Controversial Six-Bedroom Home Gains Approval

Owners of a 1930s semi on Milton Road in Earley have enraged neighbours and councillors after turning it into a six-bedroom house that was built bigger and closer to the boundary than the plans approved by the council.

Neighbours flagged the work, prompting an enforcement investigation and a retrospective planning application. The owners had originally been granted permission for extensions in 2024.

At Wokingham Borough Council's planning committee members called the extension "startling" and "overpowering" but, after debate, voted four to two to grant retrospective permission subject to conditions.

The completed build changed the approved design: roof tweaks, larger windows and a different rear dormer. Where two pitched roof dormers were approved, the house now has a large box dormer and a Juliet balcony.

One neighbour said: "When the scaffolding came down, I noticed the plans were not adhered to at all."

They added: "The house looked really awful and overpowering. I am very concerned about the impact on the neighbours."

They finished: "What is the point in having rules and regulations if you can just build what you like and get away with it?"

Cllr Rebecca Margetts told the committee: "You really feel for residents. The process is not being followed and there is a real sense of unfairness for neighbours nearby."

She added: "The planning process wasn't followed. These weren't the original plans."

The council's lead planning officer said: "Officers have acknowledged there was a material change from the original approved plans. The question for members is whether that change is harmful." Officers argued Juliet balconies are common and the revised scheme used more traditional materials, like brick and render, to address earlier concerns.

Cllr Mike Smith was critical: "The extension has been built near to the boundary and it is several hundreds of millimetres higher than it was originally approved and some of the windows are bigger in size."

He added: "It annoys me that this application has ignored the rules and it annoys me that we're having to consider this application retrospectively. There are so many things that were not as per the original plans."

Cllr Sam Akhtar said the house stood out and was not entirely in keeping with the street, though similar changes exist nearby. Cllr Catherine Glover said: "I felt it was startling, not in a totally bad way. It drew my eye, but it didn't make me feel it was really ruining the street."

Officers noted several nearby homes have been extended and concluded the alterations would not cause unacceptable harm to the area's character or neighbours. The committee approved the retrospective application, subject to conditions.

Katie French, Local Democracy Reporter