A television pundit faces further planning agony after managing to save her dream kitchen from demolition after a five-year planning battle sparked by a ‘serial complainant’ neighbour. 

Claudia Hearne, a regular on Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine show, was embroiled in a planning nightmare after completing her extension, where the future of her rear extension on her £1million west London home hung in the balance. 

And despite winning the long-running battle, and even being congratulated by her ‘dear friend’, Mr Vine, on X, the glamorous presenter and her husband Nick, 41, face further potential turmoil over the corner of the roof’s extension. 

The couple previously risked having to spend tens of thousands of pounds demolishing the extension amid complaints from a neighbour about the extension being too high – even though it was 5cm lower than the approved height. 

But despite emerging victorious, Ms Hearne revealed to the Daily Mail that they continue to be plagued by Hounslow Council about disparities over a roof corner outlined in the initial planning documents. 

And while the couple have now secured retrospective planning permission allowing the extension to remain, provided that the corner of the roof is tweaked – a move ruled as a less destructive solution, Inspector Mark Caine.

Now, the Hearnes have six months to comply by carrying out the smaller roof alteration approved under the newer permission; however, the television pundit has argued it will cost them ‘tens of thousands’.

Council officials approved a single-storey rear extension with a flat roof, describing its proposed height as ‘modest’ and pointing to nearby properties as acceptable examples.

But when construction began, contractors concluded that joining the new flat roof to the house’s original pitched roof exactly as shown on the plans would make it difficult to comply with building regulations.

And when they ran it by a council planning officer before building the extension, she claims they told her it would be fine to cut back the roof corner slightly without planning permission.

TV pundit Claudia Hearne and her husband Nick were able to save their dream kitchen from demolition after a five-year planning battle with Hounslow 

They almost had to tear down an extension on their £1million west London home amid complaints amid claims the was six-inches too high

Yet the couple’s ordeal truly began in earnest in February 2022 when two objections were lodged. Two further planning applications aimed at resolving the discrepancy were rejected.

‘You can’t see it from the road. We asked whether that was acceptable. And they said, “Yes, that’s absolutely fine”. We asked if we need to apply for a new permission. They said, “No, because there’s a tolerance level with all these things”.

‘So then we built it. And then years later, they want us to reinstate this corner of the roof. They’re still saying now that they want [it] to be replaced. And that would mean taking the roof off, which would cost tens of thousands.’

It comes after a bitter planning dispute sparked by a ‘serial’ complaining neighbour, who, a council worker claimed, was filming the pair in their garden, and was logging when they would use their home office. 

At the time, Ms Hearne began receiving phone calls from a withheld number. ‘I could just hear someone breathing and not saying anything. It was so intimidating,’ Ms Hearne. 

The bitter dispute began in 2021 when the couple applied to extend the kitchen of their 1920s semi-detached house in the tightly controlled Gunnersbury Park Conservation Area. 

Yet their ordeal truly ensued when their extension was completed, as Ms Hearne claims the same individual launched a series of complaints about their property, including rendering with pebble-dashed walls and relandscaping their front garden. 

Initially, their feud began after the individual in question began ‘incessantly’ complaining about their development but continued to be ignored by the council, so he raised a formal dispute via the Party Wall Act. 

After spending thousands hiring an independent third-party specialist to assess the building, the dispute was ruled in their favour – but the neighbour only continued to ‘frustrate the process’ further, Ms Hearne explained. 

‘When the party wall was found in our favour, that was when this all kicked off,’ the property expert said. 

Pictured: Ms Hearne with Jeremy Vine, whose show she regularly features on Channel 5

But the TV pundit now faces further planning agony as the council insists she must amend her roof corner – a move she maintains will cost her ‘tens of thousands’

‘There were various things. He claimed first that we had built on his land, but we hadn’t. He claimed it was built too high, but he was measuring it incorrectly from his side, as the drawings were taken from our side.

‘He tried to complain because he wanted our air bricks removed, because he claimed we were basically taking his air. He argued we would need to go onto his land to maintain it.

‘You don’t need to maintain an air brick,’ she added. ‘That’s the kind of stuff we talk about. It was in the drawing.’

‘He only complained when it was finished, which tells me that it was more of a financial incentive rather than actually being bothered about the look of the building,’ she said.

Further complaints only followed, one about the approved painted render on the rear wall of their home and another over the couple having a timber front door rather than uPVC.

‘We weren’t even removing [the pebble dash] because we were rendering it. We said to the planners, “This is clearly b******t. Everyone else has done it. Why would that be an issue?” And they said to keep on cracking.’

But after this planning permission appeal was ruled in their favour by an inspectorate, more complaints were lodged against their garden shed, which they converted into a home office.

Ms Hearne claimed they were reported to HMRC and the local authority for running a business from a residential address without paying business rates, which was a false accusation.

Speaking of when the council workers arrived, she said: ‘They rolled their eyes, they knew it was just a nuisance situation.

‘So the council found in my favour again, and then a few days later HMRC turned up and said they heard we had been running a business and not paying business rates.

‘We said, no, and told them a staff member from Hounslow had already been. They rolled their eyes, they said, sorry to bother you, and then they’re off.

And when the Hearnes wanted to relandscape their front garden, the same man lodged nine objections against it in a bid to persuade the borough council to reject the plans. It was approved and won two awards in the local ‘Front Garden Awards’.

‘Now people talk about the garden, and they’re like, “I think this garden best garden in the estate.” Now, obviously, I’m delighted people say that after everything that happened.’

Now, a government planning inspector has reined in the borough council’s demands on the TV pundit’s extension, sparing the family from the most drastic work and bringing an end to what Mrs Hearne described as ‘years of hell’.

‘The main stress is just the nastiness of it. We’re very, we’re very peaceful people. We’re not confrontational. We don’t fall out with people.

‘Our whole, like, mentality during this whole thing has been to, where possible, kill them with kindness.

‘We just say hello and act like nothing’s happening because we haven’t done anything wrong.’

Despite the turmoil, Ms Hearne insisted she was happy living in her area and loved the community despite her recent planning battle.

‘If it were a popularity contest alone, then you would be saving thousands,’ she said.

‘While that doesn’t also that doesn’t help us pay our legal case, socially, in terms of the neighbourhood, it’s kind of nice knowing that everyone’s got our back.’

She added: ‘We have had a very good majority show an outpouring of support, which has been amazing.

‘And actually, that’s the best thing about this ordeal is that we have made so many friends through it.

‘It’s a very small group of old NIMBYs against us, and there aren’t many, in fairness, but they’re all old people who have lived on the estate for decades.

Pictured: Her dream kitchen in her £1million west London home

Despite the turmoil, Ms Hearne insisted she was happy living in her area and loved the community despite her recent planning battle (Pictured: Her new kitchen)

‘If they don’t like you or they don’t like what you’re doing, then they’ll make your life hell. If you don’t fall under their radar, then you’re safe.

Their years-long planning battle came as other locals came together to complain of ‘inconsistent’ planning decisions from the council, sparked by a small group of ‘serial complainers’.

Residents claimed not only were there ‘overbearing’ planning rules being inconsistently applied by Hounslow Council, but that changes to finished building work by officers were being driven by a few ‘serial complainers’ residing nearby.

Impacted residents were told the name of the main complainant by council staff amid frustration at the number of complaints the person in question had lodged with the local authority.

Airing her frustration, Ms Hearne said: ‘Every single time someone makes a phone call, visits our house, has a meeting, sends an e-mail – those are resources from the places wasted, so much money. It just drives them bonkers.

‘When we’ve got when our pavements are wonky, and we’ve got like so much stuff that our council needs to do, and instead their time is being wasted.’

Previously, Ms Hearne said: ‘There doesn’t seem to be any sense or consistency with their planning decisions or enforcement, and it’s causing stress for a lot of people on the estate.’

‘It felt like a very personal attack on us,’ she said. ‘But we then found that there had been a spate of planning enforcement notices issued to other residents quite late on in the process.

‘We were told that 12 per cent of the houses on the estate had received them, which would be about 60 houses.

‘There is a whole group of people who have been unfairly affected by over-the-top planning enforcement.’

A Hounslow Council spokesperson said: ‘The Council has found no evidence there is an inconsistency in the way planning applications or enforcement matters are dealt with. 

‘Planning decisions are reached, and enforcement action is taken in accordance with planning legislation, policy and procedure.

“Residents who have concerns about the way the Council has handled a matter may use the Council’s complaints process before exercising their right to refer matters to an independent ombudsman should they remain dissatisfied. 

‘Planning decisions are also subject to independent statutory rights of appeal.’

It is understood that the local authority is unable to comment on individual cases due to confidentiality.