PLANS to build three bungalows in a back yard behind a row of houses have been dubbed "congested overdevelopment".

Back in 2010, DWP Housing Partnership - then Dave Wells properties - had applied to squeeze four one-bed homes into the space in Shelbourne Road, Bournemouth, which is currently home to a row of lock-up garages, however this scheme was refused on appeal to the planning inspector.

The inspector said four dwellings would be "a foreign intrusion, resulting in a congested form of development seriously out of keeping with the character of the area.”

DWP has amended its proposal to three homes and this has won the approval of council planning officers, however it has sparked 18 letters of objection, including that of a local ward councillor.

Cllr Cheryl Johnson said: "The proposed development would, in my view, result in the congested overdevelopment of this site resulting in harm to the established nearby residential amenity."

Shelbourne Road resident Sarah Newell said: "This development is purely for financial gain and will do nothing towards the needs of the community which is for family homes, as identified in the council's own research.

"We need you to send a message to DWP that the land is for garages and they will not be able to build anything else on it."

Thomas and Theresa Jones, also of Shelbourne Road, wrote to express their fears that the development would exacerbate local parking problems.

"We are not the Bournemouth I knew, it's getting more and more like an industrial town and this is not what we should be aiming for," the letter said.

Daniel Cadell, of Capstone Road, wrote: "The width of the plot has been over estimated by at least 1.2m. This is substantial and puts residents' walls in the wrong place entirely and the proposed properties being built on top of one resident's back yard."

However, in their report planning officers outlined "several benefits" of the scheme.

The report says: "It removes a potential problem site where uncontrolled storage could become a nuisance in the future. The existing buildings are becoming dilapidated and because occupiers/owners do not live on site they appear to have little interest in maintaining the appearance."

Officers also say the scheme will "provide additional housing to meet housing targets" with a type of accommodation not common in the area.

The report says: "However to conclude I consider on balance that the benefits outweigh the concerns."

A decision is due to be made by the planning board at the town hall at 2.30pm on Wednesday, April 19.