Attempts by residents to prevent a major extension to a house on Littleton Close have been thwarted after councillors approved the development last night.

Four members of the public, including Mayor of Kenilworth Cllr Peter Jones, spoke at yesterday's (March 2) Warwick District Council planning meeting.

Speakers said the proposed two-storey side and rear extensions were far too big, and the proposed loft conversion would drastically increase the height of the property.

One of the speakers, Juergen Branke, said: "This proposal is neither usual nor an extension.

"It is not usual because of the enormity of the new house which will be more than double the size of the current house.

"It is not an extension because what will actually remain of the old house is negligible."

Whilst Cllr Jones added: "This has a very high ridge line which would dominate the skyline from other properties.

"It would also dominate the Kenilworth Common and nature reserve."

However, WDC officers said the application, which received 13 public objections, was in line with planning policy.

Councillors were told that the roofline go up by 1.2m and that the side extension was no more than two thirds of the current size of the house.

"We have got design guidance that is there to ensure that extensions sit comfortably in the property and sit comfortably in the street scene," said development management manager Sandip Sahota.

"To that end the extension is considered to meet those requirements – it is not more than two thirds of the width, it is set back from the front elevation.

"In terms of the elevated ridge height, the increase is considered to be negligible. It wont be as stark as is being suggested.

"If you look at the street scene as a whole we are not looking at a flat street with a consistent ridge line, we are talking about large properties that are at different heights because of the land levels."

Cllr James Kennedy and Cllr Richard Dickson led a proposal to refuse planning permission, but this was voted down.

Instead the extension was approved by a split decision, with Cllr Terry Morris adding: "To me it looks like the new roof line just comes in line with the neighbouring property.

"Currently this is actually one of the smaller properties here; there have been some significant extensions, including no. 29 and no.28.

"Everyone is getting heated about twice the size, I can only assume that has been calculated on habitable space because they're going up into the loft and therefore creating a whole new floor."