Summertown householders have described a proposal for a three-storey block of flats as “overbearing” and not in keeping with the area’s “character”.

Property developer Cantay Estates is seeking permission to build a three-storey building which will include six one-bedroom flats.

Under the plans, the flats would be built at 39 South Parade after a previous application for building on this site was refused by the city council’s planning committee on May 24 last year.

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A subsequent appeal was dismissed on January 4 this year.

Since the planning application was refused, householders’ fears about the height of the proposed building remain the same and they have argued this new application is not substantially different from the previous one.

Commenting on the council’s planning portal, Nick Georgiou, who lives on the South Parade, described the proposal as “overbearing and overdeveloped for the location in Stratfield Road”.

He said: “It is entirely out of keeping with the style and architecture of the area.”

Many householders who have expressed their objections to the development going ahead have concerns about the “loss of privacy” and the height of the building affecting the sunlight in their gardens.

Objecting to the development, Kate Williams, who has lived in the neighbourhood for 44 years, wrote on the planning portal that the building “would set a worrying precedent for future developments in this residential area of largely Victorian and Edwardian houses”.

Since the proposal was last rejected, a “significant difference” has been made to the proposed rear staircase which will include “enclosed light provided by high level windows only”.

The application will come before the city council’s planning committee this evening as councillors, including county councillor and cabinet member for highways Andrew Gant, had concerns about the “impact of the development on the area in terms of its character”.

Another householder, Kevin Ball, who lives close by to the proposed site, suggested this block of flats would threaten the “special character of Summertown” and “deny immediate neighbours and the wine bar opposite light and privacy”.

Despite these concerns, planning officers concluded the “reasons for objection do not amount, individually or cumulatively, to a reason for refusal and that all the issues that have been raised have been adequately addressed".

The sole basis for the inspector dismissing the appeal last time was due to the impact the building would have on the privacy of neighbouring occupiers.

Householder Mark Wilson, who objects to the development, said if this proposal was approved the council would be “ignoring its duty to local residents and the provisions of the Summertown and St Margaret’s neighbourhood plan”.

The city council's planning committee will convene at 6pm this evening.

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Ed specialises in writing political stories for the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times. 

He joined in the team in February 2023, after completing a History undergraduate degree at the University of York and studying for his NCTJ diploma in London.

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