Bexley Council’s planning committee refused proposals to build 12 new houses on gardens attached to homes in Lyndhurst Road at a meeting held last night (May 22).
Councillors said their main concern was the impact of the development on Vanessa Lynam, who has lived in a bungalow on the next door street, Rudland Road, for the last nine years.
She told the News Shopper that one of the new houses would have “been looming and towering” over her back garden if it had been built.
Although Bexley Council planning officers recommended that the proposals from Lyndhurst Road Developments Limited be approved, councillors said they were “conflicted” about the application.
Cllr Cameron Smith said: “These are precisely the sort of homes that we need to be building a lot more of in this borough.
“The demand for three and four bedrooms homes is significant.
“But I do recognise the impact it might have on outlook of that one address.
“Should this not proceed, I think we would like to see the developer come back with a new proposal because there’s a lot of merits to this.”
This was the second time the proposals had been before the planning committee, after councillors deferred a decision last month so they could carry out a site visit.
Ben Brading, managing director of Lyndhurst Road Developments Limited, told the committee that the council had a “much-identified need” for family homes.
He added that the development adhered to planning rules “to achieve very rare family units with gardens and parking”.
“There are no adverse effects on privacy and amenity of neighbouring properties,” he claimed.
“The design density and layout mirrors local development with a traditional two-storey layout similar to developments at Lyndhurst Road.”
But councillors ultimately voted to reject the application over concerns about the overbearing impact on 65 Rudland Road, despite designs meeting minimum separation distances.
Reacting to the decision, Vanessa Lynam said she was “elated”.
“I literally can’t believe it, it’s absolutely incredible,” she added. “It was against all the odds – everything was stacked against us.”
She also made it clear that if the developer returned with new plans, neighbours expected that the houses would be “fewer and lower”.
