NHS worker's fury as neighbour's extension leaves just eight-inch gap between homes

AN NHS worker is unable to sleep for worry after his neighbour's huge home extension has left the two properties "overlapping".

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Birmingham: Resident is angry as neighbour's extension overlaps roof

Video shows how the  extension comes so close to Stuart Smith's home the houses are separated by just eight inches meaning he cannot access that side of the property. Mr Smith, 42, has branded the construction work "bizarre".

Speaking to Birmingham Live, the NHS worker said: "It's come over the boundary on the same land - effectively you have two buildings occupying the same space. It's like a catalogue of errors right the way across.

"It's been built so far over the boundary line onto our side there's no gap to be able to maintain our own property.

"We can never remove the gutters now, we can't unfix the felt roof, or the fascias or render the side of the house. It's like that permanently and any problems we'll have to live with."

Mr Smith, who lives in Kings Norton, Birmingham, where the average house price is around £190,000, alleged plans were not followed as builders were unable to properly fit a roof on his neighbour's home, so a wall was built just beneath his roof and stepped in.

He claimed the "catalogue of errors" across the boundary line meant guttering attached to the properties touched, leaving him worried about drainage and damp issues.

Planning officers for Birmingham City Council are now probing the extension, which saw works carried out over a garage to increase the property size from three to five bedrooms.

Stuart Smith

Stuart Smith is angry over the line and extension of the property next door to his (Image: Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)

"They (the builders) didn't actually realise their mistake until they started building underneath my eaves. It was only when they got so far up they realised my roof was in the way of them putting their own roof on," added Mr Smith, who works in IT for Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust.

"I did speak to the neighbour at that point and they said they would 'sort it out', but (the builders) didn't fix it, they just worked around it, recessed it in, built a little flat roof and built the roof to the side."

Mr Smith, married to nursery teacher Sallyanne, 39, said works started at the end in January 2021, when they were woken up by loud banging as builders began the foundations.

The key workers, who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic, said it was not until March that they could see the top of the building.

Stuart Smith

Mr Smith, who works for NHS, said he is unable to access the side of his home (Image: Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)

"It looked very close, but you couldn't see it properly as it was obscured a bit (by the scaffolding)," said Mr Smith.

"I feel absolutely awful over this. I try to push it to the back of my mind trying to forget about it - but then I don't make any progress.

"So then I have to concentrate on it and it just winds me up. I have difficulty sleeping. It's just very stressful. It's a lot of worry. We bought the house as the house we wanted to live in forever.

"It's just tainted this a bit now. We need to get this sorted out and rebuilt further back. I don't see how anyone could be happy with that.

"At some points it's actually touching. Where I have a roof above a garage at the front it touches his roof above the garage and right at the very top the gutterings are touching.

"They do actually overlap. They've built part of the wall lower than it should have been. They got around it by steeping it in and building higher, but then the roof is not directly over the wall.

"At the back where I have a flat roof the guttering there is touching their wall and that means I can't unclip that guttering and remove it."

Stuart Smith

Mr Smith's home is on the left, with the new extension on the right (Image: Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)

Explaining what he would like to see happen next, Mr Smith added: "There's still work to do on it, so I would expect they would want to do something before anymore work carries on.

"It's just going to save people money in the long run.  .

"I'm speaking to a solicitor, but it's very slow going as we're going through the building insurers."

Mr Smith, who moved into the home in February 2017, said he feared the plans had been signed off by a private building inspector, so was concerned the city council would not intervene.

"It's a problem as I initially complained to Birmingham City Council, but some of these things don't fall under the planning they fall under building control," he said.

He said the extension has doubled the size of the neighbouring house - from 81,000 sq ft with an extra 76,000 sq ft. It has gone from three-bedrooms to five-bedrooms, with a bigger kitchen, garage, utility room and loft conversion.

Mr Smith's neighbour, who had the works carried out, said he had co-operated fully with council officers and "it is for them to decide" the outcome.

When approached about the works, the middle-aged resident said: "I've already spoken to the city council. Leave it to the council to sort out."

A Birmingham City Council, a Labour-controlled authority, spokesman added: "We have received a complaint that works are in breach of planning legislation.

"The matter is currently under investigation and officers are in discussions with both the owner and complainant."