A man has been ordered to tear down a two-storey house he built on his driveway in a planning row with the council.
Mr M Singh, from Highgate, Birmingham, was given approval to build a single-storey garage beside his house in 2019 but instead erected a two-storey house.
Planning chiefs visited the site in March 2022 and found it was “substantially larger” than agreed, with Mr Singh arguing there were only “minor differences” between the original design and the finished building.
Planners had originally given approval for a 5.3m x 4.6m garage to be built, but the two-storey house on the driveway was found to be 8.7m x 4.7m, with a height of 5.3m – around 50 per cent taller than the approved 3.6m.
The Singh family, who claimed they had been using the property as a gym, were ordered to raze it to the ground by July 2022, after losing an appeal. Photographs taken in January 2023 show that the building had been significantly reduced in size and shape.
A woman who answered the door of the house at the time refused to comment when approached but neighbours said the building work had been ongoing for weeks.
One resident, who did not want to be named, said: “It looks like they have finally complied with the order and thank goodness because it was an eyesore. I was amazed they got away with it, so it’s nice to see that common sense has now prevailed.
“They will be kicking themselves though, it must have cost them a few bob to throw that up in the first place and now having to pay to pull it mostly down.”
Another neighbour said: “We just assumed they had permission to do that in the first place. You’re never happy to see extensions or new-builds going up blocking out sunlight or replacing gardens and trees but it’s just what people do. But if it was only given permission to be a garage I cannot see how they thought they would ever get away with it. It’s clearly a house.”
Planning Inspector Thomas Shields visited the property in March 2022. In his report, he wrote: “The appellant’s case is that the building already benefits from planning permission granted by the council in 2019. He argues that although there are differences… they are minor differences.
“The approved plans for the garage show a single storey detached garage with a footprint of 5.3m x 4.6m and a height of 3.6m. In comparison with the approved garage the appeal building has a footprint of approximately 8.7m x 4.7m and a height of 5.3m Consequently, it is substantially larger than the approved building. It is not a minor difference.
“There are some other differences. Instead of single-storey, the appeal building is 1.5 storey and has two rooms in the roof, facilitated by an almost full-width box dormer. Instead of a garage door, there is a pedestrian door into the front room and a tripartite bow window.”
The report required the Singh family to “demolish the entire unauthorised detached structure and remove all demolished building materials and rubble from the premises”.
