Sandbanks developer's plans to turn £600,000 garage into tiny £1million Airbnb thwarted for THIRD time
A Sandbanks developer's four year battle to turn a tiny garage near into an Airbnb has been thwarted for a third time.
Peter Mullins has tried and failed to get permission to redevelop his 19 foot-wide garage in Poole, Dorset, after buying the property for £600,000 in 2021.
A planning application in 2021 to add two storeys to the garage to create a pair of semi-detached houses was dismissed at appeal. Then in 2022, a conversion and extension to create two flats was also refused.
And in his latest attempt to redevelop the property, Mr Mullins had sought to demolish the garage and turn it into a dwelling to create a £1million Airbnb to 'make his money back' on the expensive garage.
Plans submitted to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council show the home was set to be in a newly-added pitched roof and would include a double bedroom, a single bedroom, and a dining and living room.
The development would take place just a street away from the iconic Sandbanks beach, where famous residents have included Harry Redknapp, chef Rick Stein and Liam Gallagher.
But the application was rejected by planners earlier this month, who said the proposed windows would be just 1.65m from a home on Panorama Road - where houses sell for an average of £3,922,500, according to Rightmove.
Locals have previously fought against the development with the Sandbanks Neighbourhood Forum writing a letter stating that the plans are 'unacceptable.'
Speaking after the application was rejected, local Wendy Collins, 71, from Poole, Dorset, said: 'I've heard about the garage, and it's a great idea, but I'm not surprised it has been rejected. It is only little.
'It's a shame, really, because I do think it is a really cool idea, and I've never seen that before.'
Mr Mullins had hoped to turn the upstairs into a double bedroom, a single bedroom, and a dining and living room.
The only windows on this floor would be four skylights - one in each bedroom and two in the living space.
He proposed the ground floor would be a small garage with space to park a car and three bikes at the front and a narrow corridor leading to a bathroom and kitchen at the back.
The application had claimed Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council has no grounds to refuse it because the footprint of the building will remain the same.
Property experts said the diminutive home would be too small for a permanent residence and will likely be a holiday bolthole or an Airbnb.
But because of its prized location it would still be worth more than £1m.
In a planning report, a council officer said: 'The gap between the proposed windows and No. 1 Panorama Road is 1.65m. This clearly presents opportunities for overlooking and loss of privacy from these windows. Furthermore, the size of the property is approximately 68 sqm.
'Nationally Described Space Standards sets out that a four-person, two-storey, two-bedroom property should, at a minimum, provide 79 sqm of space.
'This property is capable of providing a 4 person, 2 storey, 2 bedroom property and as such the space provided is not acceptable.'
In a comment submitted to the council ahead of the decision, the Sandbanks Neighbourhood Forum said: 'The Design and Access statement is also out of date, and the precedents are of no relevance. In one instance, the decision which they rely upon has been quashed.'
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