Skip to main content
Legal news

Council forces house demolition

Jonathan Winston Jonathan Winston
2 min read

Leeds City Council has ordered the demolition of a new house despite the owners having full planning permission.

The three-bedroom detached house in Oakwood was almost three-quarters complete when the council ordered its demolition because it had been built “in the wrong place and bigger than approved”.

Work began on the property in September 2007 after planning permission had been granted earlier that year. However residents organised a petition against the property when they saw it rise to three feet above other properties in the street and almost touch the gutters of the house next door.

Work on the site stopped and the local authority ordered its demolition which took place following Darren and Shirley Sheridan, the owner-developers losing an appeal last year. A planning inspector’s report said the original designs had shown the property to be in alignment with neighbouring houses yet it was built “significantly” taller. It also said that the gap between the houses on either side had been misrepresented.

The problems have left the Sheridans with a huge bill. They have already paid £100,000 for the original build and another £10,000 for its demolition. A rebuild is likely to be in the region of £75,000 and other costs such as legal and appeal fees are likely to mean that they will have paid £200,000 by the time the new house is completed.

The Sheridan’s are planning to sue MAS Design Consultants for providing “flawed” architectural drawings.

Client feedback

They help us and guided us buying the property
Shamim
Very professional and courteous. Good response times and extremely thorough in their work. Highly recommend.
Richard
I recently updated my will with Winston Solicitors. Emily was very helpful and professional. She explained everything I needed to know very clearly and addressed any questions I had . The service was excellent
Ann
Great experience and consistent feedback
Alexander
Good communication, clear emails, good attention to detail reacted quickly to problems.. We have used twice now and would certainly use her again as a convincing solicitor. Much better than other we have used in the past.
Rachel
The service from Sam and Paolo has been exceptional - timely, responsive and efficient through a highly stressful house purchase (no fault of theirs!) and we would highly recommend them both to anyone!
Mr & M
I recenlty contacted Winstons Solicitors to assist with a appeal for my mother with the ICB regarding a continuing health care assessment. James Urquart Burton assited me with the process. He was exteremely helpful and understanding. James provided an indepth analysis and assesssment and was present at the appeal to assist me and advocate for my mother. Jame's work is diligent, professional and he is really responsive to any questions and queries. I highly recommned contacting James to help and assist with any appeals for Continuing Healthcare and Decision Support Tool reviews
Angela
Excelent service
Angus
Contact Jonathan