17-05-2025
Widower is forced to spend £25k demolishing his home after council rules 'objectionable' extension is THREE INCHES over limit
A distraught pensioner faces a £25k demolition bill over an illegal roof extension that overhangs his home by just three inches.
Warren Benton, 73, was hit with a £16k fine over the third storey add-on, after council officials ruled the build did not match the exact specifications of approved plans.
His top-floor flat was adjudged to be 60cm taller than the signed off plans, with cladding that extends fractionally over the original footprint, instead of being set back as required.
Bradford Council says the breaches mean the 'obtrusive' extension must be torn down, despite no complaints from neighbours in Idle, West Yorkshire.
Town hall chiefs accused Mr Benton of wilfully ignoring the issue for 15 years and breaking conservation area rules.
However, the retired electrician has defended the build and said the protracted enforcement action against him had become a 'nightmare'.
He told MailOnline: 'The building was practically falling down when I bought it. There were junkies in the basement, beer cans everywhere.
'If I hadn't stepped in, it would have just become another derelict house.
'I admit I made a mistake but in my mind it is a minor breach. As far as I know, no-one has ever complained. Not one neighbour has said they have the slightest problem with what I built.
'To me, it seems really harsh that they want me to demolish what is my home.'
In September 2009, Mr Benton bought the 19th-century office building at auction, with plans already approved to add a third storey.
However, when work began, it quickly became clear the headroom was too small, something that was overlooked when the council initially rubber-stamped the development.
Mr Benton said the 60cm increase in height was necessary to make the internal living space habitable.
The plans also said the extension must be set back from the existing building, which Mr Benton failed to do.
In November 2009, planning enforcement wrote to him, pointing out the unauthorised increase.
Despite the efforts to preserve the property, the council issued an enforcement notice in 2010 demanding the extra storey be demolished.
The council said the extension was 'too obtrusive' and 'ruined the street scene' in the Idle and The Green Conservation Area.
Mr Benton said: 'I didn't just slap something together. I put in steel beams, fixed the walls, and made it solid again.
'It's a shame that I'm being treated like a criminal when I was just trying to do the right thing and help the building. But I do accept that I made a mistake.
'It's gone on for a long time and, yes, I probably have buried my head in the sand on it at times.
'This whole thing has been weighing on me for years.'
In a court hearing earlier this month, Mr Benton was hit with a £12,000 fine and ordered to pay another £4,000 in costs for failing to comply with the council's enforcement notice.
Mr Benton also faces a hefty demolition bill. While the council told the court the estimated cost of demolition would be between £15k and £25k, the family say the figure has been 'plucked from thin air' and could amount to considerably more.
The judge at Bradford Crown Court, Colin Burn, acknowledged Warren had no ill intent but said the extension was out of line with the original planning permission.
During the build, Warren cared for his late wife, who suffered from vascular dementia, while also trying to complete the renovation.
He said he did not want to worry his family with the stress of the planning issue, which is why it went unresolved for so long.
Son Connor, 32, who helped build the project, said: 'The stress of this is breaking my father.
'He can't even talk about it without falling apart. This has been going on for years now, and it's made everything worse.
'The council's attitude is unbelievable. They're talking about tearing down a house for a mistake that's basically just a few centimetres too high.
'People assume we're just trying to make money off this, but that's not it at all. We bought a run-down property at auction with the hope of fixing it up and selling it, so my parents could retire.
'At the end of the day, they're talking about demolishing a widowed pensioner's home - someone who's worked his whole life to provide for his family.
'The council's response has shown no sense, no compassion.'
Sentencing Mr Benton, Judge Burn said: 'The extension you built was objectionable in terms of planning permission.
'Images of the property show the extension appears to be somewhat jarring in a row of terraced houses.
'The notice was issued in August 2010 and in May 2025 it has still not been complied with.
'This is a building in a conservation area - from a layman's point of view this extension is at odds with the surrounding buildings.
'It clearly undermines the scheme of planning control, not just in this area but generally.'
He added: 'It is the council's obligation to uphold planning control.'
Speaking at his apartment, above three tenanted flats, Mr Benton said: 'I've lost sleep over this. My wife's since passed away, and now I'm stuck with this fine and the threat of demolition.
'If I had to demolish my home, where would I live? I could move to the flats downstairs but that would mean kicking out one of my tenants, and that is not fair on them.
'I hope we can find some kind of compromise. I've asked architects to put together plans that hopefully the council will be happy with. We just hope they will engage with is.'
