An application to build three new homes in the grounds of a large house in Cranford Avenue, Weymouth has been turned down.

The planning request, for No 15, asked to divide the site in two and built three, three-bed linked homes each with undercroft parking.

Dorset Council rejected the A J Developments proposal deciding that the scheme would be “an undesirable form of backland development which would be at odds with the established character of the area, would undermine local distinctiveness and would have a detrimental effect on the surrounding properties by reason of overbearing impacts to neighbouring gardens.”

The council refusal notice also refers to the bulk, scale and mass of the proposed homes, leaving a lack of appropriate space for landscaping.

The refusal notice also comments on the risk of flooding at the site and says there are other places in the area which could accommodate the scale of the development, but with a lower flood risk.

Weymouth town council had objected to the development on the grounds of design and visual appearance, layout and density, the risk of flooding and the loss of trees. Similar comments had been made in four letters of objection to Dorset Council.