Leeds neighbour sums up what everyone thinks when they see half-demolished house

Shivarna Mitrahas been left with 'nightmare' structural issues

A neighbour has called a demolition of half a semi-detached home in Leeds "horrible," sympathising with a mum who lives in the adjoining property.

Shivarna Mitra, 44, complained about the "nightmare" she was plunged in to after her neighbour, on Swinow Road, in Pudsey, demolished his half without permission. She says she's been left with structural issues and her £217,000 three-bedroom home is now impossible to sell.

Chris Rhodes, 47, responsible for the demolition, fired back in his own defence, blaming local planning authority for making the 'unfortunate situation' worse. Shivarna alleges that Chris exploited planning applications as a pretext to illegally knock down his house, a claim he firmly rejects. Chris also claims he was "ignored" and felt as though he was being "punished" by Leeds Council's planning team while attempting to secure permission to construct his home.

A neighbour who lives nearby, design engineer Adam Humphreys, has said he sympathises with Shivarna. Adam said: “We only bought the house two years ago and it was like that. It must be horrible to have that on the side of your house. I feel bad for her.

"I don’t know what’s gone on between them but hopefully it gets fixed. Everyone has seen the story and no one wants that on the side of their house! Everyone just thinks it looks horrible. Everyone is surprised when they see it and they think ‘what’s gone on there?’”

Chris maintains it's crucial to note that "Shivarna and her mother both objected" to his house planning applications. He alleges he also had a local councillor "posting negative posts about the property without any attempt to gain the facts of what was happening". He states that within these posts, Shivarna openly declared she "would do everything she could to stop us building the house", a claim which she denies.

Chris ultimately never constructed the house and sold the land with planning permission to two new owners earlier this year for £115,000. He explained he sold the plot because he "did not want my wife and children exposed to all the nastiness" and that Shivarna was "trying to stop us building at every possible point". Shivarna denies this assertion. Further details regarding the case can be read, here.

A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: "The council is aware of the demolition of a property at this site following structural instability that arose during construction works. The building was subsequently taken down by the owner without the necessary Council permissions being in place. The owner was advised by Leeds City Council to submit a Section 80 Demolition Notice but did not do so.

"Following the unauthorised demolition, officers from the council's Building Control team attended the site to assess the remaining structure and any potential impact on the adjoining semi-detached property. Their assessment concluded that the neighbouring property remained structurally stable and that no additional shoring was required.

"Officers also recommended measures to make the exposed party wall weatherproof and provided this advice to the owner. As these are privately owned properties, the council advised Ms Mitra to contact her house insurer and take legal advice. The council will continue to monitor the site and take any appropriate action as necessary."

A HSE spokesperson added: "HSE visited the site when the property had been demolished. HSE provided verbal advice in relation to scaffolding and site security. At the time of the HSE interactions there were no breaches of health and safety legislation that required formal enforcement."