Planners have thrown out a proposal to build a one-bedroomed sustainable house in a Tower Street back garden, saying it would be "harmful to the character and appearance of the area".

The proposal for the barn-style property, dubbed "Tiny House" would have seen it replacing outbuildings in the back garden of 3 Tower Street, with access from Tower Cut. The plans included an internal courtyard and a parking space for one car.

Rejecting the application by Cheryl Sutton, Tendring Council planners said that the two-storey house would be "wholly out of character with the area by virtue of its excessive height and small footprint, setting a harmful precedent for other cramped inappropriate plot subdivisions to the rear of other properties within the street and surrounding area". Brightlingsea Town Council objected to the plan, saying it was backland development on an unmade road, and called the design, which included black weatherboarding, "inappropriate".

The provision of only 6 sqm of private amenity space was said to be "significantly below" the 50 sqm required by the Essex Design Guide, while the lack of bike parking provision or space for waste and recycling facilities meant, said planners, that the "develpment evidently fails to meet the functional needs of any residents to the significant detriment of their residential amenity".

"The proposed development by virtue of its height, cramped layout, design, materials and lack of private amenity space would be harmful to the character and appearance of the area," added planners.