AN application to build a new home onto the side of another has been rejected by council planners.

The proposal had outlined a new four-bedroom home built as an extension to the existing 311 Manchester Road – thought to be a house in multiple occupation (HMO). An application to register it as such, extended to seven bedrooms, was withdrawn last November.

Planners deduced from floor plans that the new building – built on garden land near the Works Lane junction – would have been capable of housing eight people.

Two Manchester Road neighbours had objected to the plans, on the grounds of a loss of privacy, development density, and highways safety.

In rejecting the plans, a Cheshire West and Chester Council planning officer Edward Bannister said the proposal would appear ‘slightly alien’ among surrounding homes.

He said: “Whilst the proposal would not be at odds with the character of the immediate established settlement pattern of the area, the inclusion of an alleyway and three windows in the proposed front elevation of the dwelling leaves it with a rather cluttered appearance.

“These are significant de-merits of the proposal, which would make the proposed dwelling appear as a slightly alien feature in the street scene.

“Another de-merit of the proposal is that it attempts to cram a four-bedroom dwelling into a plot that has the capacity to host a modest extension to number 311 only.

“The resultant development would appear cramped on its plot, making it appear incongruous with the surrounding setting.”

One neighbour’s objection had called the plan ‘absolutely stupid’ and ‘damaging to the community’.

They added: “This property should have been kept as a family home, plain and simple.”

Another added: “The proposed house would be too close to [neighbours] so having a detrimental aesthetic effect on the area, creating a slum of the future.”