Fury as council rules illegally built dormer is allowed to stay

A homeowner has been allowed to keep her ‘monstrosity’ box dormer extension that was built without planning permission after the council removed the enforcement notice because it was ‘too costly’ to appeal. 

Furious locals had complained the large development on the property’s roof is out of keeping with the rest of the area and overlooks their homes, invading their privacy. 

They also believe the decision will spark a ‘planning free-for-all’ with homeowners able to build what they want now and ask for permission later. 

The row centres on a box dormer – a type of roof extension – at the back of the family home in Swindon, Wiltshire, that was built without permission.

In August 2019, homeowner Harjinder Saran was given the go-ahead for the construction of front, side and rear extensions and an outbuilding in the garden. 

Those buildings went up in 2020 but so did the large box dormer extension, sparking immediate concern from neighbours. 

One local, who can see the development from her garden and kitchen window, told MailOnline: ‘I never expected it to go up so high. 

‘I thought it was enough when they built the shed in the garden. I don’t understand why people think they can just do what they want.’ 

Another resident in a nearby property said he alerted Swindon Borough Council to the ‘unauthorised development’ while it was still being built five years ago.

He said, however, it took the local authority at least two years to issue an enforcement notice and problems then arose surrounding the ‘legality’ of it. 

The enforcement notice told the homeowner Mrs Saran that the box dormer extension had not been built in accordance with the 2019 planning application. 

It read: ‘Remove the box dormer from the rear elevation of the dwelling. 

‘Remove all resultant material from the land following compliance and ensure the development is built in accordance with the approved plans.’

The homeowner, however, subsequently appealed the enforcement notice – with the council saying it had been withdrawn earlier this month. 

A spokesperson for Swindon Borough Council told MailOnline that despite them being ‘confident’ there had been a ‘breach of planning control’, it was ‘not in the council’s best interests to continue with a lengthy and costly appeals process’. 

Local Iain Melrose, 77, told MailOnline: ‘Over four years ago Swindon Borough Council were made aware that this huge box dormer was being built without planning permission.

‘Due to severe staff shortages and frankly total incompetence, it took two years to issue a breach of condition enforcement notice.

‘Due to more incompetence between enforcement and legal there was an issue with the legality of the enforcement notice.

‘My concern is that this monstrosity sets a precedent. I want to ensure that this doesn’t happen to other people in future.’ 

Mr Melrose added that he thought the decision to remove the enforcement notice was less about money and more about the ‘incompetence of the council’. 

He claimed that the council knew they would lose the planning appeal as more than four years had passed since the box dormer extension went up. 

Other residents in the area said they had concerns that the rear roof extension was ‘invading their privacy’. 

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: ‘Our main concern is privacy. It is really high. It is too much.

‘They can see right into our property.’

Others, however, said they were not concerned by the development. 

One who wished to remain anonymous said: ‘It has never bothered us. It has not been a problem.

‘We never objected in the first place. We got a letter saying it was being removed in April then we got another one saying it was now fine.

‘I can understand why people might be angry. It does stand out quite a lot.’ 

Mrs Saran previously defended the decision to build the box dormer. 

She told the Swindon Advertiser last year: ‘We’re not planning to take the box dormer down. We’ve written to the council but we haven’t heard anything back.’

Mrs Saran added: ‘If you look around Swindon there are box dormers all over the place, because it’s too expensive to move.

‘This meets all the building regulations and is safe.’

A spokesperson for Swindon Borough Council said: ‘There is no doubt this case could have been dealt with sooner, the reason it wasn’t was due to a lack of planning enforcement staff rather than incompetence.

‘This was a technical breach of planning and, unfortunately, our enforcement protocol dictates that significant planning breaches are prioritised, including court cases.

‘We have explained to the main complainant that it was very unlikely that any enforcement action would have been successful regardless of the amount of time that the dormer had been constructed for, due to the technical nature of the breach.’