A homeowner has been ordered to demolish an ‘oversized’ outbuilding that was built without planning permission – after the council claimed it could be turned into a house.
Osman Osman, an electrical contractor from Wexham, Buckinghamshire, has been given six months to knock down the 40ft-long structure in the garden of his £800,000 property – or face further action.
But Mr Osman insists the decision is ‘unfair’ as council officials were acting on the ‘misguided belief’ the building had its ‘own garden area’ and ‘could readily form a ‘self-contained residential unit’.
He says the structure is proportionate in size to his property – and was only ever intended to be used in part as a storage space and also as a home office.
Locals, however, described the outbuilding as ‘too large’ in size, adding that it should be knocked down.
Construction of the outbuilding at Mr Osman’s property, which is situated within protected Green Belt land, first began four years ago.
However, the enforcement notice was only issued in February after Buckinghamshire Council were alerted to the development when tiles were put on the roof.
Mr Osman submitted a retrospective planning application, which was refused, and a second application is currently being considered by the local authority.
Osman Osman is pictured outside the storage building he has built at the end of his garden, which councillors have demanded be destroyed
Aerial image shows the outbuilding constructed at the end of the garden at the property in Wexham, Buckinghamshire
The outside of Mr Osman’s property that has an outbuilding the council has ordered to be demolished
He told the Daily Mail: ‘The council rejected permission for the outbuilding on the basis of it being too big.
‘Now, I don’t understand that because as a rule you are allowed to build [the equivalent of] 50 per cent of your garden.
‘But the council are saying, “no not in this area because it is Green Belt – it is different”.
‘All we want to use it for – I’m an electrical contractor and have loads of tools – is for storage on one side and on other side as an office.
‘It is not for residential purposes. I wouldn’t want anybody living in the back of my garden.’
Mr Osman claims planning officials got confused about the intended purpose of the building when they spotted fencing around it during an inspection visit.
He says this was installed to stop his grandchildren wandering onto the building site but officials interpreted it as evidence the outbuilding had its own separate garden and access.
Mr Osman says he was not at home at the time of the visit and therefore was not able to give ‘the full story’.
He said: ‘When they saw it was all fenced off, they thought that it was going to be a new house.
‘I wasn’t here when the council came around so I wasn’t able to explain about the fence so they just issued a rejection notice.
Mr Osman says the structure is proportionate in size to his property – and was only ever intended to be used in part as a storage space for his tools and also as a home office
‘This was understandable but had they asked the question I would have explained to them the reasons behind it.
‘We have no intention of letting anybody stay here. At the moment there is no water, no electrics – nothing in there.
‘We didn’t think we would need planning permission and that is why we never asked for it in the first place.’
In its enforcement notice, Buckinghamshire Council said the outbuilding was ‘not considered subordinate to the main dwelling’ because of its scale and position.
It reads: ‘[The outbuilding] is not considered subordinate to the main dwelling as a result of the size and location.
‘In addition, the outbuilding is served by its own access and its own distinct garden area fenced off from the host dwelling.
‘Accordingly, the outbuilding fails to present as a subordinate element, presenting a clear conflict with local policies, which place significance on the location of the building and its relationship with the host dwelling.
‘For the above reasons the development is considered to have an adverse impact to the significance of the character and appearance of the host dwelling and wider locality.’
Locals have also called for the outbuilding to be demolished.
One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: ‘It is a bit large. They have maximised the building. It is disproportionate in size.’
Another said: ‘There has been a lot of building work on the road. There have been trucks and trucks coming up and down. It has been going on for a year or so now.
‘They should have to take the outbuilding down if they didn’t have permission.’
A third added: ‘We are far from happy about it. You can see it down the side from the road.’
Peter Strachan, Buckinghamshire Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning said: ‘Buckinghamshire Council issued an Enforcement Notice on February 18 2026, following the refusal of planning permission for the outbuilding.
‘The owners had until April 1 2026 to appeal the Enforcement Notice but have not done so.
‘The Notice requires the outbuilding to be demolished by October 1, 2026.’
