A North London resident has been left outraged after a huge pillar was built on his driveway without his permission – with the council charging him and his neighbours £8,000 to fit it.

Steve McCormack, 69, was left shocked when he received a knock on the door one day to see workers building the structure in front of his house.

Their front wall had cracked, leading them to repave the driveway to give it a new lease of life.

They say they ‘naively’ failed to apply for planning permission for the works, which led to a complaint.

The homes are in the Mapesbury Conservation area, which has strict guidelines to ensure any new development adheres to the area’s character.

Steve and his neighbours had no idea what they thought was a simple driveway refresh would lead to a seven year planning dispute.

After an inspection by planning officers, the new driveway was found to be in breach of these guidelines, as it was more than three metres wide and there was not enough “soft landscaping” on it.

Steve claims when the Edwardian house was split into four flats in the 1980s, the driveway was widened to accommodate two parking spaces, for which planning permission was granted at the time.

Steve was told to submit an application for retrospective planning permission, but his application was denied because there was not enough soft landscaping and the drive was more than three metres wide.

Despite the two-car-wide driveway having been in use for the past 40 years, Brent Council argued that the gap was now too large and issued an enforcement notice against the property in August 2021.

Steve said: “For me the key thing is, this all went wrong at the beginning; we did this naively, with no planning permission. We said we were sorry we made a mistake all we were doing was try to repair the wall, but what can we do?

“We are open to doing anything you want, but please let us keep our two parking spaces, as you (Brent Council) allowed the house to be converted into four flats and had the driveway widened for two parking spaces.

“They have never engaged with us at all. Why is Brent Council wasting their time and money on this when there’s so much else wrong in the London Borough of Brent?

This appeal was dismissed, and the notice was upheld with amendments made in January 2023 after work was done to accommodate more “soft landscaping” on the driveway.

Compliance with this notice was due by July 2023, yet no action was taken by the four flats.

At 7am on Thursday, November 5, Steve and his neighbours were woken up by a bang at the door, only to be greeted by six contractors sent to action the enforcement notice, building a pillar in the middle of their driveway at a cost of £8,222.40.

Steve reacted to the pillar, stating the council’s decision was “riding roughshod over considerations of natural justice, fairness and common sense”. He added: “For 40 years, they’ve had 2 independently used parking spaces.

“Now, you’re saying that a very, very minor planning consideration entitles us to put out this brick pillar there. Which kills one of the parking spaces. You can’t get a car behind the wall now Everyone on the road thought it [the new driveway] was an improvement.”

Steve quoted Brent’s Planning Enforcement Policy to the Local Democracy Reporting Service(LDRS), aiming to highlight that the enforcement would only be needed if “harm” was demonstrated; the policy says: “It is at the Council’s discretion whether enforcement action will be taken.

The planning enforcement service is concerned with resolving serious breaches of planning control where there is harm to public amenity.”

Dozens of Steve’s neighbours have made representations throughout the various appeals and applications, stating that his development had improved the character of the road.

Phillip, a neighbour of Steve’s, voiced his concerns alongside several other neighbours who came out in support when we visited the property.

He said: “I think it’s absurd that the local council are focusing on enforcement to prevent people from parking rather than looking at enforcement of real issues to do with contravention of planning regulations in the area.

“There is no harm to the public amenity of the area at all; it would be more convenient if you could have two cars parked off the road here and safer for the residents.”

Tens of thousands of pounds have been spent by the four flats on their driveways, from the initial works to the fresh installation of soft landscaping, yet the neighbours now expect to receive a bill of more than £8,000 in the coming weeks for the installation of the pillar and the council’s administration fees.

A Brent Council spokesperson said: “We took enforcement action because the unauthorised driveway works harmed the character of the Mapesbury Conservation Area. An independent Planning Inspector agreed with this finding.

“The Planning Inspector found that support from neighbours did not outweigh the harm caused by these works that were carried out without planning permission.

“The enforcement notice required changes to the unauthorised changes, but did not prevent the existing use of the driveway for parking. The Inspector allowed a three-metre-wide entrance and confirmed that two cars could still park there, although one might need to be moved to let the other out.

“Ignoring an enforcement notice is a criminal offence. The owners were given until July 2023 to complete the required works, but these were not carried out despite advice from council officers.

“The council then arranged for the work to be done to ensure the notice was complied with. There has been no cost to the taxpayer. The owners will be charged for the contractor’s work and the council’s administrative costs.”