A man has been ordered to demolish his 'monster mansion' after he took his plans for an extension to the extreme.
Gurwinder Singh took initiative: instead of settling for a modest extension to his semi-detached house, he bulldozed it and erected a new four-bedroom property.
Alas, this fateful West Midlands home apparently made his neighbours' lives 'hell', and Walsall Council has since ordered him to tear down his handwork.
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Singh, who lives in Willenhall, spent around £200,000 on his larger house. While he had planning permission for an extension, he went above and beyond and started from scratch.
He filed a retrospective planning application for the new house, but it was swiftly rejected due to a total of 95 objections from nearby residents.
Committee Chairman Mike Bird said: “This is a very serious situation. An extension was approved and what we got was a brand new house to the detriment of the adjoining neighbour.
"Walsall Council is going to put 'force' back into enforcement. I am sick and tired of seeing breaches of planning regulations around the borough because people think 'I do that because I can'.
"This committee are telling you now, you can't do it because we won't let you. When we find out, we will prosecute you.
“Adjoining neighbours have suffered hell. There has been a lack of co-operation from day one so I welcome the enforcement.
"We've got to be shown to make a stand against people who think they can build anything they like in relation to the planning permission they receive."
Frank Whiteley, senior planning enforcement officer with the council, said ordering a demolition is a 'last resort', but altering the home as it stands would be 'similar to demolition' anyway.
Neighbours in the area are pleased with the decision, with one saying: "I think it's right that he should tear it down. Why should you anyone get away with breaking the rules. The house is bloody huge and looks like a horrible monster mansion.
“None of the other houses in this area are that big, what on earth was he thinking?”
Another said: "I'm glad the council have nipped it in the bud now before it's finished. It was at least three times the size of the original house. It looks like a sports hall."
Mr Singh’s agents, Architecture and Interior Design Ltd, said: "Unfortunately, while work was being carried out the builders on site removed most of the existing walls of the residential.
"This meant that the building required new brick work and when enforcement got involved they suggested that to fix the issue the site should go through the application process again as a retrospective planning."
Topics: UK News
Cameron Frew