A HOMEOWNER facing protests from neighbours about the height of his new garage says he will be left £14,000 out of pocket when finally forced to lower it.
Retired cop Steve Bull, 58, has hit back after complaints his new £30,000 garage was 50cm too high.
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He has now accepted he will have to scrap the original roof and install a new one at the correct size, though this has still angered people living nearby who says it remains too high.
But he is miffed at having to hand over an extra £14,000 following a row with neighbours in Abergavenny, South Wales.
Mr Bull, who has been doing all the building work himself, described the experience as “nothing but stress and hassle” – and says he regrets ever starting the project.
The Sun told last week how residents were raging about the new 19ft-high double garage they accused of ruining their views.
When he was granted planning permission for the garage in 2019, he was told the apex of the roof must not exceed four metres.
But he installed a 5.7m roof on the building, sparking a long-running dispute with neighbours and local councillors.
He simultaneously submitted an application for retrospective planning permission for the new height, but planners turned it down after hearing locals’ objections.
Mr Bull has been told to pull the roof down and replace it with a 4.5m-high ridge line – though neighbours remained outraged, insisting this is still too high, 50cm above the original permission.
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He has now responded to the complaints, saying: “To to be honest with you, I wish I’d never built the garage at all.
“When I started the idea was to improve the property, which I had bought originally for my daughter Melissa and my grandson to live in.
“I have used quality materials throughout the project and I really don’t understand why anyone would object to what I’ve done.
“I sometimes wonder what’s wrong with people – I sourced traditional Abergavenny stone for the walls and the finish is high quality.”
He says he will now have to scrap expensive wooden trusses he originally bought for the roof and buy new ones to ensure it does not exceed 4.5m at the ridge line.
Mr Bull added: “it’s just a total waste of time and money. Their only use now, I’m afraid, is going to be a couple of winters on the log burner.
“I have had nothing but stress and hassle since I started – I should have just bought a plot of land somewhere in the country and put a garage up there.”
Among the angry neighbours is 47-year-old mental health nurse Kelly Skinner, who says she remaisn “appalled” that Monmouthshire county council have approved the 4.5m roof.
The mother-of-two said: “People live in this street because of the amazing views across the back gardens towards the Deri.
“But when his 5.7m roof went up, you couldn’t see a thing. It blocked out all the view and it’s an eyesore anyway. Why do you need a roof that high to park a car under?
“I’m appalled the planners let this through. This garage looks like he’s built another house in his back garden. It’s the biggest garage I’ve ever seen. It’s totally excessive.”
Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said a group of locals were “taking legal advice” in order to launch an appeal against the council approval for the 4.5m ridge line.
Local councillor Maureen Powell said the building would “stand out like a sore thumb”, adding: “Had this gentleman gone along with what was approved at the very start we would not have this problem now.”
But planning officers said the 0.5m increase on what was originally approved was “relatively small”, with the height being “acceptable in this urban context”.
Experts have issued tips on how to avoid falling foul of planning rules.
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