PLANNING permission has been given for a new thatched roof despite a neighbour’s plea for it not to go ahead.

Arun District Council has given planning permission for a new first floor extension complete with a thatched roof at 102 Middleton Road, Middleton-on-Sea.

The property suffered a major fire in 2011 and the neighbour at number 104 says he ‘still has nightmares’.

The application was called in to be decided by ADC’s Planning Committee on Wednesday (July 20).

It is a resubmission of an earlier plan for a thatched roof at the same address, which was withdrawn due to concerns over fire safety.

READ MORE: Firefighters called to flames at home's thatched roof in Felpham

Council officers said the thatch would be ‘distinctive and characterful’, adding that it would match the village design guide.

But the neighbour, Bob Hawkes, objected to the plans.

“The memory of the thatch fire at 102 Middleton Road on the 28th of August 2011, which destroyed the house, still haunts [my wife and I],” he said.

“I still have nightmares about stepping from a stepladder on my property onto the existing flat roof extension to fight the fire with my garden hose before the fire service attended.”

Mr Hawkes fears that a new thatch roof could pose a risk to his life and his wife’s life.

“The first application, which was withdrawn, features a fully thatched roof, the eaves of which would have been within one metre of our half timbered house,” he said.

“The current application has merely inserted tiling along the bottom edge of the thatch, which does not in our opinion remove the danger of fire spreading to our property.”

Council officers said a one and a half metre strip of tiles along the eastern section of the roof and the use of the ‘Dorset model’ would be adequate to prevent fire spread.

Independent councillor Shirley Haywood, who is also chairman of Middleton on Sea Parish Council,  said the parish council received reassurance from a fire expert that the Dorset Model is effective and this is why the council hadn’t objected.

Committee vice-chair David Edwards (Con, Felpham) works as a fire safety consultant and said that, although the Dorset Model is effective, it might not provide protection for Mr Hawkes’ property.

The planning application was approved conditionally.

More details can be found at the council’s planning portal using the reference: M/29/22/HH.

Just last year, crews from Bognor, Littlehampton, Chichester, Worthing and others were called to two serious fires in thatched roofs.

The first was in Felpham in May and the second was in Middleton-on-Sea in August.

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service have since issued safety advice to home owners with thatched roofs.