MILLIONS of television viewers saw Chris Ostwald sailing into trouble over building an American-style watermill on a hillside in south Oxfordshire.

The home of his dreams went up on Aston Hill, near Watlington – a site he chose 20 years ago.

But even after a two year planning battle, with the story featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs programme, Mr Ostwald is no closer to moving into his unusual home.

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

Mr Ostwald, a London shopkeeper, 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 it was to be built on a steep hillside proved a major challenge.

Mr Ostwald’s eventual solution was to construct a platform cut into the chalk hill, on steel legs, with a steel frame serving as a table on which the house sits.

An authentic timber kit was shipped over from New Hampshire.

But the project hit trouble, drawing complaints from neighbours and investigation by South Oxfordshire District Council.

South Oxfordshire District Council officers said they had no idea about whether Mr Ostwald was sticking to his original plan to add a waterwheel as “an aesthetic feature.”

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

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 inspectors decided his half- built house did not match the criteria in the planning application.

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.

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 when the Oxford Mail tried to contact him through the Grand Designs producers.

And last night, neighbours also were unwilling to talk.

South Oxfordshire District Council said it was still waiting to hear whether Mr Ostwald intended to add to the building.

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