Couple ordered to knock down £1m home after claiming it would be a ‘horse semen lab’
21 May 2025, 16:51
A couple has been ordered to demolish their £1m home after they lied to the council by claiming it was going to be a “horse semen laboratory”.
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Jeremy and Elaine Zielinski were granted permission to build a “stallion semen centre” with a small upstairs flat in Great Abington, Cambridgeshire, back in 2014.
The two-storey building was described by the planning inspectorate as a “typical home from the off,” with TVs, sofas, bedrooms and even an island breakfast bar.
It was also set to be equipped with a reception, an office and kitchenette, as well as a lecture and processing laboratories, with a staff changing room on the ground floor.
While the building known as Valentine Stables looked the same as the plans, the inside was a different story.
The inspectorate, Chris Peston, said there was “little evidence” to suggest the couple's “stallion semen business” ever took off.
Mr Peston said that the pair had sold their original house on the site and moved into this property.
South Cambridgeshire District Council told the couple to demolish their home in July 2023.
They appealed the decision but the planning inspectorate ruled in favour of the council after ruling that demolition was proportionate.
“The lack of any clear record of the semen collection and analysis business, when added to the evidence that the laboratory and associated storage and analysis areas were never constructed raises serious doubts as to whether the 2014 permission was implemented” he said.
He added: "What actually appears to have happened is that the appellant constructed a dwelling from the off.”
Cllr Dr Tumi Hawkins, the lead cabinet member for planning at South Cambridgeshire district council, said: “We welcome the inspector’s clear decision, which supports our commitment to upholding planning policies in our local plan and the neighbourhood plan designed to protect our countryside.”
The house must be demolished and all waste material removed by 6 May 2025.
