STRICTER controls on “iceberg homes” have been called for by a councillor after revised plans for an underground swimming pool in North Oxford were approved.

Craig Burkinshaw applied to Oxford City Council for permission to build a basement with a swimming pool underneath his Farndon Road property, on the corner of Warnborough Road.

Despite several objections, including one from Oxford author and neighbour Mark Haddon, it was approved by councillors last Tuesdayon April 14.

North Ward city councillor Louise Upton said she was “disappointed” but was seeking to prevent more iceberg home schemes going ahead.

The term “iceberg homes” was coined to describe large subterranean extensions to properties in London.

Mrs Upton said: “It will cause a huge amount of disruption to everyone around it and probably for over a year while the building work goes on.

“I know of other councils that have brought in means of turning down iceberg schemes, particularly those that were more than one storey.”

“We absolutely need to get something like that written into our planning policy in Oxford.”

Mr Burkinshaw’s scheme asked for permission to build a one storey extension to the side of the house, as well as a basement extension. It would also involve building a “glass box” at the back of the property.

The basement would be used for a swimming pool, gym, sauna room and two guest bedroom suites.

A similar scheme was submitted by Mr Burkinshaw in February 2014, but was refused by the city council. He appealed against the decision, but a government planning inspector backed the council and rejected the appeal.

The latest plans submitted by Mr Burkinshaw, managing director of Witney’s Audley Travel, proposed a different design for the side extension.

At a meeting of the city council's west area planning committee, Mr Burkinshaw’s agent Adrian Gould told councillors it was a variation of a similar scheme approved in January 2013 and so should be approved.

This was because a planning inspector backed the original January 2013 plan as a ‘traditional’ side extension with less extensive basement work.

He said: “It is reasonable for [Mr Burkinsaw] to view this as a ‘fallback’.”

The inspector refused the 2014 scheme as “a step too far”, beyond the approved 2013 plans.

In documents submitted to the council, Mr Gould wrote: “In light of the inspector’s comments, my clients accept that any further proposal must align closely with the approved scheme.”

But Oxford author Mark Haddon – who lives in a neighbouring home – has again objected and labelled it “over -development.

Mr Haddon, right, who wrote the acclaimed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time novel, now a major West End play, said: “This is not a variation of previously approved plans. This is over-development.

"It is wholly out of keeping with the character of the North Oxford Conservation Area.”