Jo and Stewart Crawley say they have never objected to David Murdoch’s dream to build a shed on his Raworth property.
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But they do object to a shed with a 5.8 metre peak being built five metres from their back fence.
Mr Murdoch’s shed plans, which were rejected by Maitland councillors last month, show part of the 25-metre structure would have been built directly behind the Crawley’s home.
Mrs Crawley said she knew they did not own the view over their neighbour’s property and their concerns revolved around the shed’s direct impact on their block.
She said the shed would cast a shadow on their house and be very close to the main bedroom.
She also said it would also cast a shadow over their yard and the pool.
“We are the closest to it on this strip,” Mrs Crawley said.
“His dream shouldn’t be our nightmare.”
The couple want the shed to be built behind the existing shed at the back of 290 Morpeth Road or on the opposite side of the site in line with an existing farm shed.
If that happened the shed wouldn’t directly impact their lives and they would withdraw their objection, they said.
The Crawleys also believed the council would approve the shed if Mr Murdoch relocated it to one of those positions.
“If he had of moved it behind the existing shed there wouldn’t have been a problem,” Mr Crawley said.
“He’d [already] be in there tinkering and doing what he wanted,” Mrs Crawley added. “We never said he couldn’t have, it was just please relocate it.”
Council development manager David Simm confirmed Mr Murdoch’s shed plans WEre within the state government’s complying development guidelines and if he had a house on the block he could build the shed directly behind 290 and 292 Morpeth Road.
The residents at 290 Morpeth Road are happy for part of the shed to be built behind their property. The Brush Farm Road residents, who would see the shed from the front of their house, are also happy with the plans.
The residents at 290 Morpeth Road and the affected residents on Brush Farm Road wrote letters to the council stating their views during the consultation period.
The Crawley’s also wrote to the council and stated that they did not support the proposal.
The Crawley’s provided a range of points in their submission which showed why they thought the shed should not be built directly behind their back fence.
They also provided supporting photographs with their submission.
The shed plans gained the approval of council staff, who recommended the application be passed at the April 26 council meeting.
But the majority of Maitland councillors went against that recommendation and agreed with Councillor Bob Geoghegan who said the position, height and bulk of the shed would have a significant impact on the visual amenity from the Crawley’s block.
He also said the shed was likely to generate significant noise impacts on their home.
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