RESIDENTS in a Derby suburb are trying to block plans to build a house in a back garden because they say it would set a precedent that could "ruin the area".
Twenty-five people have made formal objections about the plan for Glenwood Road, Chellaston, to Derby City Council.
Colin Thornewill lives next door to the application site. The new property would be built next to a summer house in his own back garden.
He said: "I feel I will lose my privacy if it goes ahead because it will be at the top of my garden.
"Me and my wife have worked hard all of our lives and we like to enjoy our garden. I'm extremely irritated by it and it will destroy our house value.
"I'm really not very happy because it will cast a great shadow right over us.
"We really enjoy spending time at this house and I think it will be ruined now."
One of Colin's concerns is the already long list of building plans in the area – a proposal to build two homes in the next-door-but-one garden in the other direction was approved by the city council last year.
He said Chellaston Academy was already full and that the situation would get worse.
He said: "Chellaston is not big enough to cope. There is already big pressure on infrastructure."
Louise Radford, also of Glenwood Road, is against the application.
The 29-year-old said: "I really don't think a house in a garden will be in keeping with the area.
"There are already enough new developments and I think it will set a precedent for other people to build homes in their gardens."
She was also concerned that all the house building in the area could mean her son would not be able to get a place at Chellaston Academy.
Many of the objections sent to the city council were also concerned about disruption caused during construction of the house – "noise, vibration, smells, fumes, dust and grit".
Mark Blood Building Design, of Shardlow, is the agent for the applicant.
A spokesman said: "The application follows a similar development three doors down which has been accepted.
"The applicant is within their rights to make the application."
