COUNCILLORS have criticised a plan to knock down three large homes in a leafy Weymouth street and build blocks of flats in their place.

Planners said the proposals did not fit in with the street scene and would result in overdevelopment at the site.

The development area in question is Glendinning Avenue close to the junction of Carlton Road North, an area with many large Victorian and Edwardian-era homes.

Three people in neighbouring properties in Glendinning Avenue submitted separate plans to demolish their homes and replace it with a four-storey block of eight flats on the plot.

Although three separate blocks are proposed, they would be connected because they have shared facilities – so were considered as one development by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s Planning and Traffic Committee.

Parking would be provided behind the site with an access lane off Carlton Road North, the committee heard.

One of the applicants, Keith Grissett, told the committee there had been a lot of new building in the area with some ‘spurious’ developments springing up and gardens built on.

He said people ‘parked all over the place’ and dustbins were left on the pavements.

The intention of the proposal, he argued, was an attempt to ‘lift up’ the area.

Mr Grissett said each householder had spent money refurbishing their property over the years and faced further costs to fund the general upkeep and protect it from damp.

They now wanted to collaborate on a good scheme of spacious flats and had been working together to ensure all concerns were met.

But the three planning applications were rejected.

Councillors were advised by planning officers the proposed development was ‘excessive.’ They said the existing properties which sat in a conservation area – and were places of architectural or historical interest – made a positive contribution to the street and there was no justification for demolishing them. Also, the scheme did not meet affordable housing requirements.

The Weymouth Civic Society objected to the scheme describing it as ‘heavy overdevelopment’. Coun Anne Kenwood agreed the development would be detrimental to the conservation area.

Coun Dominic Lonsdale said 24 flats could potentially mean ‘84 people crammed into the space’ which he said raised questions about the level of community space available.

Coun Margaret Leicester described the development as a ‘big, bulky unattractive block’.

She said: “I don’t always agree with the civic society but on this occasion they’re right.”