Grandmother ordered to rip down extension that cost her £11,000 life savings
Nicola insists she asked Birmingham City Council for permission - but they deny ever permitting her plans
A GRANDMOTHER has been ordered to rip down an extension that set her back £11,000 out of her life savings.
Nicola Graham O'Connor, 49, spent more than 10 grand adding pillars, railings and a canopy to her semi-detached home in Quinton, Birmingham.
But the furious nan has now been told to tear down the additions as they are not in keeping with the road's "character".
Nicola insists she asked Birmingham City Council whether she could go ahead with the building - but insists she was told she did not need planning permission.
The council says Nicola seeked no guidance from them and has now told her to remove the unauthorised extension.
Nicola replaced lawns and bushes in her front garden with a canopy, in the hope it would be easier to manage.
She also added 8ft-tall brick pillars and 5ft-tall metal railings to the house.
The grandma, who lives with husband Adrian and their daughter, 21, said: "There is no way I'd invest my life savings in this if there was any doubt it wasn't legal."
She claims she gave the council dimensions for the plans three years ago and was stunned to be told she needed to remove the structure after a council inspector came to view it.
Nicola was last week told she had 28 days to remove the extension and any bid for "retrospective planning permission" was likely to be unsuccessful.
She said: "They say it's out of character. But immediately after receiving the letter, I toured the immediate area and took 29 photographs of railings higher than mine, extensions and porches that are bigger than mine, and closed in."
The homeowner, who suffers from fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and depression, said: ";My health is very, very poor.
"I'm under so much stress. I'm living on my nerves and my stomach churns."
Nicola has said she will fight the order "if she can get a loan from family or friends" - as she has "no money left to take it down".
She has also written to a local councillor and her MP.
Birmingham City Council's head of planning management, Richard Goulborn, said: "We received an anonymous complaint about development at this property.
"Following a visit by an officer a decision was made that planning permission is required for the forward canopy, pillars, gates and railings.
"Due to the scale, design and visual impact of the development planning permission is unlikely to be forthcoming so we are currently in discussion with the owner to find a solution.
"There is no record or evidence of this specific development being brought to the council's attention before it was built."
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