A house extension that exceeded the approved size limit by two meters has been instructed to be taken down by the council. The council’s planning committee was informed that the extension, which encroached on a neighbor’s dining room, kitchen, and garden, was considered “overbearing.” The applicant, Mr. M Azeen, had proposed to retain a flat roof structure at the back of a house in Farnworth, Bolton, in a retrospective application. The extension was found to extend out five meters from the original structure, exceeding the approved plans by 2.1 meters.
The council planners contended that allowing the extension to remain would cause significant harm to the neighboring property’s amenity by obstructing light to a key room and garden. Councillors were informed that the extension’s additional 2.1 meters posed a concern as it intruded on a 45-degree line drawn from the center of the nearest ground floor window in the neighboring property’s rear elevation.
This application was a re-submission of a previous rejected retrospective application from last year, based on concerns about the impact on neighbors’ living conditions. Despite an advocate for the application emphasizing that the extension was meant to provide necessary living space for the applicant’s growing family, the committee emphasized that the extension’s size made it overbearing and overshadowing. The retrospective application was ultimately denied by a 10 to 4 vote.
Unless the applicant files a successful appeal, they will be required to either dismantle the extension or adjust it to comply with the original approved plans. This decision follows another incident where a homeowner had to remove a summer home after a lengthy dispute with a neighbor who reported the unauthorized construction to the council.