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A homeowner is demanding a classroom block towering over his garden be torn down after planners told him it would be 90ft away – then built it 72ft closer to his home.

A typing error by planning officers in East Sussex saw the temporary classroom listed as being 90ft away from Chris Baker’s Newhaven home in documents handed to the council.

However, the building, put up to cope with an influx of pupils at Harbour Primary School, was then constructed just five metres, 16 ft, from his semi-detached home.

Blocked: Chris Baker is demanding this classroom block which towers over his garden be pulled down after planners told him it would be 90ft away, then built it 72ft closer to his home

‘The council said the building would be 27metres away in the Word document attached to the plan I saw,’ said the plumbing and heating engineer.

‘We didn’t have an issue with that.

‘But two or three weeks ago they started building it and I questioned what was going on and they admitted they made a typing error in the documents.

‘I think it was misleading. There wasn’t enough information and I don’t think the drawings were clear.’

Father-of-three Mr Baker, 31, says the ‘intrusive’ building blocks light into his 42ft back garden and has slashed the value of his £220,000 home.

Before: Mr Baker’s garden once looked out onto the playing fields at Harbour Primary School

Work underway: Work began on the temporary classroom earlier this month, when Mr Baker realised just how close the new classrooms would be to his home

‘It blocks light and is intrusive. An estate agent came to value the place and was told I’ve lost two to five percent of my house value.

‘The whole saga has been quite stressful and the chances of anyone wanting to buy my house are pretty slim now,’ he said.

‘From our dining room window we used to have a great open view out over the school playing field, instead there’s a huge, great building there.

‘Intrusive’: Father-of-three Mr Baker, 31, says the building blocks light into his 42ft back garden and has slashed the value of his £220,000 home

‘It towers over my garden and is not nice to look at. There are four or five houses either side of me who have to face the same thing.

‘In the winter when the sun is lower it’s going to block light from our garden. A tree I planted down there last year will have to be taken out now.’ 

Mr Baker, whose eldest two children go to the school, bought the house he lives in with wife Caroline, 40, seven years ago.

Mr Baker added: ‘I complained and wanted the council to tear the building down but they say there’s nothing they can do.

‘They’ve offered to come round and monitor the light into my garden, but it’s all a bit late in my eyes.

‘I think they’re doing things now they should have done earlier.’

Planning documents show it has been given permission to exist until September 2019 – more than five years.

They read: ‘The distance between the proposed mobile unit and the nearest property in The Rose Walk will be approximately 27m.’

East Sussex County Council admits there had been a ‘clerical error’ in documents considered by the planning committee.

A spokesman said: ‘Due to a clerical error, the distance from the temporary classrooms to Mr Baker’s house was given incorrectly on one of the documents presented to planning committee, although not in the consultation documents that were available to residents.

‘While this error is regrettable, members of the planning committee were provided with site photographs and copies of the plans showing the precise location and elevations of the mobile classroom, so they were aware of the proximity of residential properties when considering the matter.

‘This was recognised in some of the conditions attached to the planning permission aimed at minimising the impact on neighbouring properties, including the use of obscured glass on windows overlooking properties and a canopy covering the entrance to the classrooms.

‘This application was subject to consultation with all neighbouring properties and we only received one objection to the scheme from a resident.

‘Regret’: East Sussex County Council says staff sympathise with Mr Baker, but the distance between his home and the building was listed correctly on photographs and plans given to the planning committee

‘This was a near but not immediate neighbour of Mr Baker.

‘While we sympathise with him, we do believe this option is the best solution to accommodate an increased demand for school places in the area.’

A document from the planning committee’s agenda states the temporary mobile unit will hold two classrooms, toilets and a storage area.

It was listed as 3.5 metres in height, 16.7 metres deep and 8 metres wide.

It said: ‘The distance between the proposed mobile unit and the nearest property in The Rose Walk will be approximately 27 metres.’

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