My petty neighbours claim my £30k garage is 50cm too high – they’ve made me spend £14k lowering it…I’m out of pocket

A HOMEowner who faced protests from neighbors over the height of his new garage says he will have a £14,000 deduction when he is finally forced to lower it.

Retired police officer Steve Bull, 58, has responded after complaining his new £30,000 garage was 50cm too tall.

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He has now accepted that he will have to remove the original roof and install a new roof of the right size, although this still angers those living nearby who think it is still too much. High.

But he is annoyed that he has to pay an extra £14,000 after an argument with neighbors in Abergavenny, South Wales.

Mr Bull, who has done all of the construction work himself, describes the experience as “nothing but stress and hassle” – and says he regrets starting the project.

The Sun last week reported how angry residents were about the new 19-foot-tall double garage, which they allege damaged their view.

When he was granted a garage planning permit in 2019, he was told that the top of the roof should not exceed 4 meters.

However, he installed a 5.7m roof over the building, causing a protracted dispute with neighbors and local councilors.

He also applied for retroactive planning permission for the new height, but the planners refused after hearing objections from locals.

Mr Bull was asked to pull down the roof and replace it with a 4.5m high ledge – although neighbors remained outraged, insisting that the roof was still too high, 50cm taller than initial allowable level.

He’s now responded to the complaints, saying, “To be honest with you, I wish I’d never built a garage.

“When I started, the idea was to improve the house I originally bought for my daughter Melissa and my grandson to live in.

“I used quality materials throughout the project and I really don’t understand why people are against what I did.

“Sometimes I wonder if people have a problem – I source the traditional Abergavenny stone for the high quality walls and finishes.”

He says he will now have to get rid of the expensive trusses he originally bought for the roof and buy new ones to make sure it doesn’t exceed 4.5m at the ridgeline.

Mr Bull added: “It’s just a waste of time and money. Their only use now, I’m afraid, will be a few winters on a wood-burning stove.

“I’ve had nothing but stress and trouble since I started – I should have bought a piece of land somewhere in the country and put a garage there.”

Among the angry neighbors was mental health nurse Kelly Skinner, 47, who said she was still “appalled” when Monmouthshire county council approved the 4.5m roof.

The mother-of-two said: “People live on this street because of the great views of the back gardens towards Deri.

“But when his 5.7m high roof goes up, you can’t see anything. It blocks the view and it’s annoying anyway. Why do you need such a high roof to park? cars below?

“I’m horrified that the people who planned this let this through. This garage looks like he built another one in the back garden. It’s the biggest garage I’ve ever seen. It’s completely outrageous.”

Another neighbor, who asked not to be named, said a group of locals were “taking legal advice” to make an appeal against council approval for the 4.5m ridge line.

Local councilor Maureen Powell said the building would “stand out like a sore thumb”, adding: “If this gentleman had followed through on what was approved in the first place we would not have encountered this problem.”

But planning officials said the 0.5m increase from the originally approved level was “relatively small”, given the height “acceptable in this urban setting”.

Experts offer advice on how to avoid breaking the rules of planning.

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