London,
03
March
2010
|
23:00
Europe/London

Hackney home owner forced to remove unauthorised house which invades neighbours’ privacy

A home owner who knocked down his house and built a significantly larger property in its place without planning permission will now have to remove it - in line with an enforcement notice issued by Hackney Council.

Mr Dreyfuss, of 40 Lingwood Road, E5, had appealed the notice but the Planning Inspector dismissed the appeal, saying the unauthorised development causes “harm” to the character of the area and results in an “unacceptable loss of privacy” for neighbours.

He now has 12 months to comply with the planning enforcement notice. If he fails to comply the Council could prosecute him.

Cllr Guy Nicholson, Hackney Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, said: "Hackney Council is sending out a clear message that it will not put up with planning laws being either flouted or ignored.

“Planning laws are in place to protect the environment that we all live in from inappropriate development that can affect the quality of life for us all. If people choose to ignore these laws, then the Council will take whatever action is necessary to deal with the issue."

On dismissing the appeal, the Planning Inspector, Chris Hoult, said: “I conclude that harm arises to the character and appearance of the area.”

He added: “The outcome is in my view an unacceptable loss of privacy for occupiers of both the neighbouring dwellings. I conclude that, to that extent, the dwelling as built harms the living conditions of neighbouring occupiers.”

Mr Dreyfuss applied in 2001 to extend to the rear the end of terrace two-storey house at 40 Lingwood Road. Planning permission was granted by Hackney Council in 2002. However, the house was then demolished and a new three-storey house with cellar was built in its place. This substantially enlarged the original property and there was not planning permission for this.

After retrospective planning applications failed, the Council served an enforcement notice requiring the owner to demolish the entire house. The enforcement notice was served in January 2009 and gave the owners nine months to comply - unless they appealed. Now that the appeal has been dismissed, Mr Dreyfuss has 12 months to comply with the notice.

The planning enforcement notice issued by the Council requires the unauthorised property to be removed. If the home owner obtains planning permission for a more suitable scheme, he would have the option of adapting the existing unauthorised property to become in line with the new permission - within 12 months of the appeal being dismissed. This is unlikely to be achieved without a substantial amount of demolition and further building operations.