LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Building rules not just for a select few

REGARDING recent tragic events on Ischia, the Italian Island, suffering a catastrophic landslide resulting from heavy persistent rain in the area. Belongings, cars, buses, even houses destroyed and collected on the route downhill to be used as battering rams to push other buildings etc. down the hillside to the sea.

News reports reveal that some of the buildings were illegally built. This ponders new questions of standards in the tourism industry in Italy. How safe are the hotels and apartments we take our holidays in?

Of course it’s right to be concerned about illegal buildings but unfortunately it would be foolish to think it doesn’t happen here, not just in the UK, not just in England, South Yorkshire, but Rotherham. Current rules for a two-storey building are no more than three metres and seven metres from the rear boundary, yet here in Rotherham, especially the Broom area, some houses have had 100 per cent plus increases in surface area. Planning permission applied for and granted? Who knows? Are Rotherham Council interested in illegal buildings and will they dare challenge such places?

The owners of these illegal buildings may be claiming benefits where 20 people live in an officially two bed semi-detached. Claiming child support for other families’ kids, kids with multiple names swapped around various addresses to claim enough benefits to afford BMW, Mercedes, Sky TV, cigarettes without working. Yet should you be brave enough to challenge these buildings, possessions, benefits, you will be called a racist, but ask yourself, during the course of this letter when was colour, creed, religion, gender mentioned?

Whilst Ischia suffers, the people with the illegal buildings should be partly blamed because legally those buildings wouldn’t be there to use as battering rams.

Thankfully here in Rotherham a landslide is almost impossible but rules and laws are for everyone not a select few.

HB, Rotherham