teacher has lost her appeal to keep a yurt in her back garden.

Sacha Latham, from Brighton, put up the round tent last May, intending to use it as a yoga classroom.

After neighbours complained, she submitted a planning application to Brighton and Hove City Council but it was turned down in October.

Her appeal was rejected by planning inspector Martin Andrews, who said it harmed the “character and appearance” of the area, though Ms Latham challenged this.

Mr Andrews called the yurt unsightly and said it was too big for a “small garden in a densely populated part of the city”.

He added that it was visible from a number of surrounding gardens and the windows of properties in Arundel Road and Lewes Mews, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Ms Latham said in a statement, prepared by Elena Rowland Architects, the yurt did not harm the wider area as it could not be seen from the road.

She also argued the yurt is a tent used by nomadic tribes so was not a permanent structure.

But Mr Andrews said since Ms Latham planned to use the yurt for yoga lessons it was “reasonable to assume” it would be a permanent fixture in the garden.

Ms Latham has been approached for comment.