A self builder who faced a demolition order to tear down a £180,000 bungalow has failed to do so by a deadline set by his local council.
Mark Jones, 55, had been ordered to knock down the home built in a garden in Sutton Coldfield by Birmingham City Council because he lacked the appropriate planning permissions.
The property remains standing, moving this long-running planning dispute into a critical new phase where enforcement action by the council is now anticipated.
Origin of the initial dispute
Work on the bungalow began in March 2019. Mr Jones has stated that he initially believed he could build it without needing full planning permission, as he thought it fell under permitted development rights.
However, in April 2019, a council officer informed him that proper planning consent was indeed required for the living space. Despite this notice, the building work continued.
Mr Jones’s father, who was meant to live in the bungalow, passed away in October 2019. Mr Jones later applied for permission for the building already in place, but Birmingham City Council refused the planning applications in late 2019 and 2020. The bungalow later became a home for his daughter, and then for Mr Jones himself.
Planning rejections and enforcement action
Mr Jones appealed the council’s decision, but an independent inspector also rejected his appeal in February 2021.
The inspector stated that the bungalow, built at the back of the property, did not fit with the existing look of the neighbourhood. Complaints from local residents about issues like parking, privacy, and light were also considered during the planning process.
An official order for the bungalow’s demolition was issued in November 2021. The initial deadline for this was March 14, 2022, but this was later extended to the end of June 2025.
Mr Jones has publicly stated that he feels the council is “bullying” him and has argued that other solutions should be considered, especially given what he sees as a shortage of housing locally.
Deadline passes: What happens next
As the June 2025 deadline has now passed, the bungalow built by Mr Jones remains in place. This moves the situation beyond the period for voluntary compliance.
Birmingham City Council had previously stated that Mr Jones was in breach of the 2021 enforcement notice and had been given “ample time to comply.”
The council also mentioned that a decision would be made “imminently” on a new application for a permitted development certificate submitted by Mr Jones.
However, even if that application were approved, the existing structure would still likely need to be demolished and rebuilt to meet building regulations.
With the deadline now elapsed, the council is expected to pursue further enforcement steps, which could include legal action, to ensure compliance with the demolition order.
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