Plans to fill in a gap between houses in one of Greenwich’s most distinctive streets have been refused because they would remove a unique Georgian architectural feature.

One objector said that building a first and second floor extension to the house on Gloucester Circus, just west of Greenwich Park, would “spoil a jewel in the crown of west Greenwich”.

The council’s local planning committee unanimously voted to refuse the plans, going against the recommendations of a planning officer. 

The house is the last surviving single-storey example on  the southern side of the circus, a Grade II-listed terrace of 22 houses designed by the architect Michael Searles in the late 18th century.

Before moving to refuse the application, the chair of planning,  Gary Dillon, compared losing the architectural feature to “eating the last dodo egg” and said: “As we are chipping away at the heritage of Greenwich, we’ve got to save what unique features we can.”

Tim Barnes, a committee member of the Greenwich Society, told the meeting that the “wholly inappropriate” proposal had “absolutely no public benefit at all” and would spoil “a jewel in the crown of west Greenwich”.

Denise Larnder, a neighbour who shares the single-storey entrance of the house, said the extension would result in a wall being built just five feet away from two of her windows.

But the proposal’s architect, Paul Russell, said Barnes should not have “presented his opinion as fact” and accused Larnder of using “every possible means to object” to the proposal, including canvassing neighbours, which she denied. 

Russell argued the proposal would modernise the home, allowing new bathrooms to be built in the extension so that the original Georgian layout and features of the bedrooms could be restored.

Edward Ruthven, the homeowner looking to build the extension, said he and his wife Andrine Alver were “extremely passionate” about their historic home and had “deeply considered” the issue of the last remaining single-storey entrance.

He said: “These works are essential to modernise the property and create a safe, comfortable family environment, especially for us as we are expecting a baby later this year.”

Alex Seeley, a King George Street resident whose late father was the National Trust’s head of conservation for 13 years, said: “The single most important thing about Gloucester Circus is how after more than 200 years, these houses continue to be lived in. 

“Instead of fossiling as museum pieces, they’re being used for the exact purpose they were originally built for and intended for.”

All three councillors on the committee were concerned that the extension would result in the loss of the final remaining single-storey entrance in Gloucester Circus and so moved to refuse the application. Dillon said: “When the last thing is gone, it is gone. There are no other exhibits of this kind.”

Following the refusal, Larnder said of the houses: “I am relieved that the heritage of 25 and 26 is safeguarded.”

Cameron Blackshaw is the Local Democracy Reporter for Greenwich and Bexley. The Greenwich Wire is a partner in the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which is a BBC-funded initiative to ensure councils are covered properly in local media.