The owner of a garden room built in the grounds of a 200-year-old listed cottage has been ordered to tear it down after one objector compared it to putting 'a McDonald's next to the Taj Mahal'.
Kenneth Walker was refused retrospective planning permission for the garden room which he added to the house at Rhodes Cottages, in North Berwick, by East Lothian Council officers who said it blocked the views of the homes from the neighbouring golf course.
And on Thursday the council's Local Review Body rejected his appeal against the decision after hearing complaints from neighbours who were concerned about a loss of privacy, its size and plans to use the cottage and garden room as a holiday let.
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Mr Walker said he bought the cottage a few years ago in a state of disrepair and had not realised he needed planning permission for the garden room because it replaced a previous one which had to be taken down.
He insisted it was within the height measurements allowed denying claims it was intrusive or blocking light from neighbour's homes.
Councillors were told five objections had been raised by local residents with one neighbour telling officers she had to shut her blinds when caring for her baby because it overlooked her windows.
She said: "It is so intrusive that we have had to shut the blinds during the day while I have been breastfeeding, eating and playing with my young child."
Another objector said: "Putting a McDonald's right next to the Taj Mahal would be a simile to demonstrate how alien this 'garden room' looks against the old cottage next to it."
Review body chair Councillor Donna Collins raised concerns about the fact the cottage itself was advertised as a short term holiday let 'for £240 a night'.
And she said a site visit to the cottages had given members of the review body a clear understanding of the impact of the garden room.
She said: "When we visited the sun was in the right spot and showed it was blocking light from neighbouring properties and the decking has been raised quite high so people sitting outside would be looking into neighbours windows."
Fellow review body member Councillor John McMillan said no real reason had been given as to why the applicant thought the garden room was suitable in its location in the row of Category B listed cottages where it sits.
He said: "This is a beautiful set of cottages which create an impressive entrance to the golf course and in my view it (the garden room) is completely out of keeping with it."
The review body unanimously voted to reject the appeal and back planning officers decision.
The original refusal gives the applicant three months to remove the garden room and associated decking or face enforcement action.
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