A homeowner has been left unable to sell his £160,000 house after a neighbour was granted planning permission to build a two-storey extension.
Neal Robinson has been unable to shift the property in Blackburn, Lancashire, as he can touch his neighbour’s extension by just leaning out of the window.
The 52-year-old had first raised concerns in April last year, just four months after the property hit the market. His neighbours had originally started the building work in 2017.
Extension work was completed in July last year and Mr Robinson now says it has put people off buying his home, as his neighbour’s extension now comes within 1.5 inches of his ‘detached’ property.
Neal Robinson (pictured above) is able to touch the extension by leaning out of one of the windows in his property in Blackburn
A picture take from outside of the two properties shows how close the neighbour’s extension is to Mr Robinson’s property
The house in Blackburn had previously been valued at £160,000 and since the extension was built its valuation has now decreased
The father-of-two has said that the extension is so close that it touches the gutter pipes of his property.
Mr Robinson has had the property on the market for over a year and said he has only had one offer on the property he shares with his wife Denise, 50, son Scott, 27 and daughter Emma, 22.
He said: ‘The estate agents valued the house at £159,950 but we’ve only had one offer of £98,000 since then.
‘Ten people have also not turned up when viewings have been arranged and people have actually driven past our home, seen the extension, and decided not to view it.
‘We want to move out of the area but we can’t.’
Mr Robinson claims he has been unable to sell the property (left and right) after the building work was completed
A small beam of light can be seen coming through the gap between the two properties (pictured above) which estate agents originally valued at £160,000
A pictured taken from the window of Mr Robinson’s property shows the small gap which has been left between the two homes, despite Mr Robinson’s property being classed as ‘detatched’
The two-story side extension and the extension of the roof to create a second floor had been approved by Blackburn and Darwen Council and Mr Robinson believes that the application should have never been approved.
However, according to planning documentation, planning permission had been granted as orginal plans had not affected the windows of the property.
‘No windows in the neighbouring property are affected by this development. The two-storey side extension is therefore considered to be in accordance with the council policy for securing neighbouring amenity’.
The neighbours, a family of six, had the extension done before moving in a year ago according to Neal, who said he has ‘no relationship’ with them.
Neal, who works as a driver, added: ‘I’m disgusted by the way this has been handled.
‘The neighbour’s extension is actually touching the guttering of our house.
‘I can reach out and touch it.’
He added: ‘It’s definitely knocked value off the property’.
The ‘for sale’ sign on the outside of the property can be seen here and Mr Robinson say people have even cancelled viewings
Mr Robinson (pictured above inside his home) said he believes the planning application should have never been approved
The family first raised concerns about the extension when building work began in December 2017.
Mr Robinson says the planning application should never have been approved, adding: ‘I feel as if my concerns have been disregarded from the start.’
Speaking this afternoon, Neal Robinson’s neighbour, Rashida Begum, said she ‘has permission’ for the disputed extension.
She said: ‘This is my property and the council has given me permission. Now he [Neal Robinson] harasses us, every time we go out he shouts.
‘Every time we go out he shouts and tells us to give him the money for his house.’
Responding to the comments today (Weds), Neal said: ‘I work nights and they work during the day so I don’t even see them to shout at them.
‘My real problem is that even if the council did give permission, they could still look at what they have done and realise they have not been a good neighbour.’
Council planning manager Gavin Prescott said Neal’s complaint has been investigated but insists there was no fault in the council’s decision making process.
He said: ‘Mr Robinson’s complaint has been fully and thoroughly investigated by both the council and the local government ombudsman.
‘The council’s investigation concluded that full consideration had been given to the planning application and all relevant legislation.
‘The ombudsman report also concluded that there was no fault in the council’s decision making process.’