EXCLUSIVE Woman, 75, in £600k house furious after next-door neighbour demolishes home 'without permission' making her life a 'nightmare'

Daily Mail​

10 hours ago

A 75-year-old owner of a £600,000 home says her recovery from cancer has become a 'nightmare' after the house attached to hers was demolished without planning permission - and works to build a new house have no end in sight.
The row has kicked off in the peaceful village of Stoke Poges in Buckinghamshire, where Doreen Beacom has lived for 25 years in her semi-detached house - which is now abutting an 'eyesore' building site she dreads seeing every morning.
The property has stood unoccupied since it was bought by Jasbir Baryah in 2022, shortly before Mr Baryah sought planning permission for a ground floor extension.
Doreen said she didn't take much notice of the application - until January 2023 when builders began to remove the roof of the house.
Doreen watched in horror as the whole building that shares a wall with her property was demolished over the span of nine months - with retrospective planning permission for the works granted by Buckinghamshire Council in February last year.
The grandmother-of-three said: 'It has been a bloody nightmare.
'I was dealing with cancer when this all started. I was just getting over that when these works started.
'They did quite a lot of digging and vibrations from the digging were just a nightmare. They had a grab loader and it was continuous beep-beep-beep from 7.30 to five in the afternoon.
'There was a mature garden next door - a huge ash tree, three apple trees. They razed it all. It was desolation. It was a sanctuary for wild creatures. I used to see frogs and toads in my garden - I haven't seen frog in my garden, you know.'
She added: 'I started getting heart palpitations. I get up five o'clock in the morning, my brain switches on that bloomin building, and I just can't get it out of my head. I've had a heart monitor fitted.'
Since the demolition works started, a crack has appeared along the rear outside wall of Doreen's property and a draft from the attic became a recurring problem after the adjacent roof was removed.
Doreen said she was outraged when Buckinghamshire Council granted retrospective planning permission for the demolition works - and then granted further permission for proposed new building with an extension that will block light to Doreen's garden.
Doreen said she has had to repeatedly warn the council that the new building is now extending beyond its approved plans.
She said: 'What's happening, it's going to make a lot of difference to me. It's going to overpower my patio.
'I have no faith in the council. They should have realised that they were not following the plans that were approved. They should have checked.
'They should make the fines much higher - if it's a genuine mistake, there should be some give and take.'
Since the demolition works started, a crack has appeared along the rear outside wall of Doreen's property and a draft from the attic became a recurring problem after the adjacent roof was removed
But Doreen praised councillors from Stoke Poges Parish Council who have supported Doreen's engagement with the local authority.
The parish council has also opposed the building works, with a planning meeting referring to the proposed new building as 'over dominant, obtrusive and out of keeping, as well as appearing as a cramped overdevelopment of the site'.
The ongoing ordeal has left Doreen's friends and family deeply concerned for her well-being.
She said: 'My daughter says, 'you have changed'. She said, 'can't you live with it', and I said 'no' - because it's wrong. It's unfair.'
And Doreen worries about how the development next door will affect the value of her house.
She said: 'Houses were going for £620,000 in the road before these building works. God knows what they would say now.
'Of course, I want to get on with my neighbours. I want to welcome new blood to the area.'
Full planning permission was granted for the original extension of the property but the owner was not aware demolition of the building was not part of the permission, according to a representative from an architecture firm involved in the original plan to extend the property.
David Hafield, of Hadfield Noblin, said: 'We were not aware that, following discussion with the builder and energy consultant, the applicant Mr Baryah, had made the decision to demolish the property with the view of rebuilding it to a better standard, particularly with respect to improved thermal insulation and energy conservation.
'With the intention of carrying out the works as approved Mr Baryah was unaware that the permission did not include for the demolition of the property.
'The retrospective application for the demolition of the property was prepared and submitted within 14 days of the receipt of the notice from the local planning authority, and permission was granted within the normal statutory period.
'The local planning authority were satisfied that the proposals did not constitute overdevelopment – hence the granting of the permissions.'
It's not the first planning row involving retrospective permission in the usually quiet village.
Civil war has erupted on a leafy street around the corner after a 'horrific' extension on a £1million property - which neighbours claim they knew nothing about until it was finished.
Locals claim the new property is in breach of planning rules and looks like a 'Los AngelesMcMansion'.
The parish council and locals have accused owner Jag Bahia of breaching planning permission granted for his extension works on the property.
Mr Baryah has been approached for comment.
Buckinghamshire Council's Cabinet Member for Planning, Peter Strachan said: 'Demolition at the property began without prior planning consent. Retrospective permission was granted in February 2024 after the council determined that the development complies with National and Local Planning Policies.
'We do not actively monitor construction; instead, it is the landowner's responsibility to ensure that the work is carried out to the approved plans .
'However, the Council is aware that the new building at this site is not built in accordance with the approved plans and we are addressing that through the normal planning enforcement process.'