A homeowner has been ordered to demolish a ‘monster mansion’ built without planning permission which neighbours said made their lives ‘hell’.
Gurwinder Singh bulldozed his semi-detached home and replaced it with a four-bedroom property likened to a ‘Travelodge in the middle of a housing estate’.
The new building, in Willenhall, West Midlands sparked a war with neighbours who said it ‘sticks out like a sore thumb’ and branded it a ‘monstrosity’.
Mr Singh was only granted permission to add a modest extension to the semi-detached home, built in the 1960s, in 2021.
Walsall Council served Mr Singh with an enforcement notice forcing him to pull the property down following complaints.
Mr Singh launched an appeal but this has now been dismissed.
Neighbours hope the decision will put an end to the long-running dispute over the ‘eyesore’, on the corner of Sandringham Avenue and Arundel Road.
One person, who asked to remain anonymous, said they would remain sceptical until the property is actually demolished.
‘We’ll believe it when we see it as this has been going on for far too long.
‘It sticks out like a sore thumb, I’m not sure how they thought they would ever get away with doing this.
‘I saw it described as like having a Travelodge in the middle of a housing estate, and I think that sums it up.
‘It’s just so out of place and a real eyesore.
‘We’ve all rallied together to object to this, so hopefully this is now the end of the saga and that monstrosity can be pulled down for good.’
Another person questioned ‘why should anyone get away with breaking the rules’.
‘The house is bloody huge and looks like a horrible monster mansion,’ they said.
‘None of the other houses in this area are that big, what on earth was he thinking?’
A third compared the house to a ‘sports hall’ and suggested it was ‘at least three times the size’ of the original property.
It is thought the new property would have cost £200,000 to build.
In a notice announcing the appeal decision, made on July 7 this year, inspector Andrew McGlone said the ‘layout, footprint, scale, massing and appearance of the structure’ are different to what was submitted when planning permission was granted in 2021.
‘The appellants have not carried out the development granted through the 2021 permission and there is no other planning permission in place for the development that has taken place.
‘As a result, there has been a breach of planning control in respect of the partially erected replacement dwelling.’
At an earlier hearing, committee chairman, Mike Bird, recently re-appointed leader of Walsall council, vowed it would ‘put “force” back in enforcement’.
‘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.’
