Hayes homeowners ordered to pay £6,000 and demolish huge extension after building it without permission
Wednesday 21 December 2022: Hayes homeowners have been ordered to pay more than £6,000 costs and to pull down a 40-square-metre rear extension they had built without planning permission.
The court heard the owners didn't acknowledge the notice until May that year, at which point the time period to act on the notice had expired and the period the owners had been given to appeal the notice had expired at the end of April.
The owners opted to challenge the council's actions via judicial review, however as the council had followed all the required protocols and the owners had failed to act, the courts found in the council's favour.
The property was granted planning permission in 2018 for a single storey rear extension of four metres in length. However, the council's planning team was notified in 2020 of building works taking place on the site which didn't match the approved plans.
Council investigations uncovered photos and details from the building control team for an extension approximately nine metres long by four-and-a-half metres wide. A building of this size is too large to fall under 'permitted development' rights which exempt smaller builds from planning permission.
At the judicial review the judge found the council acted reasonably and found no grounds in the owner's claims. The council was awarded costs in full, totalling £6,492 and the owners now have until 8 March 2023 to remove the illegal extension.
Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council's Cabinet Member for Residents' Services, said: "This is an excellent result for the council and it's reassuring to see the judge confirm the council had acted completely reasonably and lawfully in pursuing this enforcement notice and that the owners had been given ample time to act.
"For whatever reason they didn't act and it has now cost them a significant amount of money - and their extension.
"Planning law ensures developments are respectful of the local communities and that they avoid over-building. Those rules apply to everyone, so I hope this serves as a warning that we'll take action wherever we see people flout the rules."
You can report a suspected planning breach at www.hillingdon.gov.uk/planning-enforcement.