Neighbours object to woman’s garden building

A WOMAN’S plan to build a storage shed and home office in her garden has been criticised by neighbours and councillors.

Sue Tilbury is in the process of buying a house in Berkshire Road, which is one of three built on one plot over the past year.

She wants to construct a single-storey building in the garden, which would be used for garden storage and as an office.

Ms Tilbury says it would be screened from neighbours and would not impinge on parking or amenity space.

A planning statement submitted on her behalf said: “Although the building would reduce the amount of external amenity space to the rear down to around 93sq m, the garden depth would be at least 11m, which would still provide the applicant with a functionally useful garden area for sitting out, al fresco dining, clothes drying etc.”

Neighbours complained that the building would be too big and would cause further overlooking into their properties.

Gemma Osterback, of Berkshire Road, said: “Within the space of one year a single detached dwelling has become a pair of semis and a single detached house.

“The garden amenity space is 15 per cent of what it used to be. It means for us a loss of privacy, overlooking, further development and loss of garden land.”

Helen Sperry, of Manor Road, said: “From a single detached house, the plot has been overdeveloped into three huge, four-bedroom, three-storey houses.

“Planning permission is now being sought to add ‘garden buildings’ on two of the three sites. Just how many buildings can be squashed into this tiny space?

“This proposal is not for a simple garden shed but for another large independent building, sited only 52cm from my boundary fence and spanning the whole width of the plot.

“At 2.8m tall, it would tower over the fence and is very large for a garden building. This would result in a further loss of light and amenity in my garden and would create an overbearing feeling of enclosure.”

Mrs Sperry added that screening had been removed during the construction of the new houses, leading to a loss of privacy at her property.

Members of the town council’s planning committee recommended that the plans are refused by South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority.

Councillor Will Hamilton said: “It’s too large and needs to be pulled back from the edge of the garden.”

Councillors also objected to plans for a new house in St Mark’s Road.

John Kerrigan wants to demolish the existing two-storey property and garage to make way for the replacement property.

Councillors said a proposed Juliet balcony could overlook nearby properties and they were also concerned about traffic issues on the road.

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