MILLIONS of television viewers saw Chris Ostwald sailing into trouble over his plans to build an American-style watermill on a hillside in Oxfordshire.

The home of his dreams has been built on a site at Aston Hill, near Watlington, that he chose 20 years ago.

But even after a two-year planning battle — with the story featured in Channel 4’s Grand Designs programme — Mr Ostwald is looking no closer to moving into his unusual south Oxfordshire home.

And there is now uncertainty whether he will go ahead with a water wheel to round off the scheme.

Mr Ostwald, a London shopowner, ended up having to work with a whole string of different architects to turn his vision of a watermill into a reality.

He said he was inspired to build the full-scale replica of a West Virginian watermill after seeing an illustration of it on a yoghurt pot.

The fact that it was to be built on a steep hillside proved a major challenge. Mr Ostwald’s eventual solution was to construct a level platform cut into the chalk hill, on steel legs, with a steel frame serving as a table on which the house sits, as well as being an underhouse storage area.

An authentic timber kit had to be shipped over from New Hampshire.

Now South Oxfordshire District Council said it had no idea about whether Mr Ostwald was sticking to his original plan to add a water wheel, as “an aesthetic feature”.

And the council warned that if he wished to build a water wheel to complete the authentic look, it would mean submitting a separate planning application.

The watermill design struck many as being odd because there is no water or stream anywhere near the building.

The Grand Designs programme highlighted the planning battles that Mr Ostwald and his partner, Jo, have had to fight.

They had originally hoped to build their watermill, using a pre-cut timber frame from America, in just over a year.

But a neighbour complained to the council that the building differed in height from the dimensions set out in the planning application.

Inspectors decided that his half-built house did not match the criteria in the planning application. The planning wrangle led to an 18-month delay in securing planning permission.

But months after getting the all clear, it seems that Mr Ostwald has barely touched the house. The economic slowdown has meant he has had to focus on his retail business in London, leaving the latest Oxfordshire mill to sit empty — and without a wheel.

Mr Ostwald, 47, earlier said: “I saw a photo of a house on a yoghurt pot — maple syrup flavour, I think it was — of Glade Creek Mill in West Virginia. It just looked like it really belonged there.

“I wanted to have some quite fun parts to the house. Because it’s an area of outstanding natural beauty it’s even more difficult building there than on Green Belt land. It’s just a nightmare.”

He declined to discuss his future plans with The Oxford Times, when we tried to contact him through the makers of the Grand Designs programme.

South Oxfordshire District Council, however, said it was still waiting to hear from Mr Ostwald about whether he intended to add to the building.

A spokesman for the council said: “The council still has some involvement, which is normal when projects are still ongoing.

“The watermill’s water wheel for instance hasn’t yet been built. It was always separate from the original application and requires planning permission.

“Although the owner mentioned the water mill feature previously, it is unclear if he still intends to add the feature — we haven't heard anything regarding this aspect of the development to date.”