Plans to squeeze TWO homes on 19ft wide plot in Sandbanks

A property developer paid over £600,000 for the derelict garage on a narrow strip of land on the exclusive peninsula earlier this year.

Now locals have reacted with anger at the proposals for the three storey semi-detached houses that will each be 9ft wide and 42ft long.

They will each have a living room, kitchen and dining room, one double and one single bedroom, front and rear balconies and a back garden.

Pictured: The garage currently on the site. Pic: CorinMesser/BNPS

They will also have parking for one car and because the driveway is so tight for space, a mechanical turn-table 15ft in diameter will be installed at the front of the property to allow vehicles to turn.

But neighbours are furious at the scheme, calling it 'ridiculous over-development'.

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They also fear the new building will overshadow their homes and plunge them into darkness and block out the light to the only church on the Millionaires' Row.

Pictured: The spacious interior of the garage. Pic: LloydsPropertyGroup/BNPS.

Neighbour Andrew Shearer, who lives in the block of flats next door, said: "I am in favour of reusing derelict property but turning a garage into two semi-detached properties is turbo-charged, on steroids planning. If I hadn't seen the plans I wouldn't have believed it. It just seems crazy."

The property would be right up against two bungalows and a single-storey Chapel of St Nicholas.

Its vicar, Rev Andrew O'Brien, has objected to a planning application submitted by property developer Peter Mullins, who lives in Winchester.

Rev O'Brien said: "We aren't happy about this, it is ridiculous over-development. We have skylights in the roof of our little chapel and this will block that light.

"I know this is Sandbanks, where plots of land are being built on all the time and that the owners have spent a fortune on this plot, but it is just a garage. One house that isn't too tall is reasonable but what is being proposed is not.

"The congregation feel the same."

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Shane Armitage owns a flat in a block next door to the garage. He said: "I expect that this site would be developed at some point, but this application is such a blatant disregard for my daylight and sunlight, its offensive.

"The height and proximity of the proposed building to our principle windows, would have such a detrimental negative impact on daylight and sunlight, it would put our flat in the dark, even on a sunny day. We would lose sight of the sky from our principle rooms."

Neighbour Fay Robertson said: "A three storey building constructed just three metres from my back door can only plunge my current residence into darkness.

"It is abundantly clear...that the new dwelling is out of scale."

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Alison Sepping said: "This is an extreme example of plot over development, producing two barely habitable houses which would overlook and dominate the street scene."

Flats in the road which currently overlook the plot will be faced with two three storey houses on the site. 

The garage plot had belonged to the same family for over 60 years before it sold earlier this year.

Experts say that each two bed property will likely be used as holiday boltholes, but could be worth up to £1m each.

Pictured: The rear of the 98ft long plot. Pic: LloydsPropertyGroup/BNPS.

In a design and access statement sent to BCP Council, architect Colin Henry insisted the new properties will not impact the light on neighbouring properties and obscure glazing will be used to maintain privacy.

Existing trees will also block much of the new building from the street view.

The statement adds: "There is no impact on the front and rear windows of any of the three flats because the development is to the north of the flats.

"The design of the proposals will contribute positively to the area... by mediating between the prevalent 3.5 storey tall blocks of flats on Banks Road and the one and two-storey houses on the south side of Panorama Road.

"The building is designed to have the appearance of a single dwelling from Banks Road."

One Poole resident who is backing the scheme said the existing garage was unsightly and it makes good use of an unused plot.