A self build home dubbed the ‘monster mansion’ has finally been torn down – but the householder could still face legal action.
Gurwinder Singh, 43, was given the green light for an extension to his house in Walsall, West Midlands.
Instead, he bulldozed his house and replaced it with a four-bedroom property and repeatedly ignored the council's requests to tear down the structure.
What is the ‘Monster Mansion’?
Mr Singh was initially given planning permission for an extension to his 1960s house in 2020, but he instead decided to demolish the entire building.
He replaced the semi-detached house with a £300,000 four-bedroom property, which one neighbour described as a ‘monster mansion’.
The estimated cost of this extensive project was around £200,000, making it the largest property in the area.
Over 95 residents complained about the self build
Residents were furious about the work and more than 95 objections were lodged with Walsall Council.
Councillors at a planning meeting reached a unanimous decision to reject Mr Singh's retrospective planning application for the partly-finished building as it breached planning conditions.
Walsall’s planning committee chairman Mike Bird said he was "sick and tired" of people breaching regulations and claimed "adjoining neighbours have suffered hell".
Mr Singh ignored multiple council deadlines
Mr Singh repeatedly ignored the council's requests to tear down the structure and appealed the decision by Walsall Council.
He claimed the new house should be allowed under permitted development rights and therefore should not require planning permission.
This retrospective planning application was rejected, with Planning inspector Andrew McGlone stating: "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.
"Hence, 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."
Monster Mansion now removed, but it might not end there
After ignoring two previous deadlines given by Walsall Council to remove the structure Mr Singh finally began work on removing the house in December. The council warned if work did not begin by their final deadline the council would enter the land and carry out the works and would pursue Mr Singh for the costs.
Following this warning Mr Singh complied with the December 7 deadline and began removing the house.
However, he now faces possible court action for the debris left behind and Councillor Stacie Elson said the council is also now investigating prosecuting Mr Singh over the failure to comply with deadlines.
Additionally, next door neighbour Pat Harding, 76, said her chimney was damaged by the work and is so unsafe she should move out.
She said: "I was even sat reading a book on my bed one time and an RSJ (rolled steel joist) came through my bedroom wall. They also put holes in my living room wall that I could see out of. I could just look out into the building site, but they never seemed to think it was a problem.”
