Couple must pull down their £10,000 summerhouse because planners say it is one metre too high 

A heartbroken couple face having to tear down their £10,000 summerhouse after village planners ruled it was one metre too high.

Amjad Butt, 70, and his 65-year-old wife Tina splashed out last year on the luxurious timber building at the bottom of their garden in Bournville, Birmingham.

They have now been told the summerhouse contravenes local planning restrictions of the Bournville Village Trust (BVT) because the three-metre structure is one metre too tall. 

Amjad Butt, 70, and his wife Tina, 65, face having to tear down or slash the height of their £10,000 summerhouse after it was found to breach local planning restrictions

Bournville Village Trust (BVT) told couple, who live in Bournville, Birmingham, that the three-metre building was one metre too tall

The couple claim the building adheres to national planning laws but now face having to take down the building or slash its height or design.  

Devastated Tina, a retired nursing manager, said: ‘We spent £10,000 on the summer house, labour, paint and plants and now we don’t know what to do. We can’t enjoy it.’

The BVT said its aim was to work with householders ‘who want to submit applications for alterations to their homes’. 

It added the couple had been invited to appeal against the summerhouse decision but had declined to do so.

Retired chartered accountant Amjad and his wife had moved to picturesque Bournville – a protected conservation area – from London six years ago to enjoy their retirement.

Last year they bought the wooden summerhouse from manufacturers Forest and the building was erected at the bottom of their sprawling garden.

The couple, who moved to Bournville to enjoy their retirement, claim the building adheres to national planning laws

They moved to the village from London two years ago and built the summerhouse last year at the bottom of their sprawling garden

Amjad said: ‘The (national planning) law says a summerhouse can be four metres high and single storey and we have done everything to communicate with the Trust.

‘It has been manufactured according to (national) planning laws. The law gave the permission to the industry for the dimensions that it can be four metres high. The manufacturer has used all those dimensions to manufacture it.

‘All you have to do is check a couple of things, for example the summer house must not take more than 50 per cent of your garden.

‘So our garden is 120 feet, and this summer house has taken only 13 feet of the garden.’

The couple claim they thoroughly researched the planning laws around outbuildings and believed the trust’s guide related only to the main house. 

BVT launched an investigation after receiving a complaint about the summerhouse from a neighbour.

Two officials made a site visit in October and the couple were later told the structure was one metre too high and contravened strict planning rules of the Bournville Design Guide.

Amjad said he understood the BVT was there to protect the heritage of the area and ensure ‘nothing is distorted or tampered with without the permission of the Bournville Trust.

Mrs Butt said they cannot enjoy the building because of the looking prospect of having to tear it down 

‘That is their main role. But we have not touched our main house, the building.

‘It is only a summer house, or you could say a glorified shed at the back of the garden which has been put up strictly according to the law.’

Arthur Tsang, Director of Communities at Bournville Village Trust, said: ‘We are sorry that Mr and Mrs Butt are unhappy with the handling of their application for a summerhouse.

‘Our aim is always to work with customers who want to submit applications for alterations to their homes to make sure they meet the guidance in the Bournville Design Guide and are therefore successful.

‘The Design Guide is partly in place to help manage the balance of buildings and green space that the area and people who live in Bournville enjoy and benefit from.

‘Mr and Mrs Butt did not submit an application for the summerhouse and following a complaint from a neighbour, we asked them to lower the building’s size to meet the guidance on garden buildings in the Design Guide.

‘We offered Mr and Mrs Butt the option to appeal this decision by the 3rd May to which they did not respond.

‘Officers did, however, make representation on their behalf. The original decision to request that the building was reduced in height was upheld and Mr and Mrs Butt were asked to lower its size or remove it.

‘We would ask Mr and Mrs Butt to contact us so that we can work with them to resolve the matter.’