We hate our neighbours’ ugly ‘sauna’ extension – it’s an eyesore & doesn’t fit with our area… we want it torn down NOW
ANGRY residents have told how they hate their neighbours’ ugly “sauna” extension and want it torn down.
A couple has been ordered to tear down an extension on their home which angry neighbours have likened to a “shed” or “sauna”.
The wooden-clad structure, in Rossendale, Lancashire, has left some locals fuming and they claim it’s an “eyesore’ that doesn’t fit in with the character of the area.
Paul and Rachelle Horridge failed to get planning permission for two-storey structure and council officials say it must be knocked down by next month.
The couple, who’ve been caught-up in a planning dispute since last year, admit they’ve been “foolish’ but claim that at the time of the extension’s construction their builder promised to take care of planning permission.
Christine Sherris, 74, said: “It looks like a sauna. I think it’s awful and it’s created a lot of bad feeling locally.
‘So I can understand why the council want it pulled down. It’s an eyesore.”
Dave Treanor, 84, said: “It just doesn’t look nice.
“If it had a sloping roof and a different exterior it wouldn’t look so bad.
“It could be done a lot better and if the owners and the council could reach some sort of compromise that would be OK.
“Then they wouldn’t have to tear it down.”
One woman, who didn’t wish to be named, said: “It’s not in keeping with the character of the area.
“If the council did grant planning permission it would set a precedent and other people would put up similar extensions.”
‘INAPPROPRIATE’
Other residents called the extension a “shed” and “ugly” and claimed the couple had attempted to “steam-roll” through planning permission by putting up the structure after buying the house next-door, but then selling the property.
However, some residents said weren’t “bothered” by it and it was a “shame” the council wanted to tear it down.
“I’ve see a lot worse,” said one. “I feel a bit sorry for the family.”
Rossendale Borough Council has been told the extension crosses the boundary of the neighbouring property, now owned by someone else, and the groundworks are in such a position they could harm the roots of a protected tree in an adjoining park.
The stricture is also too big, has different widths and floors, wooden cladding and “inappropriate” flat roof, it’s claimed.
A previous application for retrospective planning permission was denied in December 2021 when demolition of the extension was set for January 23, 2023.
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 before councillors again voted to refuse retrospective planning permission.
The couple stand by their claim that they entrusted their builder to organise necessary planning permission for the extension.
Addressing a meeting, Mrs Horridge said they had been “foolish” to trust the builder but the extension was built to provide a bedroom for one of their children, as sharing contributed to their anxiety.
The mum said that the prospect of knocking down the building and the stress of the circumstances were having “a catastrophic impact” on the family.
“We are terrified for our future,” she added.
But one neighbour, Graham Lowthion, also attended the meeting and spoke out against the house’s design.
He said: “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.
“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.”