A controversial proposal to build a new home in the rear garden of a Lansdown house has been approved by a majority vote.
Bath & North East Somerset Council received 21 support comments and 13 objections to the proposed development at Lansdown Close at College Road.
Two local residents spoke at the planning committee meeting against the plans, with one saying it would be “completely overbearing” and “highly intrusive”.
The applicants, who have lived at Lansdown Close, a Victorian villa, for 20 years, want to build a new house in the grounds which will provide them with “a greater degree of convenience, accessibility and sustainability”.
The committee heard that they had been mindful of the relationship with neighbouring properties, and that considerable time and thought had been spent on the design, using the contour of the slope to minimise the impact.
Addressing the committee, ward councillor Lucy Hodge said that if approved, it would be the first “backland” development in the area and would set a precedent in the conservation area.
She asked the committee to consider overturning the officers’ recommendation due to the harm that would be caused by the “overdevelopment”.
A statement was read out to the committee on behalf of the other ward councillor Mark Elliott. He had requested that the application be determined by the committee after being contacted by neighbours with “significant concerns” about loss of amenity and privacy due to the size of the proposed build and its proximity to their boundaries.
Council planning officers said the contemporary design was appropriate and the application policy compliant.
They said the existing hedge would provide screening and combined with the development being of a single-storey nature, and the facing area being “non-living areas” with small windows, it was not considered there would be harm to residential amenity.
Six members of the committee voted in favour of the scheme and three against at the meeting in March.
