Neighbour confident ‘overbearing’ home will be pulled down by Walsall Council

In 2022, plans for a replacement five-bedroom dwelling on Brookhouse Road, Walsall, were approved on the condition that a 45-degree line of sight from neighbouring windows would be preserved.

However, the drawings submitted with the application, indicating the 45-degree line of sight, were later found to be inaccurate.

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Walsall Council apologised to neighbour Sarbjit Singh, for what it described as an ‘oversight’.

Sarbjit accused Walsall Council of being ‘too lenient’ in the case and says he cannot open his curtains or windows because his home feels overlooked.

The council served a Breach of Condition Notice on the owner but it was later withdrawn because of the applicant’s inaccurate plans.

The authority later opened an enforcement case against the owner but now it has published a new retrospective planning application ready for formal assessment.

Retrospective applications are submitted after the work has been carried out without prior permission.

Sarbjit said: “They probably feel they are within their rights to submit the retrospective planning application because of the council’s misdemeanour.

“We can’t enjoy the view from our windows, we can’t open the bathroom window without feeling somebody is looking at us. We have to draw the bedroom curtains all the time.

“The infrastructure is overbearing; it ruins the reputation of the street, not to mention the 45-degree breach.”

Sarbjit believes the case is similar to previous planning breaches where Walsall Council has ordered properties to be torn down.

In 2023, a property on Sandringham Avenue in Willenhall had to be demolished following instructions from Walsall Council.

The ruling came after the owner was granted planning permission for an extension but instead decided to pull down the original property and build a new ‘monster mansion’.

Similarly on Walstead Road in Fullbrook, Walsall Council ordered an ‘unauthorised’ eyesore house to be demolished in 2022 after it was built without planning permission.

Sarbjit added: “This is a whole new house which didn’t have planning permission and needs to come down, just like Sandringham Avenue and Walstead Road.

“I’m confident the retrospective won’t get approved. There’s no way they should be allowed to keep the property.

“It’s dragged on for so long. The council could have put a stop notice on it. All they did was clip them in the ears.

“It’s going to drag on and if worse comes to worst, I will have to put a compensation claim in for loss of value.”

A spokesperson for Walsall Council said: “In direct correspondence with this resident in March 2025 we confirmed that the planning case officer is communicating with the applicant to ensure we have everything we need to publish the planning application and begin our formal assessment.

“We also confirmed that once the application is published, the resident will be notified and provided with the case officer details.

“The requested information has since been submitted by the applicant and the associated planning application will therefore be published shortly on our website where plans can be viewed, and comments submitted by any interested party.“