Newly-built home hit with demolition order – because it’s 75cm too tall and 145cm too far forward

The owner of a newly-built, four-bed detached house has been ordered to demolish the property – because it was built taller and in a different position than it should have been according to planning permission.

Plans for the house, which fronts onto Butterstile Lane in Prestwich, were approved by Bury council, in 2018.

Enforcement enforcement action was started by the town hall in 2023, once the house had been built and occupied. Planners said there had been a ‘breach of planning control’.

Bury council’s enforcement notice requires the house to be demolished and permanently removed, along with all garden structures and retaining walls. Following demolition, all materials must be removed from the site to return the land to its former state.

The enforcement notice, initially published in February 2023, was appealed. But the appeal was dismissed by the planning inspectorate on April 29, 2024. The appellant, Martin Gerard Wright, now has six months from the date of the April decision to demolish the house.

In its enforcement notice, Bury council claimed the building has been brought forward, towards Butterstile Lane, by approximately 1450mm – 145cm – so is not in the position shown on the approved plans. The enforcement notice also states: “The consequence of the above, the car parking area has a depth of 4,550mm as opposed to 6,000mm as indicated on the approved plans.

“The space available would not accommodate the parking requirements. The two-storey height bay feature to the front of the building has been omitted and therefore does not comply with the approved plans. The height of the building has been raised by approximately 750mm (75cm) and the front entrance steps are not positioned as per the approved plans.

“The