Man ordered to pay £1,700 for not demolishing unauthorised extension he didn't even build

Mohammed Ghafoor was ordered to pay almost £1,700 by magistrates for failing to pull down the extension – which was built without planning permission. Ghafoor, of Harlow Road in Bradford, appeared before magistrates last week, pleading guilty to failing to comply with an enforcement notice dating back to 2014.

Ruksana Kosser, prosecuting on behalf of Bradford Council, said the council had been notified of an unauthorised front extension on the terraced property in May 2014. They spoke with the then owner of the property, who later submitted a retrospective planning application for the extension.

It was refused, with planning officers saying: “The development, by reason of its size, design and choice of materials, represents an unwelcome and strident feature, visually incongruous with the existing buildings, and therefore harmful to the visual amenity of the host building and character of the wider street scene.”

An enforcement notice was issued demanding the extension be removed. In 2016 Ghafoor took ownership of the property. The court was told that it was not just ownership of the house that was transferred – the requirement to pull down the extension did too.

Magistrates were told that Ghafoor had “buried his head in the sand” over the issue, and the case involved “not something he’s done, but something he hasn’t done.”

He was fined £160 and ordered to pay the costs the Council accrued in investigating the case – £1,428, and a £30 surcharge. He was told that he would still need to demolish the extension.