A man who paved over his entire front garden to turn it into a seven-space car park without planning permission is now applying to keep it as greenery-free as possible.

Mr Patel originally converted his garage in Butterfield Road, Bassett, into a separate home and therefore required more space in the front garden for cars.

But he also dug up the lawn, cut down a tree and paved over the garden – something neighbours say is ‘unsightly’ and ‘out of keeping’.

Due to the planning breach, Mr Patel now has to follow Southampton City Council planning officers’ instructions to reinstate the natural elements of the garden, including putting in a plant strip in the middle of the paved driveway and planting a new tree.

However, he is keen to keep the greenery to a minimum and has used the opportunity to mitigate the parking space loss by applying for amendments.

These amendments include planting a smaller tree instead of the one suggested by the city council and putting down a strip of different coloured tarmac in the middle of the drive instead of a strip of plants.

The amendments have garnered five objections from residents.

One spoke about the initial lack of planning permission.

They said: “Instructions were given by the owner to the landscapers to disregard the plans and to lay block paving to provide parking for seven cars.

“In contravention of the planning conditions, the current situation is that the whole of the front ‘garden’ has been continuously block paved, with no greenery, shrubs, trees or lawn at all, nothing has been planted.

“It currently has become an unsightly car park, completely out of keeping with the local landscape character.”

Another objector said: “The paving over the (front garden) now provides parking space for six (or seven) cars.

“This sterile expanse of paving has changed a once-green space into an unsightly car park.

“This reduction in greenery is out of character with the rest of the road where well-maintained lawns, hedges and trees are an important feature of the area.”

The council’s planning panel will meet today to make a decision on the amended plans. It is recommended for approval.