Timber! Million-pound home built secretly instead of horse-breeding clinic is razed to the ground

Published: 00:38, 20 August 2026 | Updated: 00:44, 20 August 2026 They say what goes up must come down – although houses normally last longer than this. The million-pound property was built in 2017 but council officers ordered it to be torn down six years later after discovering it was secretly harbouring a three-bedroom home, instead of the horse clinic that had been agreed. The decision was later backed by a planning inspector and work to demolish the property in Great Abington, Cambridgeshire, finally began in April. As these photos show, the process has now been virtually completed, with nothing left but the footprint of the two-storey building remaining, shown by the foundations. Earlier stages showed the roof being peeled away, revealing the wooden support beams within. Eventually, just the skeleton of the ground floor remained, surrounded by scaffolding, before that disappeared too. The foundations must be removed to complete the process. Furious owners Jeremy Zielinski, 75, and his wife Elaine, 80, told the Mail they remained bitter about the decision, which they said had cost them £1 million 'overnight'. 'Anyone who knows the situation – every single person I've spoken to – they all think it's absolutely ludicrous because the original planning permission was given for the physical building as it was,' Mr Zielinski fumed. The three-bedroom property in Great Abington, Cambridgeshire, was supposed to be a two-storey commercial building to house a stallion semen collection centre and laboratory, with a small first floor flat for staff 'They say "The housing situation is desperate and they are making you pull down your home without recourse".' But a local said today: 'I just can't believe they're still complaining about it. 'The house looked okay, to be fair, but they weren't given [planning] permission for a house.' The horse-mad couple bought a house with an outbuilding and 17 acres of land for £100,000 in 1986. In 2014, they were given planning permission by South Cambridgeshire District Council for a countryside business with a reception area, office, kitchenette, laboratory space, staff changing room and toilet on the ground floor. The first-floor design featured two bedrooms with en suite bathrooms for staff. Contractors began work on the property in 2017 and Mr and Mrs Zielinski - who had three children, although one tragically died in 2021 after taking the Covid vaccine - sold their own house two years later, moving into a static home. The couple believe a jealous neighbour informed on them about the property not adhering to the agreed design, leading to planning officers visiting their home and a July 2023 enforcement notice which ordered it to be razed to the ground. The footprint of the property is all that remains now Jeremy Zielinski, 75, and his wife Elaine, 80, told the Mail they remained bitter about the council ruling, which they said had cost them £1 million 'overnight'. They appealed to the Planning Inspectorate and, in their submission, claimed lockdown wrecked their business plans for the clinic which forced them to turn the property into their home, while continuing to run their commercial interests in their grounds. The order to pull down the entire building was over the top and would leave them without a roof over their heads, they added. But planning inspector Chris Preston noted the property had a 'decidedly residential appearance', including a kitchen with island breakfast bar, domestic furnishings and appliances, a dining area, living room and home office. Upstairs were two bedrooms with a 'lounge equipped with sofa and television'. Mr Preston turned down their appeal, concluding it had been built as a house from the start, rather than converted from the approved lab and flat, and the couple had sold their own home and another plot of land with permission for a dwelling. He also noted there was 'very little evidence that the stallion semen collection and analysis business ever got off the ground to any notable degree'. The only payment for laboratory fees was £44 for a horse named Dublin but there was 'no indication as to whether the analysis was carried out at the appeal site'. Mr Preston also considered the owners' claim to need somewhere to live but concluded: 'Given the clear and flagrant breach of planning policy and the associated harm arising, I find that interference with the human rights of the appellant and his wife would be proportionate in this case.' Easy come, easy go: the house, shown intact before work began to take it apart Roof gone and exterior stripped, the property makes for a forlorn sight Sections of the house have been removed, including the innards The process is close to the end, with the outline of the ground floor remaining and scaffolding and a walkway left in place Mr Zielinski, a former marketing manager for the Injured Jockeys Fund, told the Mail the onset of Covid had battered their hopes of founding the business in their property, while the death of their daughter, Claire, aged 55, had 'taken the wind out of our sails for fighting an enforcement notice'. He insisted: 'We moved in when it was partially complete to get it ready to operate as a business [and] on the basis that we were going to comply with the planning by living upstairs and running the business downstairs.' His wife, a GP's receptionist, previously said they had been unaware they were breaking the law. 'We want to carry on living here. It's a warm and comfortable home. I love it,' she explained. 'It doesn't make sense to tear it down. I don't want to go and live in a caravan. If we are chucked out, we will be having to rely on the state. 'We would not have gone on and built this and put all our money into it unless we thought it was totally legal to do it.' The Zielinskis arranged for a contractor to take apart the building, rather than demolish it. This meant the trader could make use of parts including timber frames, windows and bifold doors, saving a portion of the estimated £30,000 it would have cost to demolish it. Mr Zielinski, pictured, said he and his wife were planning to move to Thailand with the funds from the sale of the land and stables Once they had sold their stables and the land they stand on, they expected to be left with no more than £350,000, which they revealed they were going to use to invest in a new home in Thailand. They would have preferred to move to Australia where they have a daughter and four grandchildren but complained the financial blow they had suffered meant that was beyond their budget. A council spokesman said: 'The foundations remain on site and must be removed to comply with the enforcement notice.  'The council is continuing to review the matter and consider the appropriate next steps.'