Two homeowners have been forced to spend almost £2,000 on mature trees to screen a ‘monstrous’ development that looks down into their properties.
Terry and Margaret Selby were furious when officials gave permission for a neighbour’s bungalow to be replaced with a huge two-storey, cube-style property.
After it started to be built they likened it to an Amazon warehouse that loomed over their own bungalow.
The Selbys claimed Dorset Council had made a mistake in granting it planning permission and complained to the Local Government Ombudsman, but to no avail.
Having conceded defeat in their fight to have the new house knocked down, they have now forked out £750 on four 15ft eucalyptus trees that have been planted at the bottom of their back garden.
A neighbour who also objected to the development has spent £1,000 to have six trees planted in a desperate bid to maintain her privacy.
Mr Selby, from Corfe Mullen, near Wimborne, has asked Dorset Council to reimburse him for the trees as he feels they are to blame.
The 80-year-old said: ‘It is not going to come down so we have got to do our best to try and hide it.
‘At my age I needed trees that are fast growing and I was told that eucalyptus trees are the best for that.
‘I have bought four 4.5 metre eucalyptus trees, which I am told will grow 4ft every year.
‘It is to try and get the damn monstrosity covered up.
‘I would not have had to spend anything at all had the council not allowed this to be built in the first place and I think it is only right they pay something towards it.
‘But I’m sure they are going to say they have done nothing wrong on the basis it was a bungalow conversion that was there before and the new development has been built on its footprint.
‘But there is a difference between a small apex roof coming just above our hedge to a monstrous warehouse building, which is the most ugly thing I have ever seen.’
Mr Selby added: ‘We are not the only ones.
‘The lady next door to us has spent £1,000 on trees as she is overlooked as well.
‘The windows of it look straight into her bedroom and garden, her privacy is gone.’
The neighbour had forewarned Dorset Council that three first floor windows on the new development would directly look into her lounge, dining room, bedroom and garden.
The planning row started after the death of the elderly owner of 33 Corfe View Road, Corfe Mullen, in 2022.
The bungalow was bought for £350,000 by a couple who applied for planning permission to build a four bedroom modern home in its place.
Residents and Corfe Mullen Town Council said they feared the new home would be a ‘visually incongruous building’ that would ‘result in loss of natural light to neighbouring properties’ and would be ‘overdevelopment out of scale with neighbouring properties and surroundings in respect of its scale, bulk, height, and visual impact.’
Locals were stunned when Dorset Council approved it.
Duncan Sowry-House, the chairman of the town council, said previously: ‘There appears to have been some faulty and inconsistent decision making by Dorset Council and in this case they are failing the community.’
A spokesperson for Dorset Council said: ‘We have investigated Mr. Selby’s complaint, and found that no mistake was made by our planning team.
‘The Local Government Ombudsman also appears to share this view, as they have chosen not to investigate the complaint.
‘As a result, we do not consider the payment of any compensation to be necessary in this instance.’