WORK on a Romsey house has been permitted, despite concerns from the town council.

Carol Rickman applied for a single storey rear extension, loft conversion, garage conversion with rear dormer and associated alterations at 2 Grays Close.

It was permitted by Test Valley Borough Council's southern area planning committee on September 20.

Concerns had been raised by neighbours and Romsey Town Council's planning committee over its size and effect on the area.

In the town council's objection, it said: “The dormer is excessive and the overall design is detrimental to the appearance of the area and the purposes the houses as originally built.”

At the town council meeting on July 21, Cllr Janet Burnage said: “I strongly object. It's a little row of detached bungalows ideal for elderly people who want to retire and live on their own. They are easy to maintain. If you start to turn one of them into a house, it will have a huge impact on the amenity of the neighbours. It's so out of keeping.”

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Six letter of objections were submitted by neighbours. A summery of them on the council website said: “This is an area of nine small one-bedroom bungalows which are suitable for retirement purposes.

“New developments do not provide for this type of accommodation and should remain as it currently is.

“The design of the proposed dormer window is as poor and will be detrimental to the appearance of the area and could set a precedent for such development in the future.

“The parking area to the front will look out of place in the street. Noise, dust and disturbance would be very stressful and completely unacceptable.”

Despite the concerns, the southern area planning committee found the application to be acceptable and permitted it for the work to start.

To read more about the application search, 22/01722/FULLS on Test Valley Borough Council's online planning portal.