A couple have been told they have to tear down a two-storey extension to their home, which includes their daughter's bedroom, after it was built without planning permission. The 'odd-looking' extension was put up by a builder who told the family that permission would not be needed, a council hearing heard this week.
Paul and Rachelle Horridge, from Rossendale in Lancashire, admitted they had been "foolish", but said they are now "terrified" for the future amid concerns that they may have to demolish the whole structure, Lancashire Live reports. Neighbours have made complaints about the rear extension, including one man who told planners that it was too tall and "out of character with other houses".
The family's Haslingden home now crosses the boundary into the next door's land because of the extension, Rossendale councillors heard. The extension is also too big, has different widths between its floors, and has an inappropriate flat roof and wooden cladding, it was claimed.
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The 'stressful' planning dispute has been running for some time, but the couple have been told the extension to the terraced house must be removed by late January. The Horridges are now asking for planning permission to keep the two-storey extension with some changes to the outside walls and roof, but planning officers recommended that the latest application be refused.
An initial application from the couple seeking retrospective approval was refused in December 2021 on visual and neighbour amenity grounds. The couple lodged a combined appeal against the refusal and an enforcement notice to remove the extension, which was dismissed by a national planning inspector in May this year.
The latest planning meeting heard from the family, concerned neighbours and council officers ahead of a vote on the application, which saw the majority of councillors vote against approving it.
Rachelle tearfully addressed the meeting, telling councillors that the family were "in this extremely stressful situation because we trusted a builder who said the extension did not need a planning application". She explained: "He showed us a few examples of extensions including one nearby. We were within a few inches of regularity. I now see we were foolish."
The mum added: "My husband is away for periods of time. We have a young family and one of our children was having problems with anxiety. The first-floor extension was for that child, so she didn't need to share a bedroom, which was contributing to her anxiety."
Rachelle said the couple had been asked to demolish the whole extension, but they have since suggested "a few different amendments" to try and prevent that. The extension was only eight inches larger than what would typically be allowed, she told the meeting. She said the prospect of having to tear down the extension was having a 'catastrophic impact', adding: "We are terrified for our future."
Graham Lowthion, a neighbour, told the meeting the extension was "out of character" for the area. "Other houses in the area have single-storey kitchen extensions," he said. "Neighbours would have no problem if this was a single-storey extension. But this is a two-storey extension, which is now even higher with a pitched roof," he added.
He said he was "totally against" the latest application and that if it was passed "it would cause heartache and pain" to locals. He suggested it would also lead to other people putting up "inappropriate" extensions.
Council planning reports state that the unauthorised extension needs to be removed by January 24, 2023.
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