SCARY STUFF
‘Monster mansion’ that sparked bitter row with neighbours who moaned it ‘looked like a Travelodge’ is FINALLY torn down
Neighbours say this still may not be the end of the long-standing row
A HOME that sparked a bitter three-year row on a quiet street has finally been torn down - after locals dubbed it a "monster mansion".
Gurwinder Singh was locked in a long-standing battle with his neighbours after he built the four-bedroom property in Willenhall, West Mids., back in 2020.
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Locals fumed the building work had made their "lives hell" while others described the "eyesore" as "like a Travelodge in the middle of a housing estate".
Following more than 95 complaints, the dad was ordered to tear down the half-built home by Walsall Council.
And now the home has been bulldozed - but Singh already has plans to rebuild another one for his wife and two daughters.
He previously told The Sun that demolition would cost him a whopping £37,000.
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And while the home has now been torn down, a local councillor said neighbours already had concerns.
Councillor Stacie Elson told the that while the next-door neighbour's party wall had been covered with plastic sheeting, work stopped in mid-January.
She claimed now the resident's home is now showing signs of chimney and damp issues and that reparation work is needed.
The row first kicked off in 2020 after Singh demolished a 1960s semi and built a £300,000 four-bed house on the property.
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Initially he never applied for planning permission, and had only been given the go-ahead for a side extension to the existing house.
For many months Singh had refused to tear it down and had begged the council to “find a solution".
His fatal flaw was not applying for planning permission, and his attempts to get retrospective planning permission were denied.
The news Singh would have to rip the house down was music to the ears of his neighbours.
One man said: "It's about time. This has been going on for way too long and we just hope he sees it through now."
Another local said: "We always said he'd never get away with it but as time went on you did wonder. It's been hell living next to a construction site and half-built shell for three years. Common sense has prevailed."
Resident Dave added: “The bulldozers are here and we can’t wait to see that property completely knocked down.
'Monster mansion' timeline
2020 - Gurwinder Singh buys 1960s semi in Willenhall, West Mids.
Singh applies for planning permission - and was given the go-ahead for a side extension to the existing house.
Dad demolishes old home, starts building "monster mansion".
2022 - Singh applies for retrospective planning permission on new home.
Walsall Council slaps Singh with an enforcement notice ordering him to tear the home down after discovering he'd never applied for planning permission.
October 2023 - Neighbours start dubbing home "Travelodge in the middle of a housing estate" in bid to get it pulled down.
Walsall Council upheld an order for the property to be destroyed after rejecting an appeal by Singh.
December 2023 - Demolition starts on home as Singh opens up about his family's "heartbreak".
February 2024 - Home is totally bulldozed.
"I can't feel sorry for him because he brought this on himself and along the way he made our lives hell.
"I bet he feels very hard done by but he should have put his proposal through the proper planning procedure, like everyone else does.”
One resident chipped in: “We’re pleased it’s being torn down and will be relieved when it's all done and dusted.
"The house was bloody huge and looked like a horrible monster mansion. It was at least three times the size of the original house.”
The delivery driver told The Sun in December: “I am really disappointed it has come to this, and my wife and two daughters are in a deep depression that we have lost the house we had dreamed of, and just before Christmas.”
He added: “I did everything I could in my power to keep my home but it cannot be, and it is heartbreaking.
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“Planners listened to the neighbours, it was people pressure that cost me my home. No doubt they will be celebrating, at my family’s expense.
“I’ve lost, they’ve won.”
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