Man who built house on his driveway forced to tear it down

MADAM PAL SINGH WAS GIVEN THE GO-AHEAD TO BUILD A SINGLE-STOREY GARAGE AT HIS SEMI DETACHED HOME IN 2019 - BUT A SMALL TWO-STOREY HOUSE WAS CONSTRUCTED ON THE DRIVEWAY INSTEAD 16:12, 20 May

2025 A man who built a house on his driveway after receiving planning permission for just a garage has been forced to demolish it, ending a peculiar six-year dispute which one neighbour

described as a "long-running saga". Madam Pal Singh was granted permission in 2019 to build a single-storey garage at his semi-detached property on Vaughton Street in Highgate,

Birmingham. However, planning officials were left scratching their heads when they found a small two-storey house built on the driveway in October 2022 instead. Despite claiming the

differences from the approved plans were only 'minor' during an appeal, Mr Singh was instructed to tear down the unauthorised building. The family insisted the structure would

remain as they were utilising the 8.7m by 4.7m building as a gym. Yet, recent photographs reveal that Mr Singh has now transformed the edifice into the initially sanctioned 5.3m by 4.6m

garage. Local residents have expressed their relief that the "bizarre saga" has concluded after enduring years of construction work on their road. A neighbour, preferring to remain

anonymous, commented: "We're glad it's finally all over now, it has been going on for years.", reports the Mirror. "I dread to think what it has cost the poor

bloke. To build a house, knock it down and then build a garage instead, must have cost tens of thousands of pounds at least. But he's only got himself to blame, I don't know how he

thought he was ever going to get away with it." One local resident commented, "The building work has been a bit of a pain but I'm just happy we don't have to look at

that eyesore anymore. It's been a very bizarre, long-running saga." However, another neighbour was sympathetic. They said: "I feel a bit sorry for him to be honest. Yes it

wasn't what was entirely agreed, but it looked smart. And some of the houses around here are much more run down." _Love dreamy Welsh homes? __Sign up to our newsletter here_.

"You would have thought they could have come to a bit of compromise with him to save a lot of time and money." Planning permission had initially been granted for a garage, but the

constructed building exceeded the approved size by several metres. Planning Inspector Thomas Shields said in his report: "The appellant's case is that the building already benefits

from planning permission granted by the council in 2019." "He argues that although there are differences between the approved plans for the garage and the appeal building they are

minor differences. The approved plans for the garage show a single storey detached garage with a footprint of 5.3m x 4.6m and a height of 3.6m." "It was also shown having a

standard garage door to the front and no windows on any elevation. In comparison with the approved garage the appeal building has a footprint of approximately 8.7m x 4.7m and a height of

5.3m Consequently, it is substantially larger than the approved building. It is not a minor difference." Article continues below