Latest news with #porch
The Sun
23-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Neighbours say our swish new porch ‘makes home look like a shopping centre' – but they're just jealous of our mansion
A FAMILY says their neighbours are 'jealous' following complaints that their new porch looks more like a 'giant shopping complex' than a home. Proud homeowner Aysha Khanom has hit back at her Oldham neighbours who have gone to the council about her 'monstrosity' extension, which was built without planning permission. 3 3 Ms Kanhom, who shares the property with the rest of her family, was made to pay £2,000 after a retrospective planning request for the swish new porch was rejected. Angry neighbours have claimed that this new addition to the semi-detached property, which features two 2.4 metre high columns and a tiled roof, was 'more in keeping with the Roman pillars of the Trafford centre'. Residents also protested to the council that it 'sticks out like a sore thumb', dubbing the porch an ' eyesore.' Oldham Council received 23 formal objections. Ms Kanhom's son, Mohammed, 21, is now claiming that these neighbours are simply 'jealous' of their large home. He explained the family-of-nine moved from a "bad area" and saved up to build "the house of dreams". Mohammed told the MailOnline: 'Some people are just jealous because our home makes theirs look small. "Personally, I wouldn't even care if my neighbour painted his house yellow." 'There's nine of us living here, so we need a big home for our family.' However, local resident Ian Rees, 69, said the porch "jutted out a long way", adding that the builders also "left a lot of rubbish piled up" on the grass opposite. I came home to find my nightmare neighbour knocking down my DOOR – he claimed it was his right to do it Mohammed went on to reveal the family plans to build another "even bigger" property on some nearby land and turn it into an AirBnB, which may cause further friction with their neighbours due to the potential parking issues and more. The family already own another home, restaurant and car hire firm in Dubai. The Chadderton Hall Road house has already had applications for a dormer, a two-storey side and rear extension and a children's play house approved. One neighbour said the porch is "the final straw", with the property described as already "overdeveloped". Oldham Council initially drew the line at the porch proposals in December 2022. According to a report, it was an 'overly dominant and incongruous addition to the existing property'. It read: 'It would cause a detrimental impact upon the character and appearance of the street scene, largely owing to its prominent and unduly conspicuous appearance.' Ms Khanom appeal and submitted revised plans in March 2023 but the plans were again refused. After a further appeal was dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate, the homeowner defied an enforcement notice to either remove the porch or reduce its size. This failure to comply saw the council take her to Tameside Magistrates' Court last month. Here, she admitted to breaching the enforcement notice and was ordered to pay £1,050 costs, a £500 fine and £200 victim surcharge. Alternative plans for the porch have since been approved by the council, which sees the removal of the two large pillars - which have been replaced with wooden supports. But not all neighbours were upset by the porch, with one woman - who did not wish to be named - saying the developments "never bothered me" and accused some residents of worrying "about some things too much". The Sun has reached out to the council for comment.
Bloomberg
16-05-2025
- General
- Bloomberg
Why Americans Love Their Front Porches
Porches have long been a fixture of American homes, but they do more than provide shelter from the elements. At this year's Venice Architecture Biennale — a prestigious annual showcase of the world's biggest architectural ideas — the ubiquitous yet humble structure took center stage at the US pavillion, in an exhibition entitled 'Porch! An Architecture of Generosity.' With over 50 iterations of the concept (and an actual mass-timber porch where visitors can hang out) the installation highlights the roles porches play in American culture, particularly fostering neighborliness in the absence of sufficient public gathering spaces. It's a celebration of the structure as 'a shining example of unsung qualities in the nation's built environment that deserve to be more widely celebrated and emulated,' Feargus O'Sullivan writes in a dispatch from his visit. Today on CityLab: America, 'Nation of Porches'
