A developer has won its battle to build new homes in north Oxford on the private estate once segregated by the notorious Cutteslowe Walls.

Plans for the three-storey block of flats adjoining 8 Wentworth Road were rejected three times by city councillors because it would alter the character of the street.

But developer Urban Innovation appealed against the decision to the Government's planning inspectorate and won its appeal.

Construction work is now under way but residents, who campaigned against the plans, say they are unhappy with the planning process.

Philip Cresswell, 50, of Wentworth Road, said: "The proposed building was deemed overbearing, unsuitable to the area and contrary to a long-standing covenant on the site.

"Furthermore, it was considered that the accommodation was not needed and the parking provision was described as inadequate and dangerous.

"We thought we'd won this one but it now feels as if the public consultation process was a sham.

"Three times this was thrown out by our elected councillors but still the developers got their way."

Larry Eldredge, coordinator of the Salisbury Crescent and Wentworth Road Residents' Association, said residents were also disappointed that the city council agreed to waive a covenant dating back to the 1930s.

The planning inspectorate upheld the developer's appeal in May, and the city council agreed a deal the following month to waive the terms of the covenants.

Mr Eldredge and fellow residents then used the Freedom of Information Act to discover that the council had agreed to release the covenants in exchange for a compensation payment.

Mr Eldredge said: "The city council should be more open about the planning process and residents should not have to use the act to find out what is going on behind the scenes."

John Evans, the city council's project manager for Freedom of Information, wrote to Mr Eldredge last month to confirm the council's negotations with Urban Innovation over the covenants.

He wrote: "We came to the view that the covenants were probably not enforceable by the council.

"The approach adopted by the council generated a small financial benefit as opposed to using the council's funds to defend a precarious position and quite possibly paying considerable costs upon the conclusion of the case."

The Cutteslowe Walls were built in the 1930s to divide private homes from council housing but were brought down in 1959.