We were furious after our neighbors built an eyesore gym in the middle of their driveway… now we’ve finally got our way

RESIDENTS celebrate after a neighbor who built an ‘eyesore’ gym in the middle of his driveway was forced to demolish it.

Residents of Highgate, Birmingham were overjoyed and “amazed” that the council had ordered Madam Singh to demolish the unauthorized building.

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Mr Singh originally received planning permission for a single storey garage in 2019.

However, planning officials were stunned to discover in October 2021 that a small two-story “house” had been constructed instead.

The family have previously said they used the building as a gym and that there were only “minor differences” to what was approved by the council.

Family members told The Sun Online: “We use it as a gym, we go in there every day. We all go in there – about four or five families live here. We all use the gym.

“We’re not ashamed of it. We don’t have to prove anything to anyone. We don’t receive welfare, we spent our hard-earned money to build what we built.”

They also slammed their complainants and the council as “jobsworths” and accused locals of using the gym themselves.

However, more recent photos show that demolition work has begun.

A neighbor said: “It looks like they finally complied with the order and thank goodness it was an eyesore.

“I was amazed they got away with it, so it’s nice to see that common sense has now prevailed.

“They’re going to kick themselves though, it must have cost them a couple of bobs to throw that up in the first place and now they’re having to pay to mostly pull it down.”

They added that it’s “hard to have too much sympathy” for the family as they are “clearly wrong”.

Another local added: “They’re never happy with extensions or new builds blocking sunlight or replacing gardens and trees, but that’s exactly what people do.

“But if it just got permission to be a garage, I can’t understand how they thought they would ever get away with it. It’s clearly a house.

“God knows how on earth they were going to pass this off as a garage.”

Mr Singh has been given until July 2022 to completely remove the structure and all demolition waste from his property.

However, the Council confirmed that the deadline had been missed.

Planning Inspector Thomas Shields wrote in his report on the case: “Having little resemblance to the scale and layout of the approved single storey garage, the Appeal Building does not benefit from this planning permission.”

A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said: “The council is actively seeking compliance with the enforcement order.

“It’s a live case, so there’s nothing more we can say at this point.”

They had previously said: “We served a writ of demolition for the demolition of the unauthorized structure when the owner lost on appeal.

“We are in talks with the owner about a timetable. Compliance with the notice was due by July 1, 2022.”

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