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Search the Public Notice PortalAn extension to a house put up without planning permission can stay after Swindon Borough Council has dropped its action to get it taken down.
The owner of the house, in Upham Road, in Old Walcot, Mrs Saran was given permission for extensions at the front, the side and the rear of the property in 2019 and they went up in 2020.
A large box dormer at the rear of the house was also put up without planning permission.
Mr Saran applied to have that regularised with a retrospective application for permission in 2023, which drew an objection from a neighbour saying.
It said: “The box dormer is unacceptable as it doesn't take into consideration the build characteristics of the area.
"The siting, bulk, scale and design is not permitted. This is a total over-development of the site. It overlooks other homes and gardens causing a loss of privacy.”
The application was refused because the borough council had already started enforcement action to force the householder to have it taken down.
Its notice said: “Remove the box dormer from the rear elevation of the dwelling. Remove all resultant material from the land following compliance and ensure the development is built in accordance with the approved plans.”
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Last year, Mr Saran told the Local Democracy Reporter that she had no plans to remove the box dormer and that negotiations were ongoing with the council.
She said: “If you look around Swindon, there are box dormers all over the place, because it’s too expensive to move.
“This meets all the building regulations and is safe.”
But now the borough council has dropped the enforcement action and the box dormer can stay – because it did not have the staff and money to pursue the matter, especially if there was an appeal, which could take months to resolve and cost a significant sum.
A spokesperson for Swindon Borough Council said: 'There is no doubt this case could have been dealt with sooner, the reason it wasn't was due to a lack of planning enforcement staff rather than incompetence.
'This was a technical breach of planning and, unfortunately, our enforcement protocol dictates that significant planning breaches are prioritised, including court cases.
'We have explained to the main complainant that it was very unlikely that any enforcement action would have been successful regardless of the amount of time that the dormer had been constructed for, due to the technical nature of the breach.”
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