A woman has been ordered to dismantle her enormous Harry Potter-themed treehouse following a heated dispute with her neighbors on a luxurious street.

This towering play structure, featuring a conical turret, rope bridge, and slide, was erected in the garden of Gemma Raval’s £1.2 million residence for her daughter and friends to enjoy.

However, instead of delighting the community, the 6.5-meter-high structure caused an uproar among neighbors who found it overwhelming, intrusive, and an eyesore.

After several months of back-and-forth, a planning inspector has made the final decision, mandating the treehouse’s removal within two months.

During a planning appeal hearing, it was revealed that Ms. Raval constructed the treehouse at her gated five-bedroom estate in the upscale hamlet of Rabley Heath, Hertfordshire, last year without securing planning permission.

Her neighbors, residing in their own £1.1 million period property, noted that they had previously not objected to Ms. Raval’s installations of an outdoor swimming pool, orangery, and garden room.

But they claimed they were never informed about plans for the huge tree house before it suddenly appeared by their boundary fence, raised on 1.35-metre stilts.

The furious neighbours complained that the lower turret of the tree house sat just 17 inches from the fence, with the upper platform looming even closer.

Gemma Raval built this giant Harry Potter-themed tree house in the garden of her £1.2million home so her daughter and her friends could play. But it has since sparked a bitter planning row

 The spellbinding hut features several nods to the films, including engravings of enchantments such as expelliarmus and stupefy on the rungs of a ladder

Speaking to the Mail, one neighbour who objected to the plans, who did not want to be named, said she could now ‘have a merry Christmas’. 

She has lived at her sprawling property with her husband for 25 years, she said, and has never had issues with neighbours who previously owned the mansion next door.

She said the tree house can be seen from ‘all of our back windows’ and that its overbearing presence impacts the time she spends at the bottom of the garden with her grandchildren and her horse, which is in an adjoining field.

After we informed her of the decision, she said: ‘It could have gone either way but I can have a merry Christmas now, thanks to you.’

She explained that the government’s planning inspector was ‘shocked’ when he came to view the construction.

‘He took lots of photos and videos and I think he was quite shocked and taken aback by how imposing it is,’ she said.

‘I mean it’s just not considerate, is it? They have seemed oblivious to others’ positions.

‘There’s been no consideration. I just don’t really understand why someone would want to do that.

Ms Raval erected the treehouse at her gated five-bedroom property (pictured) in the affluent hamlet of Rabley Heath, last year

‘I’m not happy in the sense that we have had three or four lots of neighbours here over the years and there has never been a problem.

‘I just really hope now that this is the end of it and there are no more processes or appeals that can be done.’

In an official objection to Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, the neighbours said: ‘The treehouse is of significant height and size and due to its close proximity to our garden, it is overbearing.

‘Originally there were five windows overlooking our garden and although these have now been boarded over we are concerned that these could be opened up if this is passed and there can be no redress.

‘Had we have been informed which is what normally happens in these circumstance, we could have said our suggestions and concerns directly.

‘The view from every window to our back garden is dominated by this building, especially the bedrooms.

‘It has spoilt the outlook from our house to our garden and directly impacts at all angles.

‘Ultimately the tree house is overbearing, too high and too close to our boundary.’

In documents applying for retrospective planning approval, agents for Ms Raval said she had wanted to create a whimsical ‘Harry Potter-themed castle’ for her daughter and friends, describing the structure as being of ‘excellent design, aesthetics and quality’.

She proposed planting five evergreen trees and installing a two-metre-high fence to reduce its impact.

However, council planners were unimpressed – ruling the scale and height of the treehouse resulted in an ‘unacceptable overbearing impact’ on the neighbouring garden.

They said screening would be insufficient to mask the dominance of the treehouse, adding that the neighbours should be able to enjoy their gardens without being unduly impacted by surrounding development.

It concluded: ‘As such, the proposal is considered to result in an unduly dominant structure that causes a significant overbearing impact for the occupiers of this space.’

Plans for the fantasy playhouse show it features a conical turret, rope bridge and slide

The council refused planning permission and issued an enforcement notice ordering demolition, prompting Ms Raval to launch a last-ditch appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

After visiting the site, planning inspector Andrew Walker dismissed the appeal.

Despite its name, he ruled the treehouse was ‘neither built in a tree or supported by one’ and was a ‘a significant self-supported building’, incorporating play equipment.

He concluded that the sheer bulk and height of the structure created an ‘oppressive presence’ that undermined the neighbour’s enjoyment of their garden.

Mr Walker said: ‘There are no conditions which would make the development acceptable.’

When the property was marketed for sale in 2010, the house was described as a ‘stunning’ and ‘highly individual’ red brick residence ‘boasting truly outstanding landscaped gardens’.

A Rightmove listing read: ‘The truly spectacular south facing garden was once featured in the 25 beautiful gardens magazine enjoys an eclectic mix of specimen vegetation, impressive Japanese water garden, brick built pergola with climbing wisteria and a fabulous box hedge parterre with shingled pathways.

‘There is a detached summer house and a number of associated outbuildings.

‘Rabley Heath is a picturesque semi rural setting nestled between Welwyn village, Codicote & Old Knebworth.

‘The area has a fine selection of individual country homes and is surrounded by the wonderful Hertfordshire countryside, revealing bridleways and foot paths across open fields and pretty country lanes.’