Homeowner ordered to bulldoze house after starting building without permission

Walsall Council’s planning committee ordered Gurwinder Singh to take down the partially-completed four-bedroom house on the corner of Sandringham Avenue and Arundel Road in Willenhall.

At a meeting on Thursday, members heard how permission had been granted for an extension to the house. But instead the applicant demolished the original property and started constructing a new one last year.

Enforcement officers said the new build had caused hardship to neighbours and was unacceptable in terms of size and scale. They added although demolition was a “last resort”, alternative measures were not viable.

A retrospective application was submitted but this has since been withdrawn. Mr Singh has submitted a fresh application in the past two weeks and this is currently waiting to be validated as officers await coal mining reports.

Committee chairman Mike Bird said he was “sick and tired” of people breaching regulations and vowed to "put the force back into enforcement".

When neighbours objected to the retrospective planning application, there were claims of damage to the neighbouring property. A petition carrying 95 signatures was also submitted against the work.

Ward councillor Stacie Elson, who has raised concerns about the issue, said the episode had caused “distress in the community”.

Frank Whiteley, senior planning enforcement officer said: “It is acknowledged demolition might be considered a last resort option and because of that it is important to consider proportionality.

“In officers’ opinion, it would be very difficult to alter the existing structure without prolonged additional work and prolong the disruption which cause an amenity impact to the area.

“It is considered the amount of work required to alter the dwelling to achieve an acceptable outcome would be very similar to demolition.

“Essentially there is no immediate prospect of an acceptable solution being found and on these terms, demolition is considered proportionate and reasonable on its own planning merits.”

Councillor 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. Well, it stops here.”

Willenhall North councillor Adam Hicken added: “Thanks to Stacie Elson for the work she has put into this. The way that this has gone about is horrific. It is way beyond the scope of what was originally agreed.

“It, as it currently stands, is just a ruin quite frankly. The impact it has had on neighbours has been terrible.

“Even from a neutral point of view, all members should share the disgust in the way this has been done.”

In the now withdrawn retrospective planning application, 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 enforcementngot involved they suggested that to fix the issue the site should go through thenapplication process again as a retrospective planning.”

They added the completed family home would make a positive impact in the surrounding area.

The planning committee voted unanimously in favour of supporting enforcement to demolish the property.