Controversial plans to add a penthouse to an Art Deco block of flats dubbed a "prison block" have been refused by the district council.

The original bid to build a three-storey building in Palm Bay Avenue in Cliftonville was approved by the local authority in 2018.

Permission was granted to demolish the existing home to construct the luxury coastal complex comprising nine flats.

But the developer, UTC Properties Ltd, applied to add another storey for a two-bedroom penthouse.

However, the bid was met with fury by neighbours who raised concerns about the building's height, lack of parking, privacy and character, in objections sent to the district council.

Resident Susanne Murphy claimed the extension would be a "significant overdevelopment of the site".

"The development permitted is already of a scale and mass which dominates the neighbouring properties," she wrote.

"This negative effect on the amenity of the neighbouring properties is accentuated by the addition of a further storey.

"There has been a loss of light to the rear gardens of the affected properties and further shadowing will occur should this application be permitted."

David Wetherell, who lives next to the development, also raised concerns about loss of light, an increase in traffic and the building's height.

"It already looks like a prison block from the rear," he stated.

John Smyth, who lives opposite, was worried about his view and lack of privacy.

"What has been built so far is in keeping with the domestic modernism of 1930s / Art Deco nature, context and character of this section of the avenue," he wrote.

"Adding an extension to the development with materials that are not in keeping and unsympathetic with the existing 1930s style detracts from the heritage value of the complete terrace.

"This addition sets an unwelcome stylistic precedent and could lead to further such developments and therefore the loss of the original 1930s heritage and character which Palm Bay is famous for."

Another neighbour, Charles Nicklin, said the development would be too high for the area.

"Building any higher will spoil the height line of houses on the street and block out the sky for buildings directly behind the complex," he said.

Council planning officer, Gill Richardson, said the complex would be "detrimental to the street scene" and refused it under delegated powers.

"The application site is on a prominent corner site and would be highly prominent within the street scene," she said.

"The provision of a full four-storey building, in my view, would not sit comfortably within the existing pattern of development, being higher than any other buildings within this section of Palm Bay Avenue."

She also said the applicant had failed to enter into a legal agreement to secure "necessary planning obligations" to help mitigate the impacts of the development.

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