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Updated Aug 22, 2016

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Woman ordered to demolish unauthorised additions to home

A woman in Birmingham spent her life savings of £11,000 on an extension to her semi-detached house, adding pillars, a canopy and metal railings to her property, to be told after completion she did not have the appropriate permission and must demolish the work.

The homeowner claims she informed the council of her plans before embarking on the build and was told she did not need planning permission. Birmingham City Council says the homeowner did not seek any guidance.

The Council inspected the extension following a complaint and last week told the homeowner that she had 28 days to remove the extension. She was also told that a bid for 'retrospective planning permission' was unlikely to be successful.

Cedrec's take
 
Planning permission strikes again! We've seen some stories come through, including one incident where a listed pub was demolished without permission and the responsible party were ordered to rebuild the pub to its former glory.
 
Whilst this story is doubtless distressing for the homeowner, planning permission is very much a final ruling. If the council order the structure demolished, it has to go.
 
Ensure you don't fall victim to a similar incident, keep up to date with regulations and obligations, submit your applications and receive permission down to the last brick before beginning work.
 

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