A mum was moved to tears as a council demanded that her 'foolish' home extension must be knocked down. Rachelle Horridge begged to keep the new construction but was told it is unlawful as it was built without permission.
Rachelle and her partner, Paul, have been involved in a planning dispute over the extension since last year. The couple claim that at the time of its construction, their builder had promised he was taking care of planning permission for the extension.
However, Rossendale councillors heard this week that the building was too big, had varying widths and floors, wooden cladding, and an ‘inappropriate’ flat roof. The extension, which includes a child’s bedroom, also encroached onto a neighbour’s piece of land, reports Lancs Live.
The council was told that groundwork linked to the new-build is in a position that it could cause harm to the roots of a protected tree in a nearby park. After the construction of the controversial extension there has been several calls for its removal made by neighbours, enforcement officers and planning inspectors.
The council heard that a previous application for retrospective planning permission was declined in December 2021. The couple had originally asked to keep the two-storey development with some proposed changes, such as replacing the cladding and changing the roof.
However, it was at this time a deadline was set for January 23 2023 for the extension to be demolished. At the recent hearing, Rachelle spoke out defending their retrospective application.
The mum was clearly emotional and tearful as she said: "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." The mum then further explained how the prospect of knocking down the building and the stress of the circumstances were having “a catastrophic impact” on the family, claiming: "We are terrified for our future".
Rachelle recalled how the pair had met with planning officers and an inspector to discuss potential options for changing the extension. Alongside addressing the potential harm to the protected tree that the house was causing, claiming she was ‘confident’ it remained unharmed.
A neighbour, Graham Lowthion, spoke against the latest application. He said: "This has been turned-down twice before by Rossendale Council and the council has been backed-up by a national planning inspector from Bristol.
"Everyone says it is out of character with other houses. Other houses in the area have single-storey kitchen extensions.
"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.
"I am totally against it. If this was passed, it would cause heartache and pain.
"It would also lead to other people putting up inappropriate extensions. We all want people to have nice houses but we also have to follow the rules.
"If we don't, then we end-up where we are today. Please refuse this application."
Independent Coun James Eaton asked if Mr Lowthion would be happy with a single-storey extension and he replied yes. A number of other testimonies were heard by the council against the build.
Labour Coun Samara Barnes spoke against the new application and Head of Planning Mike Atherton, who recalled the inspector labelling the extension as “prominent” and "incongruous." In a vote, the majority of councillors on the committee refused the retrospective application.
The family now have just a few weeks to remove the extension and may have to demolish the whole structure.
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