Thumbs up for new Torquay home branded 'alien box'

'As boxes go, I actually think it has been designed very well'

A new house described by one critic as ‘an alien box’ has been given the go-ahead in a picture-postcard hamlet on the outskirts of Torquay.

Despite the ultra-modern two-storey building also being compared to a shipping container, members of Torbay Council’s planning committee gave it a unanimous thumbs-up.

Cllr Martin Brook (Con, Collaton St Mary) said: “I don’t think it’s an alien box. As boxes go, I actually think it has been designed very well.”

The new home will be built in Brim Hill at Maidencombe, which is one of Torquay’s designated rural villages. Cockington is the other.

The site is in open countryside alongside a nature reserve, and the plan involves knocking down an existing building called Mouse Cottage. Planning officers say the new flat-roofed, four-bedroom house will have large areas of glazing.

In April last year an application for a larger building was turned down, and an appeal by the developer was later dismissed. The latest application takes on board the reasons why the previous one was rejected.

Nigel Goodman, vice-chairman of the Maidencombe Residents Association, told the committee the association objected strongly. He said the proposal is out of character for the area.

And Mike Cowdery of the Torquay Neighbourhood Forum added: “We are disturbed by the apparent trend in Torquay for buildings appearing like shipping containers.

“The existing dwellings all have pitched roofs and do not have the box-like design of this. We are concerned that this could set a precedent.”

But James Wells, speaking on behalf of the applicant, said the new home would replace a "tired and quite poorly functioning property," and would sit comfortably in its setting.

Cllr Brook said the building would not be harmful to the landscape. He said he disagreed with the flat roof design, but did not think that was a reason to refuse it.