Britain18 August, 20262 min read
Rochford Council Orders Disabled Pensioner David Siggins To Tear Up £2,200 Driveway
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David Siggins, 85, paved over a grass verge to create a £2,200 driveway. Rochford Council ordered him to tear up the driveway built without planning permission.
Driveway ordered removed
David Siggins, 85, says he built a £2,200 driveway outside his home in Rochford, Essex by paving over a grass verge, but he has now been ordered to tear it up after lacking planning permission.
Siggins, who relies on two crutches and has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), said: "This has made me quite ill. I'm quite close to a breakdown."
He told reporters he was given the go-ahead by Rochford Council two years ago for a driveway that measures 3m wide by 5m long, and he said he had confirmation in writing.
Rochford Council said the issue centres on ownership and that the grass verge forms part of a larger title subject to restrictions because it is designated as public open space, and it said a planning application was refused and an appeal dismissed.
The council said Siggins has been given until the end of August to consider how he wishes to proceed.
Council ownership dispute
Siggins said he spoke to a planning officer at Rochford Council who advised him to speak to Essex Highways, and he claimed Essex Highways told him it was not anything to do with them.
He said: "I went back to Rochford Council and I was told they definitely didn't own it so I should go ahead. I have it in writing it was confirmed we could do it."
The dispute, he said, dates back around 20 years to permission from Essex Highways for a dropped kerb, and he claimed that three months after work had completed Rochford Council wanted the kerb reinstated and paid him for the inconvenience.
Rochford Council said the resident removed a grass verge owned by Rochford District Council to install a block-paved driveway, and it said it had received a number of complaints.
The council also said a planning application for the work previously submitted by the resident had been refused and an appeal dismissed.
Deadline and legal action
Siggins said he is seeking legal advice and that he has a solicitor involved as a deadline looms at the end of August after he received notice a few weeks ago that the driveway had to be removed. He said he has not had any complaints, adding that the close where he lives has 13 houses and 31 vehicles, and he said residents are relieved he has the driveway because it lets cars be off the road. Siggins said the driveway makes it easier for him to access his property and park vehicles away from the road, and he described the situation as increasingly stressful.
Rochford Council said it has corresponded with the resident advising him of the situation and that further legal correspondence had been sent following an extension of time requested by the resident. The council reiterated that the grass verge is public open space and that the planning application and appeal were refused and dismissed, respectively.