PLANS to build a home in the back garden of a historic Alresford house have been rejected.

Mr and Mrs Peter Radford had applied to build a one-bedroom house behind their grade two listed house on Broad Street.

Their garden is one of the town’s historical ‘burgage plots’, the medieval division of land that is still evident in Alresford, which dates from the early 13th century.

The proposal was decided by the city council planning committee with councillors voting against the plan by five votes to three with one abstention.

The plan came to committee on June 3 but was adjourned for a site visit on June 16.

Cllr Ann Bean, a member of Alresford Town Council, repeated her opposition: “We believe this is overdevelopment of an already crowded site in a conservation area. This was originally a burgage plot which in itself has great historical importance.”

Councillors had issues with parking and over-development. Cllr David McLean said there was insufficient parking and for turning a car on the narrow site. “There is no space and why should vehicles be dumped onto the street?”

Cllr Russell Gordon-Smith, who is also an Alresford town councillor, said: “I have serious objections to this, We have the most horrendous parking problems in Alresford. There is no residents-parking (zone) at the moment.

“The architects or whoever designed this has put in a drawing that is completely spurious. You cannot turn a car in 3m. The standard is 6m and a lot of people have difficulties with that. I have designed hundreds of car parks so I speak with some authority on this. That is quite a dishonest drawing. I feel this is an attack on the inherent qualities of the burgage plots.”

Planning officers were recommending approval stating that until 1943 there had been a building on the site of the proposed dwelling. The applicants, Mr and Mrs Radford, plan to move into the new property with their son and his family moving into the main house, 49 Broad Street.

Other plots on Broad Street and West Street have seen development on the burgage plots over the years, the committee was told.