Fuming neighbours are ready to ‘buy popcorn’ and watch from their windows if bulldozers move in to tear down two huge homes – after it emerged they were built without planning permission.
The controversial semi-detached homes sprung up on the site of a former pub car park in Bradford, West Yorks, despite original planning permission having long since lapsed.
Now locals are demanding action over the ‘cowboy’ development, which they claim towers over surrounding heritage cottages and damages the area’s character.
Residents have also called on council officials to make an example of rogue developers who flout planning laws and later seek retrospective approval.
It comes as MailOnline this weekend revealed further cases in Bradford where developments were constructed without proper permissions.
Helen Naylor, 50, said: ‘People in Bradford build exactly what they like, when they like, how they like. And to hell with all rules and regulations.
‘The council needs to get its act together because in Bradford, nobody seems to care.
‘Cowboys come along, whack something up and just expect that the council will eventually sign it off.
Neighbours will ‘buy popcorn’ and watch from their windows if bulldozers move in to tear down two huge homes, pictured – after it emerged they were built without planning permission
The controversial semi-detached homes sprung up on the site of a former pub car park in Bradford, West Yorks
Now locals are demanding action over the ‘cowboy’ development, which they claim towers over surrounding heritage cottages
‘I think everyone around here has just had enough of it.’
The homes appeared in just under a year on the site of the long-disused pub car park in the Heaton area of the city, with one listed for sale online as a five-bedroom, three-storey property.
Although permission was granted in 2015 for a modest development, residents say that lapsed long before building began.
Now, both homes face potential demolition if Bradford Council refuses to approve the scheme in hindsight.
Neighbour Jane Loe, 68, said: ‘It’s quite funny in a way, but also horrible for those who live here.
‘My neighbour and I said we’re buying popcorn if and when they make them pull it down.
‘We’re going to sit out here and laugh.’
Ms Loe, who lives opposite the new houses with husband Nick Swift, 76, described the builder’s behaviour as ‘outrageous’.
She explained: ‘The original design was unattractive but what they’ve actually built is even worse.
‘We’ve watched them deviate from the plans in every way for the last year and a half.
‘The build quality is terrible – we’ve seen people working with no helmets, no high-vis, no gloves.
‘They even plugged power tools into a neighbour’s living room and just ran a cable across the road.
‘It’s been a bunch of cowboys, basically. It’s a monstrosity.’
The developer, named in council documents as Amjad Yaqoob, reportedly believed the 2015 approval still applied when he purchased the land. He has claimed to have been unaware that the consent had lapsed.
The homes appeared in just under a year on the site of the long-disused pub car park in the Heaton area of the city
Residents, including Jane Loe, pictured left, and Les and Janet Megson, right, have called on council officials to make an example of rogue developers
Bradford Council has confirmed that no valid permission was in place when the two homes were built. A decision on the retrospective application is expected in the coming weeks.
Neighbours close to the new-build homes say they hope the council will take firm action.
Eighty-year-old Janet Megson, who lives nearby with her husband Les, 76, said:
‘The whole thing is an absolute disaster.
‘I believe they didn’t have planning permission but that doesn’t seem to mean a thing these days.
‘I want to see the council enforce the rules and bring it back to how it was. They should be forced to take the whole thing down.
‘I don’t know what sort of mentality the council planning department had in the first place to allow anyone to build on this site.
‘There are little cottages round the back, it’s narrow. There’s nowhere to park. It’s just out of character. It’s out of place, altogether.
‘I think anywhere else in the country, with something without permission like this, they’d immediately have to take the whole thing down.
‘But I’m afraid round here, it’s this sort of ‘we’ll go back to the planning department, and we’ll see if there are amendments or compromises’.
‘It’s ridiculous.’
Mr Yaqoob, who runs a building company in Bradford, declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.
However, architects working on his behalf told Bradford Council that there was ‘never any malicious intent to build something without approval’, and claimed the development was ‘very similar’ to the previously approved plans.
The firm added: ‘The materials used are sympathetic to the area, and there are no additional issues of overlooking or overbearing.
‘We therefore feel the retrospective application should be approved.’
That assessment, however, brought short shrift when MailOnline visited the village.
Angry NHS worker Jane Megson, 52, said the idea of letting the build remain was ‘disgusting’.
She said: ‘It doesn’t fit in, and the thought of retrospective planning, it’s disgusting.
‘Why do we bother having rules and regulations if they’re just going to do what they like and then get retrospective planning?
Although permission was granted in 2015 for a modest development, residents say that lapsed long before building began
Angry NHS worker Jane Megson, pictured, said the idea of letting the build remain was ‘disgusting’
‘The council needs to make a show of these people and force them to take it down, to be honest.
‘It’s shocking the way they behave in Bradford, quite frankly.
‘The thing that annoys me is that they, on the planning application, said it fits in with the surroundings.
‘It does not fit in with the surroundings at all.’
‘I really do hope they make an example because it’s happening far too often in Bradford.
‘People just do what they want and then put in the retrospective planning. Because the council can’t be bothered, they just roll over and let them have their way.’
Helen Naylor, who lives yards from the unapproved homes, added: ‘I think it’s absolutely disgraceful, but it doesn’t surprise me in the least.
‘People in Bradford build exactly what they like, when they like, how they like. And to hell with all rules and regulations.
‘The council needs to get its act together because in Bradford, nobody seems to care.’
Fran Jones, 60, joked that the houses looked ready to collapse.
She said: ‘I think they might blow down when the wolf blows on them. I don’t think they’ve got foundations – I think they’re built on a concrete slab.
‘They stand out a mile and the finish is cheap. I feel sorry for the people in the heritage cottages behind it. It’s so awful.
‘We saw them building it and we were all shaking our heads going: ‘I’ll huff, and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down’.
‘The fact that it’s now come up with no planning permission is no surprise to any of us.’
The developer’s agents, P.N. Bakes Architectural Consultancy, argue that the homes are ‘very similar’ to the 2015 plans and say their client believed a ‘material start’ had already been made.
Bradford Council say enforcement action will be ‘reviewed’ once a decision is made.
A spokesman said: ‘Our Planning Enforcement Team have investigated reports of these works being carried out without planning permission.
‘As a planning application has now been submitted, the matter of enforcement will be reviewed once a decision on planning permission has been made, as is standard practice nationally.’
