BEXLEY: Builder told he must demolish homes (From News Shopper)

BEXLEY: Builder told he must demolish homes

2:46pm Thursday 2nd July 2009

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A MAN who was warned the houses he was building did not match their planning permission, has been ordered to knock them down.

The pair of semi-detached houses in Knoll Road, Bexley, were only half built when Tony Smith applied to Bexley Council in August last year to retain the houses as they were.

The four-bedroom houses, with basements and integral garages, were built on the former rear garden of 62 Parkhurst Road, and had been completed externally at the time.

At the planning meeting, councillors were told several changes had been made to the houses, which had not been included in Mr Smith’s 2005 planning permission.

They heard after building work began, neighbouring residents in Knoll and Parkhurst Roads expressed concerns the houses being built were much higher and bulkier than they had been led to believe from the original drawings, when the plans were approved.

An independent surveyor took measurements which showed, although the houses were not too tall, the eaves were much higher than expected and so was the new houses' height in comparison with their neighbours.

When Bexley’s planners compared the houses to the drawings, they decided the original drawings had been misleading.

Planning committee members were also told there had been 15 changes from the orginal planning permission.

Mr Smith claimed he was told the changes he had wanted to make did not need further planning permission.

He said the houses were of the same height and footprint as shown on the planning permission and claimed he was the victim of “an orchestrated campaign”.

Councillors refused to allow Mr Smith to keep the houses as built, and the following month Bexley issued an enforcement notice, requiring him to demolish the houses and restore the site.

Mr Smith appealed and at a public inquiry in May this year, several residents and councillors opposed him.

The planning inspector who heard the appeal, ruled against Mr Smith, saying he did not have permission to build the houses he had built, and agreeing they were unacceptable to the street scene.

Now Mr Smith will have to knock the houses down.

Councillor John Fuller, planning committee chairman, said: “The council has a responsibility to protect the interests of our residents by ensuring developers stay within the law and do not build without permission.”

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