Channel 4 property guru Sarah Beeny could be forced to tear down treehouse that featured in New Life In The Country show

CHANNEL 4 star Sarah Beeny could be forced to tear down her beautiful ‘alpine winter wonderland’ treehouse due to a planning row.

The property guru, who began chemotherapy for breast cancer in August, may have to scrap the structure as building work on it began without permission from planners.

The treehouse, which was featured in Channel 4’s Sarah Beeny’s New Life in the Country, is under scrutiny by the local council, with a decision expected in the new year.

In the show, TV host Beeny, 50, even threw an outdoor party with family and friends inside the timber hut, with a turkey cooked over an open fire and the ceiling decorated with real reindeer antlers.

The building is found in the grounds of the star’s Somerset mansion, where she lives with her husband Graham Swift and their four children.

Beeny has now applied to retrospective planning permission so that she can keep the treehouse on the family’s 223-acre dairy farm.

In a letter to the council, the family’s planning agent said: “Other than the treehouse, which is entirely inconspicuous, blending in with its immediate surroundings, there is no intention for additional freestanding buildings to be erected.

“Taken overall, this is a carefully conceived proposal, and all of the elements of it will be complementary to this high-quality new dwelling, resulting in an entirely appropriate setting for the building which safeguards the character and appearance of the area.”

Council officials are expected to make a decision in the new year and there have been no objections from neighbours so far.

Beeny, meanwhile, is due to finish her chemotherapy today and plans to drink a bottle of champagne to celebrate, having given up alcohol during the treatment.

Sarah Beeny and South Somerset District Council have been contacted for comment.