A family has been left unable to use their garden for three years after a property developer erected scaffolding and eventually stonewalled them – while owing them £50,000.
Husband and wife Adi Bhargava and Sugandha Rana, who live with their four-year-old daughter in Ealing, west London, were first approached by Naman Pathak, on behalf of firm Fifty One The Mall Ltd, in March 2022.
He requested access to the family’s private garden in order to mount scaffolding to a neighbouring property, and they say he assured them it would be up for a maximum of 12 months.
The developer was planning to demolish the two-storey building on the neighbouring site and construct a five-storey complex instead.
More than three years later scaffolding still hangs overhead, the family’s garden is frequently littered in construction debris and a judge has ordered them to be paid £32,000 in compensation.
Yet rather than take steps to remove the scaffolding, which the couple say make it too unsafe for their daughter to play in her own garden, they allege Mr Pathak did not respond to their complaints.
With no options left, the couple took Mr Pathak – who has held roles at at least 60 different companies according to Companies House – to court.
The judge ruled in their favour and ordered the scaffolding to be removed by February 17 this year, along with remedial works to restore the garden.
Husband and wife Adi Bhargava and Sugandha Rana, who live with their four-year-old daughter in Ealing, west London
Naman Pathak erected scaffolding in the couple’s garden, failed to remove it for three years and has failed to pay them the £50,000 they are owed
The couple’s garden previously backed onto a two-storey building (pictured)
Husband and wife Adi Bhargava and Sugandha Rana, who live with their four-year-old daughter in Ealing, west London , were first approached by Naman Pathak, on behalf of firm Fifty One The Mall Ltd, in March 2022
Recorder Hansen also ordered the firm to pay the couple £50,000 – £32,000 in compensation plus £18,000 in costs.
But Mr Bhargava says Mr Pathak and his firm did not comply with the order, did not remove the scaffolding and has not paid out a penny.
The couple acknowledge that a small area of scaffolding in their garden was taken down, but say no remedial works were completed to repair damages and pictures show how a large amount of scaffolding still hangs directly over their garden.
Mr Pathak’s company, which is now under a court-ordered wind-up procedure, has a list of creditors seen by the Daily Mail whose declared debts amount to £12.2 million – £9.1 million of which is owed to two firms offering loans for property finance.
One of these loans, valued at £5.5 million, was taken out in April this year, less than two months before Mr Pathak left the company.
Besides the £50,000 owed to Mr Bhargava and Ms Rana, the remaining £3.1 million is all owed to companies where Mr Pathak or his business partners have held director roles.
Describing his initial meeting with the developer, Mr Bhargava said: ‘He came over for coffee in around March 2022 and he seemed very nice, very empathetic to our concerns. He said he just needed access for one year and then he’d be out of our hair.’
At one point, the wall separating their garden from the second property was knocked down, leaving it completely accessible from the main road
The couple told the Daily Mail they have repeatedly found construction debris, including screws and cigarette butts, in their garden
The construction site backing onto the couple’s Ealing flat is currently locked up tight while the firm is being wound up
Damage to the garden wall where Mr Bhargava said a portion of the scaffolding was mounted
After 18 months, with works still not completed, Mr Bhargava said Mr Pathak stopped returning his calls and emails.
Meanwhile with work still ongoing, the family discovered construction debris was falling into their garden which was a major risk to their then-infant daughter, including screws, tools and plaster.
At one point, the wall separating their garden from the second property was knocked down, leaving it completely accessible from the main road.
‘The garden was left in complete tatters,’ Mr Bhargava said. ‘There were screws, fragments of what looked like cement and cigarette butts lying around.
‘When the wall was demolished rodents, rats would enter the garden. My daughter was just a baby at that point.’
Mr Bhargava told the Daily Mail that after the court order was put in place in January this year, a section of the scaffolding was removed but much of it remained in place.
Seeking the £50,000 he was owed, Mr Bhargava and his wife then took the firm to court seeking a wind-up order. But five days before the final hearing date, Mr Pathak resigned from his role at the firm.
They say neither he nor any legal representatives for him turned up at court.
Inside the construction site, all was quiet when the Daily Mail visited this week
Back at the family’s flat, construction on the building next door has ground to a halt
Mr Bhargava told the Daily Mail that after the court order was put in place in January this year, a section of the scaffolding was removed but much of it remained in place
!['The scaffolding is still overhanging our garden,' Mr Bhargava said. 'That¿s a safety threat, I can¿t let my daughter go in the garden on her own, [when there's] a deserted building site next door'](https://www.allforgardening.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/101802935-15060649-_The_scaffolding_is_still_overhanging_our_garden_Mr_Bhargava_sai-a-12_17570177471.jpeg)
‘The scaffolding is still overhanging our garden,’ Mr Bhargava said. ‘That’s a safety threat, I can’t let my daughter go in the garden on her own, [when there’s] a deserted building site next door’
Back at the family’s flat, construction on the building next door has ground to a halt.
‘The scaffolding is still overhanging our garden,’ Mr Bhargava said. ‘That’s a safety threat, I can’t let my daughter go in the garden on her own, [when there’s] a deserted building site next door.
‘All of the pain [of the initial construction work] has been a nightmare, but then what came afterwards, having to go through the whole legal system, has been even worse.’
He said he has almost lost hope of ever receiving the tens of thousands of pounds they are owed.
Mr Pathak is the son of McDonald’s mogul Atul Pathak OBE, who oversaw a business empire of some 43 of the fast food firm’s franchise restaurants.
He sold his business in 2022 and now has franchises with Ben & Jerry’s, German Donor Kebab and Itsu.
Naman Pathak has been contacted for comment.
Comments are closed.