PLANNING officers will investigate whether housing above The Halve dentists in Trowbridge meets the legal minimum requirement for room sizes.

Permission to build 14 new homes on top of the dentists approved by Wiltshire Council however concerns were raised about the size of bedrooms in the new one and two bedroomed apartments.

Officers will now investigate if the plans comply with national minimum sizes for bedrooms.

The vote over the controversial housing bid was approved with a one councillor majority.

Cllr Stewart Palmen objected to the plans and said: “There was a concern that the size of the bedrooms did not reach the legal minimums so there was a condition to make sure met the legal minimums.”

A statement from RN Real Estates Ltd said: “The proposed flats will provide for a good quality of accommodation and with regard to size meet Government standards. There are no features of existing building which are considered worthy of retention in the interests of the character of the Conservation Area.”

Fiona Watson of the residents association, which wanted the plan to build an extra floor on top of the building to be rejected said: “We were particularly disappointed that Trowbridge town council councillors who had originally expressed negative comments regarding the application did not attend the meeting or sent a substitute. We are also concerned that by approving this development Wiltshire planning have set a precedent for other developers to ignore the fine detail of Core Policies and guidelines and effectively put up what they like irrespective of the quality of the accommodation or the historic importance of the surrounding buildings.”