Some genius built block of flats with lamppost sprouting through balcony
Locals have been left bemused after a new-build flat balcony was built around a lamppost.
Construction began on the four-storey block of flats in Gillingham, Kent, in 2022 and developers have recently added balconies to the homes.
But workers failed to remove an in the way lamppost before building started – meaning one unlucky resident could have a lamppost sprouting through their balcony.
The bizarre construction has left locals baffled, with some joking that the oddity will at least mean the future flat owner won’t have to pay to keep his balcony lit.
Others chuckled that whoever inhabits the flat in the future will have an easy escape-route in the case of a fire.
Gillingham resident Barry Knight went to visit the site at Jeffrey Street on Wednesday after seeing a picture on social media.
He said: ‘It’s funny but it shouldn’t be. I wouldn’t want to live there.’
Afaad Ltd, the site’s developer, has defended the balcony though, saying that constructing it around the lamppost was the only way it could meet deadlines.
A spokesman said: ‘It’s a work in progress, we are still doing the installation.
‘We’ve still got a few months to go so this is not the complete product.
‘It was never intended to be like that but because it’s council property and you have to wait for permission. So we can’t touch it.’
The developer plans to remove the lamppost in the future and is in the process of liaising with the council to do so.
It’s not the first time developers have made a lamppost-related blunder, though -far from it.
A weirdly well-lit front door
Earlier this year, one ‘exceptional new-build’ home in South Shields, South Tyneside, turned out not to be so exceptional.
Developers left a lamppost right in front of the front door of one of their properties.
What’s worse is in the same development, another lamppost was left on someone’s drive preventing anyone from parking there.
It’s no wonder estate agents couldn’t sell any of the homes, which were going for £235,000, in the development for at least six months after they were first listed.
Builders send council through the roof
Another of this year’s lamppost-based shockers occurred up North, this time in Manchester.
Drawings for this new-build in Ashton-under-Lyne certainly didn’t include a lamppost skewered through the roof, and the local council were far from pleased with builders who made the mistake.
Locals were said to be stunned by construction before it was replaced.
High as the sky
Back in 2018, a man was filmed swinging from the top of a 45ft lamppost after climbing it while high on spice.
Firefighters were called and the man was eventually brought down using a 44ft ladder.
But he didn’t go down (literally) without a fight as he apparently kicked the ladder several times on his descent.
Here, you can see Metro’s list of 30 of the best whacky signs placed on lampposts over the years.
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