Neighbours are furious after a "monstrosity" was built behind their homes without planning permission.
Neighbours in Howitt Road, Belsize Park, first noticed that work had started on a building in a plot of land behind their gardens in November 2023.
Believing that the development in Belsize Grove - which backs onto their gardens - did not have the appropriate planning permission, they contacted Camden Council asking for work to stop.
The authority launched a planning enforcement investigation and told the site owner that construction must halt.
A retrospective planning application has now been submitted to retain the building, with the hope of using it as a summer house.
But some Howitt Road residents say they have been left in limbo with no way to remove the “eyesore”, as the owners would only be forced to knock it down if planning permission was refused.
Roberta Ciaccia said: “It’s right on the back of our gardens and totally changed our view. It’s insane.
“With it right at the back of our properties, that is such a security risk for all of us. It can be accessed off the street straight into the back garden.”
Others, such as Olga Borovskikh and Alexander Migita, pointed to the fact that the development is located in the Belsize Conservation Area as a significant concern.
They said: “You just can’t ignore a community and kill a conservation area.”
Jakki Lewis said: “I defy you, or indeed anyone with a pair of working eyes, to argue that this monstrosity is not visually impairing what was a quiet, leafy residential area.
“We are concerned and frustrated that…an entire unpermitted structure has been erected and left for us all to stare at.”
Ham and High has attempted to contact the agent for the planning application, Dartel Design Ltd, about the objections.
When contacted on November 15 about residents’ concerns, Camden councillor Danny Beales said the structure was "unauthorised"
He added: “The council has a legal duty to assess every application on its merits.
“Should the application not be accepted, then the structure would need to be removed.
“The council has been clear that that no further works should be undertaken until the application is determined.”
Comments on the application (2023/4603/P) can be made until Sunday (January 14) on the Camden Council planning portal.
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