A WEST BAY couple have begun demolishing a £50,000 extension they built without getting planning permission.

Edward Durnin and his wife Anita watched in dismay as their ‘beautiful’ granny annexe at 17, West Walk, turned to rubble – vowing to quit the estate.

The couple insist they carried out the garage conversion at their hillside bungalow unaware they needed change of use consent.

The work was almost completed when residents complained to council planners.

An appeal to retain the building was lost and West Dorset District Council issued an enforcement notice requiring the extension to be demolished by July.

Beaminster builder Martin Sibley is now pulling down the extension he took months to build.

Retired hotelier Mr Durnin, 72, said: “We thought about taking our case to the High Court but we could not afford the costs if we lost – we paid £50,000 to build the extension and it’s another £10,000 now to knock it down.

“Right from the start we had the building control people here while we converted the double garage – they visited us time and again – but we didn’t realise they were a separate entity from the planning people.”

Mr Durnin said they only found out they needed change of use permission after near neighbours called the authorities to complain.

“All this has cost us a terrible amount of money.

“Why did no one stop us before we had finished the building? It was only change of use and in our ignorance we thought building control was enough.”

Mrs Durnin, 70, said: “We think the annexe improved the estate. It was beautiful with its bay window.

“We wanted it because we were looking to the future.

“Instead of relying on the state to look after us we planned to move in there and let one of the children have the main house.”

Now the couple say they are so disgusted by their treatment they plan to sell up.

Builder Mr Sibley said: “I’m obviously upset at having to pull down my own work.

“I thought it was ideal as a starter home or apartment – something the Government is crying out for.

“When the buildings officer came following the complaints he told me to carry on with the extension – we feel he should have stopped us.”

Retired builder Malcolm Leighton said he and fellow resident Chris Cherry had complained about the unauthorised extension.

He said: “I went to the council offices at Mountfield and did a search and discovered they did not have planning consent.

“There have been so many bits and bobs added to this property over the years so Mr Cherry and I decided he was not going to get away with this without a fight.

“If he had co-operated with the council to begin with he might have ended up with something very similar to that what he had to pull down.

“We all feel it’s a tragic waste of material and labour.”