At the centre of the dispute is a garden in Tollers Lane, Coulsdon (Google Earth photo)
A 24ft garden room built by a football club official in the UK in 2018 has led to a lengthy dispute with his upstairs neighbour, who now wants the entire structure demolished. Justin Salmon, who installed a bar, television and electric doorbell in the room at his Surrey home, has already removed several features following an earlier tribunal ruling.
However, his neighbour, Andrianna Neophytou, insists that the changes are insufficient. The disagreement has reached court, with lawyers estimating that legal costs could exceed £100,000.According to The Independent, at the centre of the dispute is a garden in Tollers Lane, Coulsdon, where Salmon and his wife Karen live in a ground-floor maisonette. Neophytou occupies the property above them and is also the freeholder of their home.The trouble began in 2017 when Salmon asked Neophytou for permission to put up a pergola, an open garden structure, and she agreed. He subsequently added a shed, but the arrangement gradually became a much more elaborate space. By 2018, it had developed into a covered room with doors, windows, carpeting and furniture.The room later provided additional living space for the Salmons during the Covid lockdowns. But by then, relations between the neighbours had deteriorated.
Neophytou challenged the construction before a property tribunal, which ruled that the structure breached the couple's lease. Salmon responded by removing several features, although the two sides remain divided over whether he has done enough.
From a garden pergola to a room with a bar
Salmon is president and senior secretary of Sutton Common Rovers FC, a non-league football club established by his father, Alan Salmon, in 1978. He previously played for and coached the team before taking on his current responsibilities.According to the report, the finished room was considerably different. It had UPVC doors and windows, plastered walls, insulation, carpeting, furniture and an electricity supply. An electric doorbell was installed, while signs outside identified the space as "Man Cave" and "The Den".
For Salmon, the structure served as an additional area where he and his wife could spend time. For Neophytou, who looked down towards the garden from her upstairs home, its size and appearance had become a problem.The neighbours fell out in 2020, after which Neophytou brought the matter before the First-tier Tribunal. She maintained that she had never agreed to the enclosed room that eventually appeared in the garden.Explaining her objection in court, she said, "There was nothing pleasurable about looking out of my windows and that did upset me."The tribunal subsequently found that the original construction did not comply with the lease.
Salmon therefore faced the task of changing the room to meet the terms of the agreement.
Football official says he made the necessary changes
In 2022, Salmon removed much of what had made the structure resemble an additional living room. The doors, windows, carpeting, insulation, plasterwork, soundproofing and electric doorbell were taken out. Some walls were also removed, and a wooden partition was installed to create a separate enclosed section.The result was an open-sided area containing a bar, with a shed alongside it.
The original signs disappeared and were replaced with descriptions identifying the structures as a domestic shed and a covered pergola. Salmon argues that the alterations restored the garden structures to what had been permitted.Neophytou, however, believes the changes have not addressed her original complaint. Although several fittings were removed, she argues that the structures themselves were largely retained.Her position is that Salmon should not be allowed to keep the construction merely because its appearance and description have changed.According to The Sun, the neighbours faced each other in court on Wednesday, where Neophytou sought an order requiring the garden structures to be demolished.There is another disagreement between the neighbours. Neophytou has constructed a locked porch around the steps leading to her upstairs entrance, while the Salmons claim they have a right to use those steps.Judge Nicholas Parfitt has heard the arguments but has not yet delivered his decision. He has reserved his ruling for a later date.