Britain's foremost planning barrister, Charlie Banner KC, has become embroiled in a dispute with neighbours over a timber pergola installed on the roof of his £3 million Kensington townhouse without planning permission. The structure, which appeared in July on the Victorian mews house he shares with his barrister wife and two children, was designed to provide relief from London's heat but has enraged several neighbours who claim it blocks light and dominates their views. The case is notable given Banner's status as the country's leading expert on planning law.

One particularly vocal neighbour, a new mother with a six-month-old baby, has objected strongly, saying the pergola blocks light from her home and "dominates every view across all our floors." A council planning officer has informed the couple that the structure is regarded as "unpermitted" and warned that enforcement action could follow if permission is deemed necessary. Banner and his wife claim the pergola does not require planning consent as a temporary-style structure and submitted a retrospective planning application "out of an abundance of caution," though a source close to the family has dismissed neighbours' complaints as "vexatious" and "classic nimbyism." The dispute remains unresolved pending a council decision.