The Planning Inspectorate has dismissed an appeal by a developer seeking permission to add another floor to a block of apartments under construction in Keyworth.
Victory House, on the corner of Bunny Lane, is being built as a 26-flat development after planning permission was granted in 2023 for a reduced version of earlier proposals for 37 homes on the site.
The scheme has attracted local opposition throughout its planning history, with residents raising concerns about the scale of the building, parking, traffic and its impact on the village.
In July 2025, Bellco Luxury Homes applied to Rushcliffe Borough Council to add a third storey to the building. The additional floor would have provided eight more flats, increasing the total number of apartments from 26 to 34.
The developer said the new proposal differed from the earlier refused scheme because the additional floor would be set back from the edge of the building and would have a different appearance and scale.
The application led to further objections from residents, Keyworth Parish Council and local Rushcliffe Borough councillor Tony Wells.
Cllr Wells said he opposed the additional floor because of concerns over parking.
He said: “I didn’t like the idea of an extra floor and I voted against it because there wasn’t enough car parking space for the people on the extra floor. You’ve got to be realistic about these things.
“The developers said that those people could car share. I don’t know if you’ve ever done car sharing but you’ve still got to go to the same place. How many in a block of flats all go to the same place?”
Keyworth Parish Council also objected and started a petition against the proposal, which gathered 777 signatures.
The parish council said the development would amount to overdevelopment of the site and would be out of keeping with the scale and character of the village.
It said: “The additional height and number of dwellings would harm the appearance of the area and negatively impact the amenity of nearby residents.
“The proposal is out of scale with surrounding buildings and risks changing the village from a low-rise rural community into a more urban environment.
“It would add pressure to already limited parking, roads, and local services, and could set a precedent for further overdevelopment.”
Residents who objected to the application raised similar concerns.
David Pitfield said: “The scale of development is too big for the site and will have unfortunate impacts on neighbours. The amount of traffic generated at a busy junction is too large.”
Christine Clifton said: “The development is already overbearing, in height and design, for its location.”
Another objector said the building was already too large for the village and raised concerns about the impact on pedestrians, including wheelchair users and people with pushchairs.
Bellco Luxury Homes appealed to the Planning Inspectorate in December, arguing that Rushcliffe Borough Council had taken too long to determine the application.
In a decision dated April 1, the planning inspector dismissed the appeal.
The inspector said the extra storey would increase the height and massing of the building by a significant amount, despite being set back from the edge of the existing structure.
The decision said: “Irrespective of any effect on the heritage assets, the additional storey on this prominent corner building would result in a building considerably higher than most surrounding buildings, leading it to be an obtrusive addition which would fail to integrate satisfactorily with the predominant domestic scale of architecture.”
The inspector also found that the additional height would affect the appearance of the area and compete visually with the local church.
While the inspector did not object to the proposed parking arrangements, he found that the extra floor would harm the living conditions of neighbouring residents, including those in nearby bungalows who would have views of the additional storey.
The appeal was dismissed, meaning the developer cannot proceed with the additional floor under the appealed plans.
