After 14 years at his Telford home, Sumeet Singh Sarao spent up to £9,000 on his garden. Now, six years into a council dispute, the garden faces demolition. (Photo: Emma Trimble/SWNS)
Bollywood actor and commercial singer Sumeet Singh Sarao is facing the prospect of having a large section of the garden at his £900,000 home in Telford, Shropshire, dug up or potentially bulldozed after a six-year planning dispute with the local council. Sarao, 39, has been locked in a battle with Telford and Wrekin Council since he raised part of his garden by around 1.4 metres during landscaping work in 2020, with the council arguing that the changes have caused an unacceptable loss of privacy for neighbouring residents. The actor, who has lived at the property with his parents for 14 years, says he spent between £8,000 and £9,000 on the garden and only raised the lower section to bring it level with the existing higher part of the plot. However, following enforcement proceedings, he has now been told to lower the garden to a depth of 1.6 metres at the end closest to the boundary, with the ground gradually sloping to around 900mm near the house. Sarao has maintained that the work was intended to level the garden rather than create an elevated area overlooking neighbouring homes. £900,000 home, £9,000 garden investment and a six-year council battle: Sumeet Singh Sarao faces bulldozing threat. (Photo: Emma Trimble/SWNS) The dispute has now escalated into formal planning enforcement proceedings. An enforcement notice issued against the property was subsequently supported by an independent planning inspector following an appeal in September 2025. Under the requirements, Sarao has been instructed to excavate the garden to 1,600mm at the boundary end and create a slope towards the house, where the depth would be reduced to 900mm. Sarao said, “I’ve spent around £8,000 to £9,000 on the garden and put a lot of work into it. The spokesperson said the enforcement notice was upheld by the Planning Inspectorate in September 2025, with additional time provided for compliance.
He says the garden boundary already has mature trees, bushes and a thick hedge that provide substantial screening. “There is already a thick hedge along the boundary that prevents overlooking which is much taller than me – it just doesn’t make sense,” Sarao said, according to The Sun. The actor said he has attempted to resolve the issue by offering additional landscaping measures, including replacing existing planting with a continuous row of conifers to strengthen the privacy screen. However, the council rejected the proposal on the grounds that the planting would appear too bulky, according to Sarao. “I offered to replace the existing planting with a continuous row of conifers to create an even stronger privacy screen,” he said. Sarao said the prolonged planning dispute has taken a toll on his family and left him feeling as though he is being treated unfairly. It feels really unfair,” he said. He added that he feels he has been “made out to be a criminal” over the garden alterations. The actor said he carried out the landscaping himself during the Covid period. Council planners subsequently contacted him and told him that he needed to seek retrospective planning permission for the changes. The council says it has a responsibility to uphold planning regulations and protect the amenity of neighbouring properties. Instead, he says he has proposed an alternative solution that would involve removing the retaining wall, creating a sloping transition near the boundary and introducing substantial additional landscaping and screening. “The council has now contacted me to arrange a meeting, although they have not indicated whether they are willing to consider any alternatives,” he said. A spokesperson for Telford & Wrekin Council said the matter has been subject to planning and enforcement investigations for several years. The council said it had subsequently considered a pre-application submission from the landowner in an effort to explore a revised scheme, but concluded that the proposal did not satisfactorily address the planning harm identified. “Despite this, the required remedial works have still not been carried out and the site remains in breach of planning control,” the council said. The council said its preference remains to secure voluntary compliance but argued that it must ultimately act to uphold the planning system and protect neighbouring residents.
The dispute could ultimately result in the council carrying out the remedial work itself and recovering the costs from him. Sarao has rejected the suggestion that his landscaping work has resulted in significant overlooking of neighbouring properties. He also claimed that both he and his neighbour would need a step-ladder to see over the existing fence. “But the council rejected that proposal, saying it would appear too bulky regardless of me trying to co-operate. “I’m just a normal human and don’t cause any harm to anybody. Telford & Wrekin Council maintains that the raised garden causes unacceptable harm to neighbouring residents through overlooking and loss of privacy. Sarao insists he is not refusing to comply with the planning process. “We are simply asking for fair treatment, proper engagement and a reasonable opportunity to agree a solution that protects neighbouring amenity while taking account of the practical circumstances at the property. He has also warned that physically excavating the garden could require walls to be removed to allow heavy machinery, including bulldozers, to access the site. “If I don’t comply, they could carry out the work themselves and charge me for the cost. It added that it is considering further formal action, which could include prosecution proceedings or carrying out works in default and recovering the costs from the landowner. It has asked Sarao to provide a timetable for completing the required remedial work and has also offered to meet him in person to discuss a resolution. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
