A FAMILY is seeking compensation after winning its fight over a children's tree house.

Leeds City Council took action against Sharon and Stephen Myers after claiming the tree house they had built in their back garden was just five centimetres too high.

But following an appeal to the Secretary of State, the Government inspector disagreed with the council's measurements and said that the tree house - built three years previously - could stay.

Now the Myers are hoping to get compensation after spending more than a year fighting to keep the two metre square tree house in the laurel tree at their back garden of their home.

Mr and Mrs Myers, of Newlaithes Road, Horsforth, built the tree house for their two youngest children in 1998 but were shocked when nearly three years later they were ordered to take it down because it did not meet strict planning criteria.

Now Mr and Mrs Myers and their two youngest children Sarah and Bobby can finally celebrate after the enforcement notice ordering them to remove it was quashed.

But the father of four is far from pleased with the ordeal and hopes that he might be able to claim compensation for the amount of time, effort and money spent in fighting the enforcement order.

The dispute started when Mr and Mrs Myers built the treetop hideaway for Sarah, now 13, and Bobby, now ten.

A neighbour complained after the tree was pruned, and council officials were sent to the house to measure the height of the platform. The family was told that it was five centimetres too high - at just over three metres - and needed planning permission, which would not be granted.

Weeks later they were given an enforcement notice saying that the tree house must be removed within a month.

Not wanting to give in, the Myers fought against the notice and even defended themselves at an appeal. Mr Myers said: "When this all started I had just begun my new job and we wanted to move house, but because of the enforcement order it was impossible.

"It was the perfect house, very close to work and of course we lost it. We have spent so much time worrying over this and it is only over a piece of wood in a tree - it is absolutely ridiculous."

At the appeal the inspector said that the platform fell within Class E of Part 1, Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995. Under that class a development is not allowed if the height exceeds four metres in the case of a ridged roof or three metres in any other case.

The first time the platform was measured it was over three metres by a matter of centimetres but after the public inquiry the inspector measured it at 2.95 metres - making it perfectly legal.

Mr Myers said: "I wouldn't care, but what made the difference was the decorative post tops that we had put on the platform. I even suggested that we just take them off because it made no difference to the children but they said no, we had to take the whole platform down.

"The most ridiculous part was after the public inquiry we had to have a site visit so we all traipsed from Leeds back to Horsforth, the inspector and chief planning people and all the representatives with the sole intention of measuring the tree. When we all gathered in the back garden they didn't have a tape measure between them - it is unbelievable."

Mrs Myers said: "All of this could have been avoided. It has now got to the stage where the children are growing out of going up there."

Martin Sellens, Senior Planning Officer at the council, said: "The problem was that the platform was measured from ground level and the ground was not even, so the measurement had to start at the highest point. This was a difficult case but the matter has been resolved and the couple won the appeal."