I’m having to rip down my disabled daughter’s £170k annexe – snotty neighbours call it an eyesore… they make life hell

A MUM who splashed out £170,000 on a two-storey annexe for her disabled daughter has been ordered to rip it down after losing a last-ditch planning appeal. Clair Birch, 59, built the property in the back garden of her semi-detached home in Worcester so her daughter could have more independence. A mum who spent £170,000 building a two-storey annexe for her disabled daughter has been ordered to rip it down Credit: SWNS Neighbours branded the annexe (to the right of the main house) an ‘eyesore’ Credit: SWNS But neighbours were stunned when what they branded an “eyesore” resembling a “second house” sprang up where a garage had once stood. It emerged Ms Birch had only secured permission for a far more modest one-bedroom annexe before applying retrospectively for consent for the larger building. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! Worcester City Council refused the plans and served an enforcement notice ordering her to demolish it. Ms Birch, who previously blasted “snotty neighbours” for “making life hell” – appealed, arguing that knocking the whole building down was excessive. But the Planning Inspectorate threw out her challenge this month. The ruling means she must tear down the entire annexe and clear away the rubble within six months – giving her until around February. Inspector Sarah Hanson concluded: ‘While I acknowledge the appellant’s concerns regarding their daughter’s accommodation needs, those personal circumstances do not alter the fact that the development has been found unacceptable on its planning merits.’ The decision is another final blow for Ms Birch, who has blamed a property firm and planner for the planning debacle. Most read in Money An aerial view of the house and annexe Credit: SWNS One neighbour said it was at one point referred to as an Airbnb Credit: SWNS She previously insisted she believed the correct paperwork had been filed and said she built the annexe in good faith. She said last year: “I’ve done this building in good faith and thought since June I have the relevant permissions. “I’m left with a building my disabled daughter is no longer able to use. She wants her independence. “She’s got a phobia of being on the ground floor at night, so we put a second floor in. “That building was built to meet my daughter’s needs. I was assured by someone who works in the department and my planner that it was all good.” Ms Birch said the annexe replaced a “massive” garage, wood shed and toilet and rejected claims it was oversized. The Planning Inspectorate threw out Ms Birch’s challenge this month Credit: SWNS She must now tear down the annexe and clear away the rubble within six months Credit: SWNS She added: “My planner royally messed up. On one application he put it as an Airbnb, then he has done this. “I was born in this house, do you really think I’d want to ruin this?” But the development sparked fury among some neighbours in Newtown Road. One warned the building could “devalue neighbouring properties” because of its size and overlooking windows. They wrote in an objection to the council: “I believe the building will devalue our property due to the size of the building and the fact it has 4 windows which can overlook our garden. “If we come to sell our house it may put off a whole market of people as they may not feel comfortable being so overlooked like I currently feel now in my own home.” Another neighbour revealed locals had dubbed the annexe ‘the big house’. They said: “We simply call it ‘the big house’ – they knocked it up in no time. “They had an extension built on the back of the semi, plus a lean-to and a small garage. I thought they were rebuilding the garage but it just kept on going. “They’ve fenced it all off into a separate property, it effectively stands alone. It’s like a bungalow now.” Ms Birch has denied deliberately trying to create a separate home and said the building was designed specifically around her daughter’s requirements. Worcester City Council refused the plans in November saying the size and scale of the build lacked “cohesion” with the surrounding area. Ms Birch argued that six months was not long enough to carry out the demolition work, and pleaded for 18 months, But the Planning Inspectorate said: “The steps required by the notice are straightforward and comprise removal of the unauthorised building and the removal of resulting materials from the land. “No substantive evidence has been provided to demonstrate that those works could not reasonably be undertaken within six months.” The Sun has contacted Worcester Council for comment.