IF you thought the housing market had gone mad, does this take the biscuit?

A house worth well over £1 million in an affluent part of Poole is being knocked down for redevelopment - just seven years after it was built.

Residents have nicknamed the property in Lakeside Road in Branksome Park "the Cathedral" because of its roof, which dwarfed surrounding bungalows.

But now Seven Developments has won permission to demolish it, having also purchased the adjoining site.

Work was due to commence this week on the huge three-storey house, which verges a conservation area.

Planning chiefs granted the planning application in January for demolishing the house, which belonged to a local chiropodist, having refused permission to turn it into flats.

But the revised planning application to build four new four-bedroom houses at 5 and 5a Lakeside Road has sparked controversy.

Laurence Pearse, who lives nearby, said: "It seems a pity to waste all these building materials by knocking down a newly built home.

"You cannot just take it down and reuse the materials."

Local councillor Carole Deas said: "Number 5 has got a history to it. It was a house that was built far too high. But it is still being used as a precedent, since another large development of flats went up six months ago next door.

"It is very sad that when a mistake is made it sets a precedent to balance the mistake. I think it's very wasteful."

Eddie Mitchell managing director of Seven, which now owns numbers 3, 4, 5 and 5a, said: "Number 5 was a planning mistake by a planning officer and was a monstrosity.

"The new houses will be good sized family homes, which we hope will go for between £1.3 million and £1.5 million."

Lakeside Road has become a prime site for developers and 22 applications have been lodged in just three years. Seven already owns number 3, which was turned - controversially - into flats.

Yesterday planning officers made a site visit, before deciding on whether to allow an application by another developer to turn number 7 into flats.

Cllr Ray Smith, chairman of the planning committee, said: "Until we can change some of the policies that are issued under national guidelines our hands are tied."