A homeowner who demolished the ‘monster mansion’ he built without planning permission is facing legal action for the huge mess he left behind.
Gurwinder Singh, 43, knocked down his semi-detached house and replaced it with a four-bedroom property.
The delivery driver was then ordered to tear down the half-built £300,000 home by Walsall Council in 2020.
The council had received almost 100 complaints from neigbours saying the building work had made their ‘lives hell’ with the ‘eyesore’ property ‘like a Travelodge in the middle of a housing estate’.
Father of two Mr Sigh appealed to the council’s Planning Inspectorate, but it was dismissed and he was ordered to bulldoze the property.
After demolishing the illegally built property, the dad left behind huge piles of rubbish and building materials, and now faces possible court action for failing to comply with the enforcement notice, which has now entered its fourth year.
Cliff Stevenson, 84, lives opposite Mr Singh’s former property.
‘We’ve got the house knocked down finally but now the problem is all the mess and these great big boards he has erected’, the grandfather-of-four said.
‘It also causes a problem for the traffic because it blocks people’s view on the corner – it’s really quite dangerous.
‘I live opposite so have to look at it every single day and it’s an appalling eyesore. It has been a nightmare for everyone living on the estate.
‘The gentleman has never spoken to us about it, the only time you would see him was when building work was going on, which was disruptive enough.
‘It was left half built and kids would jump over the fences and go and play in there. It’s just been a building site really.
‘We’ll get there eventually hopefully but it seems like it’s never-ending. It has just been terrible.’
Another resident said the ‘saga’ has been a ‘living hell’ for residents, and their road ‘looks like a construction site in the middle of Birmingham’.
Stacie Elson, Tory councillor for Willenhall, said as the deadline had passed, the council were looking to prosecute Mr Singh.
‘I know the council is now taking legal advice whether to now prosecute him for failing to comply with the enforcement notice,’ she said.
‘If he has actively breached the notice then he could be prosecuted as the site should have been cleared up by now as the deadline has passed.
‘He has complied with the demolition order but he has not cleared the site.
‘An enforcement officer has been down there to take photos and these will now be submitted to our legal services department who will advise the next steps.’
A spokesperson for Walsall Council said: ‘The council is monitoring the situation to ensure all actions in the enforcement notice are complied with.’
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