A couple in Chalfont St Peter planning to demolish their new home and replace it with a new one have been told a heat pump they plan to fit may affect their neighbours.

Mr and Mrs Gillies were given permission by Buckinghamshire Council to knock down their bungalow on Priory Road in May this year. But this week, the council said it did not accept a proposed ‘non-material’ amendment to their original plans.

The applicants said they planned to install an air source heat pump as part of their proposed new two-bedroom home.

But planning officers said the council’s environmental health team would need to assess whether the proposal would have an ‘adverse impact’ on the neighbouring property ‘Tiverton’.

In a decision notice, they wrote: “This neighbour is located in close proximity to the siting of the proposed air source heat pump.”

Officers said a heat pump could not be accepted as a non-material amendment or a variation of a condition. They added: “The proposed amendment to planning permission application cannot be treated as a nonmaterial amendment and therefore a formal planning application is required to be submitted in this instance.”

Mr and Mrs Gillies were told that their other proposed changes including to the patio and pathways, bin storage and smaller windows were acceptable.

The applicants, who changed the name of the existing house from ‘Lavenham’ to ‘Little Oak’, said the new property would be a one-and-a-half storey ‘post and beam’ style oak-frame house.