Residents of a wealthy suburb in Dorset are split over the plans to build two luxurious homes on a plot measuring 19ft. The land was previously occupied by an 1950s concrete garage.
A property developer paid over £600,000 for the derelict garage on the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula of Poole Harbour earlier this year.
Locals are reacting with mixed feelings to the proposal for three-storey semi detached houses measuring 9ft in width and 42ft in length.
Each home would have a living, dining, and kitchen area.
However, some neighbors have reacted furiously to the plan and called the twin houses ‘ridiculous overdevelopment’.
Rev Andrew O’Brien (right) with his congregation. They oppose the plans to build three-storey homes, on 19ft long plots that were occupied previously by a garage.
Andrew Shearer, a neighbour who lives in the next block of flats, stated that while he is in favor of using derelict properties, transforming a garage to two semi-detached houses with steroid planning, was a turbocharged project.
“If I had not seen these plans, I would have doubted it.” It’s just crazy.
A total of 15 letters were received by the local authority in support and 9 objections.
Andy Raymond from Poole said that his garage was unattractive. The proposed development is very well designed and makes good use of this unused area.
Keith Lewcock of Erlestoke in Wiltshire said: “The conversion of this grubby and weary site into a fascinating, liveable building should be welcomed by the community.”
One-storey concrete garage in the middle was constructed in 1957. It has been used since 1970s by local families to store leisure gear.
The siteplan before and after. (left), the existing site plan with the garage in the middle; (right) two 3-storey apartments. You will find the Chapel of St Nicholas just north of the building. A block of apartments to the southeast is also nearby.
It would be next to two other bungalows as well as the single-storey Chapel of St Nicholas which is the only church in the “Millionaires Row”.
The driveway will have one parking space. However, the drive will only allow for one vehicle. A 15ft diameter mechanical turntable will be placed at the property’s front to permit vehicles to turn.
However, the local vicar Rev Andrew O’Brien is one of those who object to Peter Mullins’ planning application.
Rev O’Brien stated that he was not happy with this development. It is a ridiculous amount of overdevelopment. Our little chapel has skylights, and these will block the light.
“I am aware that this house is in Sandbanks. There are lots of plots of land being developed all the time. The owners spent quite a lot on it, but this garage is a mere garage. While a house which isn’t too high is acceptable, the proposal is ridiculous.
“The congregation feels the same.”
Shane Armitage is the owner of a flat next to the garage. He stated that he expected the site to be developed someday, however, this application shows a complete disregard for daylight and sunlight.
The proposed building would be too high and close to our main windows that would cause a significant decrease in sunlight. This would mean our apartment would become dark on sunny days. The sky would disappear from the principle rooms.
Alison Sepping said that this was an extreme case of plot overdevelopment, creating two houses barely habitable which could overlook the street and dominate it.
This concrete garage was constructed in 1957. Since the 1970s, it has been used for storage by a family of local residents.
Sandbanks is sometimes called Britain’s Miami Beach. It is also the fourth most costly place to purchase real estate in the entire world. You will find the garage by following the arrow.
Experts say that each two-bedroom property will likely be used as holiday homes, but could be worth up to £1m each.
It is located on Banks Road, near the home of Harry Redknapp and Sandra Redknapp. Celebrity couple, Harry and Sandra Redknapp, sold their home in Banks Road last year.
Colin Henry of Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council sent a design-and-access statement. It stated that new houses would not have an impact on the natural light from neighbouring homes and that obscure glazing would be used in privacy.
Trees that are already in place will block street views from seeing the new structure.
Colin Henry, Architect insisted that the red-ringed homes would not block the view of neighbouring houses and will use obscure glazing to protect privacy.
An aerial map shows where the garage is located. It will be torn down in favor of two new housing.
According to the statement, there is no effect on any front or rear windows because development will be located north of flats.
“The proposals are designed to contribute positively towards the area…by mediating between Banks Road’s 3.5-storey blocks of flats and Panorama Road’s one and two storey homes.
The building was designed to appear like one dwelling on Banks Road.
Sandbanks has been called Britain’s Miami Beach. According to some, it is the fourth-most expensive area in the world for real estate purchases, after Hong Kong, Tokyo, and London’s Belgravia.
Its waterfront mansions sell for upwards of £10m while holiday apartments that lay empty for most of the year are worth up to £4m.
The Sandbanks garage was purchased for half the price. However, the owner of the Sandbanks garage could also have purchased a detached six-bed house in Leeds and an eight-bed cottage with the Isle of Mull.