A housing developer who built a new build property around an existing lamppost has defended his actions after online photos of the property went viral. The sight left some people bemused and others amused, with one suggesting: “the cost of street lighting going through the roof!”.
The house is one of several new build properties on Whiteacre Road, Ashton-under-Lyne that have been built by Dave Green, of Dave Green and Sons Builders.
Mr Green told his client at the start of the project that the lamp post would need to be moved, having noticed that it was set back from the kerb further than the other lampposts on the road. All of the houses in the road are level with each other, and the house has been built in accordance with the approved plans, which showed the lamp post positioned next to the property.
Residents wondered how the local council had approved the planning application in the first place.
The house had been close to completion, with plasterers working inside, so Mr Green decided to make it watertight by incorporating the lamppost within the roof structure.
The lamppost now runs up immediately outside the front wall of the house – then through the fascias and roof tiles, and finally protruding from the top of the roof with the functioning lamp atop. Soffits have not yet been installed, but lead flashing has been added to make the roof completely water tight.
Mr Green described the lamp post workaround as a temporary measure and said that not carrying out the work would have held back completion of the building work by around three months. Once the lamppost was repositioned, he intended to fit new tiles to replace the gap and the soffits would be fitted.
Tameside Council has said it will carry out to the work of moving the lamp post on behalf of Mr Green, subject to receiving payment from him.