Plans for a set of “overbearing” flats have been approved by a local council, with a neighbour saying the report presented by officers was “misleading” and “biased”.
Bexley Council has approved plans to build two, two-storey blocks of flats in Sidcup, adding 16 new flats to the area.
The plans were sent by Deerleap Properties Limited and were discussed at a planning meeting for Bexley Council.
Sidcup local, Deborah Pike, said at the meeting that the height of the new buildings will leave her “whole social life on display”.
She said: “These additional roofspace units with balconies are going to have a devastating effect on my privacy, they will affect my outlook drastically and are overbearing.”
Ms Pike also claimed the planning officer had been “economical with the truth” when putting the report together.
She claimed the impact one of the blocks would have on another house on the road had not been mentioned in the report, saying it would be “extremely overbearing” and lead to an “absolute loss of privacy”.
She said: “[The planning officer report] has been put together for your decision-making purposes. I found it to be very misleading and biased with parts of the document pulled directly from the developer’s documents.”
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A representative of Deerleap Properties, known only as Mr Meaney, said the council’s planning team could confirm the plans met all necessary space and separation standards.
He said: “Regarding the possible overlooking concerns brought up by the neighbour on St John’s Road, I would like to reassure the committee that considerable thought has gone into the privacy of all the neighbouring properties.”
Conservative Councillor June Slaughter said neighbours will be “completely overlooked” by people living in the new flats.
She said: “My considered view is the report does not pay sufficient regard to the effect that the flats in the roofspace of the block opposite these gardens will have on the privacy and amenity of those residents affected.”
Planning officer Jody Williams said that officers were satisfied the road and gardens in between the new flats and neighbouring houses were wide enough that there would not be an overbearing or adverse impact.
He said: “Obviously there is going to be some mutual overlooking, as there is with existing [properties], and obviously there’ll be more overlooking, but officers don’t consider that to be unacceptable or adverse harm.”
At the meeting, the planning committee agreed to give permission for the new flats to be built.
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