Homeowner ordered to tear down 'monster mansion' after building it without planning permission

Ellen Manning
GV of a home on Sandringham Ave in Walsall where a homeowner who started building a large new house without the correct permission to replace his smaller semi-detached property, has been told to demolish it. April 8, 2022. A man has been ordered to demolish his “monster mansion” by council chiefs – after he built it WITHOUT planning permission. See SWNS story SWMDhouse. Gurwinder Singh bulldozed his modest semi-detached house and replaced it with a four-bedroom property which has made his neighbours’ lives “hell”. Walsall Council has slapped Mr Singh with an enforcement notice ordering him to tear the building down following complaints from neighbours in Willenhall, West Mids. It is thought the brand new house would have cost in the region of £200,000 to build – and would have been the biggest property in the area. Mr Singh had planning permission for a modest extension to the 1960s house but he went one step further and demolished the entire building. Last week councillors rejected a retrospective planning application for the new building and ordered Mr Singh to tear it down after they received 95 objections from residents.
Gurwinder Singh has been ordered to tear down a four-bedroom property that he built after bulldozing his semi-detached house. (SWNS) (SWNS)

A homeowner has been ordered to tear down a huge four-bedroom property dubbed a "monster mansion" after building it without planning permission.

Gurwinder Singh was granted planning permission for a modest extension to his 1960s semi-detached house but instead bulldozed it and replaced it with a four-bedroomed building.

The move sparked a backlash from neighbours in Willenhall, West Midlands, who said the project had made their lives "hell".

Singh has now been ordered to tear the house down after Walsall Council refused an application for retrospective planning permission for the £200,000 build following 95 objections from local residents.

Singh was granted planning permission for an extension but instead bulldozed the semi-detached home and built a huge four-bedroomed home in its place. (SWNS)
Singh was granted planning permission for an extension but instead bulldozed the semi-detached home and built a huge four-bedroomed home in its place. (SWNS) (SWNS)
Google street view from before the building work started. A man has been ordered to demolish his “monster mansion” by council chiefs – after he built it WITHOUT planning permission. See SWNS story SWMDhouse. Gurwinder Singh bulldozed his modest semi-detached house and replaced it with a four-bedroom property which has made his neighbours’ lives “hell”. Walsall Council has slapped Mr Singh with an enforcement notice ordering him to tear the building down following complaints from neighbours in Willenhall, West Mids. It is thought the brand new house would have cost in the region of £200,000 to build – and would have been the biggest property in the area. Mr Singh had planning permission for a modest extension to the 1960s house but he went one step further and demolished the entire building. Last week councillors rejected a retrospective planning application for the new building and ordered Mr Singh to tear it down after they received 95 objections from residents.
Singh's original house before it was bulldozed and a new one built. (SWNS) (SWNS)

Committee Chairman Mike Bird said: "This is a very serious situation. An extension was approved and what we got was a brand new house to the detriment of the adjoining neighbour.

"Walsall Council is going to put 'force' back into enforcement.

"I am sick and tired of seeing breaches of planning regulations around the borough because people think 'I do that because I can'.

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"This committee are telling you now, you can't do it because we won't let you. When we find out, we will prosecute you.

"Adjoining neighbours have suffered hell. There has been a lack of co-operation from day one so I welcome the enforcement.

"We've got to be shown to make a stand against people who think they can build anything they like in relation to the planning permission they receive."

The build reportedly made Singh's neighbours' lives hell. (SWNS)
The build reportedly made Singh's neighbours' lives hell. (SWNS) (SWNS)
The council received 95 objections to the application for retrospective planning permission. (SWNS)
The council received 95 objections to the application for retrospective planning permission. (SWNS) (SWNS)

Neighbours near to the house welcomed the decision, with one saying: "Why should you anyone get away with breaking the rules. The house is bloody huge and looks like a horrible monster mansion.

"None of the other houses in this area are that big, what on earth was he thinking?"

Another said: "When the house started going up I heard the next door neighbour whose house is attached could actually see the cracks coming through their walls.

"I'm glad the council have nipped it in the bud now before it's finished. It was at least three times the size of the original house. It looks like a sports hall."

Singh’s agents, Architecture and Interior Design Ltd said: "Unfortunately, while work was being carried out the builders on site removed most of the existing walls of the residential.

"This meant that the building required new brick work and when enforcement got involved they suggested that to fix the issue the site should go through the application process again as a retrospective planning."

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