An ambitious DIY enthusiast has been served with an enforcement notice after neighbours complained about scaffolding that has surrounded her property for the past five years – with works set to continue until the end of the decade.
Margaret Smith began transforming her pretty cottage shortly after buying it in 2020, with plans for extensive renovations both outside and inside.
But the scaffolding that went up there shortly after she moved in remains there today and has been joined by piles of building materials and detritus.
Neighbours have complained about the ‘extreme eyesore’ in Shipdham, Norfolk, saying how it was previously a pretty cottage with a well-kept garden.
One even claimed that electrical works carried out in the street by a third party caused power surges that made her heat pump blow up, at a cost of £8,000, as well as affecting other electrical items.
Breckland Council issued an enforcement notice demanding Ms Smith, who bought the house for £185,000, remove the scaffolding at the property locals have dubbed ‘Scaffold House’ and return it to its original state.
But the problem looks likely to drag on, as she has appealed against the decision to the Planning Inspectorate, which will hold a hearing at a date yet to be set.
Ms Smith – who in 2022 said the works at her home, called Meadows View, might continue until 2030 – has not commented on the situation.
Scaffolding was erected at Meadows View five years ago and continues to blight the area, locals have complained
NHS mental health worker Margaret Smith said the work had taken longer than expected and work commitments had added to delays. She has admitted works could continue until 2030
But in a statement to the Planning Inspectorate, the mental health worker for the NHS said she had taken on the work herself to ‘keep costs down’ and work commitments had caused delays.
She added: ‘Furthermore, due to increases in the cost of living, mortgage payments, labour and materials, the renovation project has not yet able to have been completed.
‘It has involved much more work than was initially anticipated.’
The works she has completed are understood to include renovating the chimneys, windows, radiators and installing a new boundary fence.
Still to come are roof repairs, replacing the front and rear porches, new ceilings in the bathroom, dining room, bedroom and kitchen, as well as fitting a new kitchen and bathroom, swapping out the downstairs floorboards and installing a new driveway and pathway.
Frustrated neighbours include Donna Nevill, 38, who has lived in the road all her life.
She told the Mail: ‘It annoys my husband. He moans about it every time he drives past.
‘The thing that bothers me was when they dug up the road last year, which affected our power. Now we regularly have power surges.
The pretty two-bedroom property previously had a well-tended garden and carefully pruned shrubbery around its perimeter
Residents in Shipdham have dubbed the property ‘Scaffold House’ and have described it as an ‘extreme eyesore’ and ‘dreadful’
Breckland Council looked into the matter in 2021 and again in 2023 following complaints. In January it issued an enforcement notice ordering Ms Smith to remove the scaffolding and building materials
‘It blew up our heat pump which cost us £8,000 to replace. We had to claim it off the house insurance.
‘We still get power surges every day, with the lights going on and off and I’ve had three new microwaves in the past year. The washing machine is always going on and off.’
Mrs Nevill, who said UK Power Networks had confirmed the roadworks were for Ms Smiths property, added: ‘It’s an eyesore and it isn’t nice.’
Another resident, Joan Bartlett, 63, said people had become ‘fed up’.
‘The scaffolding has been there for so long it’s taken root,’ she added.
One homeowner, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I think it used to belong to an old chap and it was very pretty, nice to look at.
‘Now it’s a permanent eyesore. Most people think enough is enough.’
Others said they had effectively turned a blind eye to the never-ending DIY in their street, however.
The owner has appealed against the council’s ruling by taking the case to the Planning Inspectorate, which she hopes will overturn the enforcement notice
Renovations have been completed on areas including the chimneys and windows. Ms Smith has yet to complete work such as roof repairs, new front and rear porches, internal ceilings, a new kitchen and bathroom, and installing a new driveway and pathway.
Dave Gray-Taylor said: ‘It’s their own place and they’ve been doing it up at their own pace. The scaffold house has become a bit of a landmark.’
And Emma Farrow added: ‘I don’t have a clue what they’re doing but it doesn’t affect me.
‘It has been like that since I moved in and I’ve got used to it.’
Breckland Council first looked into the matter in 2021 after receiving a complaint but decided the following year not to take it further year after concluding that materials stored there for the purposes of renovation were in place on a ‘temporary’ basis.
The case was resurrected in 2023 because of an increase in the amount of materials , with neighbours calling it an ‘extreme eyesore’ and ‘dreadful’.
The enforcement notice was came into effect in January this year and ordered Ms Smith, who is understood to be in her 30s, to remove debris and materials by November.
It stated that the amount of items outside the house suggested ‘the material change of use of the land from residential dwelling house to the mixed use of residential dwelling house and storage of materials and paraphernalia’.
There were ‘real concerns that external storage of non-domestic items at the property will continue unabated thus having an increasing detrimental effect to the character, appearance and amenity of the area’, it added.
The council was approached for a comment.
The Planning Inspectorate will hold a hearing on a date to be confirmed, when it will consider the council’s case and that of Ms Smith.
It will decide whether to uphold the enforcement notice or overturn it, allowing Ms Smith to keep the property as it is.
UK Power Networkssaid: ‘The customer contacted us on March 12, 2024, as their heat pump was no longer working.
‘We confirmed we had no power issues in the area and because we are not responsible for customers’ heat pumps, advised the customer to contact their insurers.’
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