London council demolishes 'bed in shed' itself after direct action

The London Borough of Hillingdon has for the first time had to take direct action against an outbuilding, or ‘bed in shed’, and complete the demolition works itself.

The council said Syed Hussain, the owner of the building in Pole Hill Road in Hayes, had failed to heed repeated warnings.

According to Hillingdon, its ‘Beds in Sheds’ team fenced off the area and gained entry on Monday (23 June). The demolition works have continued this week.

The council said the building in question “had originally started out as a one-storey garage and was then turned into two-storeys, making it a visually dominant building that was out of keeping with the area”.

When officers gained access, they found that the building had been fitted with a kitchen and appliances.

Hillingdon said it would seek to recoup all costs incurred from Hussain.

The building’s owner had appealed against an enforcement notice issued by the council, but this was rejected by a planning inspector.

Two bids for a judicial review of the appeal decision were rejected by the High Court, with Hussain ordered to pay legal costs.

Cllr Keith Burrows, Cabinet Member for Planning, Transportation and Recycling at Hillingdon, said: “This building is an absolute eyesore and we have received a number of complaints about it from residents so I am pleased to see this matter finally being resolved.

“We tried to reason with Mr Hussain and gave him plenty of opportunity to demolish the building himself but have taken the decision to intervene and do the work ourselves, at the cost of Mr Hussain.”

Hillingdon described the case as "landmark", although it added that it had previously taken action to demolish an unlawful extension.