A businessman has been ordered to tear down a huge ‘football director’s box’ extension on his family home after his furious neighbours protested.
Mani Singh’s neighbours were so upset about the 3m high grey ‘ugly eyesore’ they hired a minibus to protest against the extension at a Walsall council meeting last week.
The dad-of-two who lives in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, built the huge extension on his three-bedroom £415,000 home without planning permission.
His neighbours complained the huge structure on his semi-detached home which includes a dormer, loft conversion and skylights was ruining the character of the neighbourhood.
Liz Deakin, 63, who has lived on the street for 35 years, said: ‘The building is actually very large and is affecting people nearby.
‘It blocks light into nearby houses and looks directly down into gardens and into properties so it’s very intrusive.
‘It reminds me of a director’s box you see at big football stadiums. Not at all appropriate for a quiet suburban area like this.
Dad-of-two Mani Singh, who lives in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, built the huge extension on his three-bedroom £415,000 home without planning permission
His neighbours were so upset about the 3m high grey ‘ugly eyesore’ they hired a minibus to protest against the extension at a Walsall council meeting last week
Cath Tandy, 75, (left) and Liz Deakin, 63, complained the huge structure on the semi-detached home which includes a dormer, loft conversion and skylights was ruining the character of the neighbourhood
Mr Singh applied for retrospective planning permission after the council was alerted to the building project by the neighbours. Cath Tandy, 75, who lives at the back of the house said the extension has made it a ‘bit like being in a prison exercise yard’
Should homeowners have the right to build what they want, even if it upsets their neighbours?
‘Initially Mr Singh applied for planning permission for this but was turned down.
‘He then applied for permission for a much smaller structure which was approved but then he built this first option anyway.’
Fellow neighbour Cath Tandy, 75, who lives at the back of the house said the extension has made it a ‘bit like being in a prison exercise yard.’
The grandmother said: ‘I used to have lots of sun light coming into my garden in the evenings but the extension has blocked all that so it’s dark most of the time.’
Mr Singh applied for retrospective planning permission after the council was alerted to the build by the neighbours.
But telling the council about the extension was not enough.
The determined neighbours hired a minibus to drive to a council meeting to complain about the dormer in person.
Liz said: ‘We all went down and I spoke to the council about the problems we have with this large extension.’
A planning officer initially recommended the extension be approved but Walsall council turned it down. It said the dormer broke planning laws.
Mr Singh has six months to demolish the dormer or appeal the decision.
