Barrister ordered to rip down Hampstead house extension that took five years to build
The building work at the Gayton Road house has angered several residents. Picture: Nigel Sutton - Credit: Nigel Sutton
A property barrister will be told to tear down a four-storey extension to his £1.8million home after town hall planning chiefs ruled it was “not lawful development”.
Philip Galway-Cooper and his wife Wendy are facing enforcement action after Camden Council decided works to their home in Gayton Crescent, Hampstead – which were carried out over five years from 2008 to 2013 – were not covered by permitted development rights.
They will now be ordered to restore the house to its previous state.
In his 21-year legal career Mr Galway-Cooper has specialised in property and neighbour disputes.
But despite this, he had infuriated his own neighbours with the extension.
They were unhappy that the work dragged on for so long, despite the lack of planning permission, and many complained that it was blighting the conservation area because the house was shrouded in scaffolding and plastic sheeting throughout the build.
Mr Galway-Cooper declined to comment.
