A group of neighbours have been left furious after a ‘monstrous’ back garden shed was built by a nearby resident.
Two homeowners are considering selling up and move away from the development in Thurmaston, Leicestershire that they claim will block their sunlight and infringe on their privacy.
It all started when Gurnam Singh, 40, was given the green light to build extensions to his garden shed and semi-detached house.
However, neighbours were left shocked after the 13ft high ‘eyesore’ in Singh’s back garden was given planning permission.
Plans for the property were approved last year
Charnwood Borough Council
One of the homeowners, a mother of three who asked not to be named, told MailOnline they would be selling up, saying: “I feel I’m being driven out because of it. I blame the owners, I blame the council. The development is a disgrace and should never have been allowed, full stop.
“I have lived here 25 years and now I’m going to sell up, if I can get anyone to buy the place now. The planning authority didn’t even bother telling me and others that is had been approved. If I wanted to live in a built up area I would have bought a house in the city.
“‘I have met [Singh] at the property to raise my objections and he’s always been polite but at the end of the day he’s got what he wants and some of us don’t like it but the council has allowed it.
“It looks into my back bedroom windows and affects my privacy. They knocked down a flat roof garage structure to build a single storey garden structure with a pitched roof. The wall is right up against my fence so it’s no wonder I am annoyed.”
LATEST NEIGHBOUR ROWS
The new developments for the Thurmaston property has split opinion
Google Maps
One neighbour told MailOnline: “It it a complete eyesore and it has devalued my house. Even the parish council objected and couldn’t believe it got through.”
However, Singh, a father-of-two who runs building firm Construction5 Ltd, has defended the construction, saying he and his wife have faced issues with the planning.
He said: “I don’t know why there is a problem with some people. We have done everything right and nothing wrong. We are paying a mortgage for that house and rent on another property to live in, and it is a struggle.
“We have been given permission for a garden extension, boundary to boundary, but we have left a gap. It will be a gym and leisure room and garden storage, and we are building a bigger house but not too big.”
His wife Ranjir Kaur added: “W are trying to get a house built, and we want to finish the works and move in s a family. Is that too much to ask? At the moment with the cost of living crisis we are losing out, paying more and more rent because of neighbours’ complaints which are holding us back they may be using this an ammunition.”
A spokesperson for the planning authority, Charnwood Borough Council, said they were “unable to comment on individual applications.”
However, their report approving the plans said: “The proposed development complies with the relevant development plan policies. It would not result in any harm to neighbouring amenity.
“It would not result in any detrimental visual harm to the character and appearance of the host dwelling, street scene or surrounding area. It would not result in harm to highway safety.”
Source Agencies
