8 outrageous homes leave neighbours livid from chicken coop to 'eyesore' tower
When a landowner or homeowner applies for planning permission, communities can be divided - but tensions can be even more fraught when the application is being sought by your own neighbour.
Home developments are carried out - sometimes without planning permission - at properties across the country all the time, but some are more exuberant than others.
When plans are flamboyant, they can become very lavish - and frankly outrageous - indeed. The Mirror told this week how a homeowner faced criticism for building a "car park" in her front garden in Bolton, Greater Manchester. Trolls say the unnamed woman "destroyed" her garden and interrupted the natural habitat by paving over the lawn.
Here the Mirror outlines details about eight other cases involving exuberant home developments which upset neighbours.
Mr Singh had bulldozed his modest semi-detached house and replaced it with a four-bedroom property (SWNS)'Monster mansion' built without permission torn down as neighbours rejoice
Neighbours were furious when a "monster mansion" was built without permission in Walsall, West Midlands. The council eventually ordered Gurwinder Singh to demolish the four-bedroom property last year after it received 95 objections, including ones that stated the building "looked like a Travelodge".
Homeowner who built house on driveway forced to tear it down in planning row
Planning inspector Andrew McGlone said in a decision notice: "The appellant claims that the works which have taken place on site accord with the planning permission granted by the council on May 17, 2021 ('the 2021 permission') for a two-storey side extension and single-storey front extension for a front porch and bay window.
"Further, in respect of the outbuilding, the appellant contends that it is permitted development and does not require planning permission. Dimensions, taken on site, and agreed between the main parties, have allowed the parties to compare the floor plan of what has been built to the approved floor plan for the 2021 permission.
"Setting aside the fact that the works are not an extension to the dwelling since it was demolished, the outcome of the assessment confirms that, the layout, footprint, scale, massing and appearance of the structure are different to the 2021 permission."
Couple say neighbour's extension so close to their home it's cracking their walls
The East Dulwich properties at centre of loft conversion row between Debbie Ranford and neighbours Adam and Liz Peck (Champion News)Other cases are less about the aesthetic appeal, and more about the proximity to the neighbours' homes.
Last year, a furious couple took their next-door neighbour banker to court as they claimed her loft conversion was built so close to the attic room in their £1.5million home that it caused their wall to crack in posh East Dulwich, southeast London.
Liz and Adam Peck were desperate for Debbie Ranford's extension to be torn down. Central London County Court heard, though, how Debbie Ranford began construction work on her two-storey flat in 2014, following consent from the Pecks.
Homeowner who built house on DRIVEWAY forced to tear it down in planning row
Mr M Singh built on his own driveway in Birmingham (SWNS)When a homeowner who built a detached house on his drive without planning permission, he was allowed to keep it for four years.
But Mr M Singh, from Highgate, Birmingham, was told this year to demolish the residential dwelling - on his driveway.
The family were using the mini property as a gym and were defiant it was staying put.
Neighbours' anger over extension just 80cm too big may see it pulled down
Neighbours living near a house in Redland, Bristol, were furious after owners built a home office and gym in a garden 'slightly larger' than approved plans (Google Maps)This year, flat owners who built a home office and gym in their garden became embroiled in a row with neighbours.
Teenage boys' den for playing board games could be torn down after one complaint
Angry residents in Redland, Bristol, took exception to the size of the outbuilding but it was only 80 centimetres larger than plans showed.
Nevertheless, the owners had to reapply to Bristol Council for planning permission as neighbours in the affluent area expressed concerns for conservation.
Dad must demolish £4.65m home after two years - as council says it doesn't match plans
Amin Taha had been told to demolish his multi-award-winning home in London (Nigel Howard / Evening Standard / eyevine)A dad was ordered to demolish his six-storey £4.65 million house because it "did not reflect the building that was granted planning permission" - five years ago.
Amin Taha became embroiled in a bitter war with the council in 2018 who said his home doesn't match what had been proposed in his submission for planning permission.
It was granted in 2013 to transform the 1950s building in central London's trendy Clerkenwell into a plush six-storey office and apartment block.
But the property eventually comprised a two-storey office and eight flats, including a penthouse for Mr Taha and his family.
Fuming neighbours say new 10ft 'eyesore' tower in back garden robs them of privacy
Neighbours hit out at a 3ft viewing platform overlooking an historic churchyard in Dorset (Dorset Council/HB Architectural Design)Sometimes, it isn't homeowners causing a stir - landowners can be just as guilty.
When a "tower-like" platform was put up without permission next to cemetery in Lyme Regis, Dorset, this year, neighbours branded it an "eyesore".
Looming almost three metres (10ft) into the air, locals believe the platform was built to attract holidaymakers to the area.
But Dorset Council refused permission and agreed it deprived neighbours of privacy.
Family's chicken coop converted into £1,800-a-week designer house after council planning 'disaster'
The Chickenshed was built in Trellech on the Welsh border (WALES NEWS SERVICE)A luxury Grand Designs-style development was blasted in 2017 as it emerged the original planning permission was only for the conversion of a chicken coop.
The £1,800-a-week designer home - called the Chickenshed - was built with spectacular views over the Wye Valley in Trellech on the Welsh border.
But angry villagers pointed out the stunning home was meant to be based on the same structure as a chicken coop which had stood in the area for decades.
The uber-cool house with glass walls, polished concrete floors and Scandinavian-style wooden cladding was "longer, wider and higher" than the original henhouse.
Homeowner's shock after neighbour's extension comes within inches of his property
Stuart Smith's neighbour's extension is just inches away from Stuart's property (BPM Media)A homeowner was left gobsmacked after his neighbour's extension was built just inches from his property in 2021 in Kings Norton, Birmingham.
It left NHS worker Stuart Smith unable to access the side of his house. He slammed the "bizarre" and "overlapping" construction.
Mr Smith claims a "catalogue of errors" across the boundary line means guttering attached to both properties now touch and he is worried about potential drainage and damp issues.
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