ANGRY residents have slammed plans to extend houses at the back of their gardens.

Residents of Treviglio Close are worried about proposals to extend two houses in a development currently under construction in Cupernham Lane, Romsey.

The application is to add two dormer windows to the houses and add a room in the roof.

Despite planning permission not yet being granted, work had started on the extensions, which the developer is allowed to do.

However, work has now stopped after Test Valley Borough Council recommended that work ceases due to the risk of planning permission not being granted.

A council spokesman said: “The planning department has not issued an enforcement notice on this development site. 

“The council had recommended that works on site cease and informed the developer that to proceed with the changes in advance of securing the necessary planning permission, would be entirely at their own risk as remedial works would be required if permission was not granted. 

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“This advice did not remove the developer's legal right to proceed with a retrospective application for the changes. That application, ref: 22/02109/VARS, is currently under consideration and in the meanwhile, the enforcement department is holding the matter in abeyance pending the outcome of the application.”

Hampshire Chronicle:

Patricia Nightingale, of Treviglio Close, said: “I am distressed by what is happening at Stratland's housing development in Cupernham Lane. As part of this development, they had permission to build two four-bedroom houses on Plots 5 and 6 each with a plain tiled roof. In August they applied to add a room in the roof with three dormer windows, to each of these houses. Without waiting for a planning decision, they started building the extra room and windows to the house on Plot 5. They then applied for a further alteration to just two dormer windows to each house and they have since started work on the roof of Plot 6.

“I and my neighbours are completely overlooked by the additional windows that have removed the privacy of our gardens and all rooms on the rear of our houses.”

Currently, 12 objections from residents and groups have been submitted to Test Valley Borough Council.

Matt and Claire Biles, of Treviglio Close, said: “We want to formally object to the variation to the roof, namely the huge dormers which are being constructed without, as yet, any further permission being granted and ignoring official conversations to put construction of the said dormers on hold. 

“The rear dormer by reason of its size, design and bulk represents an overly dominant and disproportionate addition to the roof of the property. This dormer by its very size and nature ruins the originally proposed roof's clean lines and angles and is now built almost out to the very edge of the roof looking now more like a small block of flats at the bottom of our garden.

“Our neighbours have also objected to this variation to the standard roof design to make a third floor to include these huge dormers.”

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Adrian Marsh-Brown, of Treviglio Close, said: “This variance to add the dormer windows is unacceptable. It is leaving neighbours in Treviglio who purchased their properties based on the original planning completely overlooked, it leaves the public spaces for the entire close completely overlooked impacting all residents.”

The developer's agent, Nova Planning Limited, has been contacted for a comment.

To view the plans online, search 22/02109/VARS on Test Valley Borough Council's planning portal.