Mr B. Wardle put in a retrospective application to planning chiefs to change a property on Layton Avenue into six bedsits — after most of the work had already been carried out and some bedsits were let.

But members of Mansfield District Council's Planning Committee raised concerns about the application and turned it down against the recommendations of planning officers — meaning enforcement action will now be taken against the developer.

At the meeting last week, councillors said there could be problems with anti-social behaviour at the property because a wall at the back would be knocked down and there would also not be enough open spaces for those living there.

Committee chairman Coun Christine Smith told the meeting: "We are trying to give people decent homes and there's no open space here. I think they deserve some amenity space — not just a dustbin and a car.

"I think it is over-intensive and there are no facilities for people to actually live. I am concerned that the police haven't been consulted and the fact it is retrospective shouldn't count."

But Coun Sally Higgins said: "A lot of work has been done by the police in that area and crime is going down. There are a lot of bedsit properties on Layton Avenue and the majority are well used and well run."

Councillors were divided about whether to accept the plans, with equal votes cast for and against, leaving Coun Smith to decide against the scheme.

The move means planning chiefs must take enforcement action against the developer to return the property to how it was before work was carried out.

But Mr Wardle told Chad he was 'very disappointed' by the decision and would speak to his lawyer and possibly even go to the European courts with the issue.

This week Martyn Saxton, the council's building and development control manager, told Chad: "The enforcement notice (EN) will be served at the earliest opportunity, following the due legal process, and the notice will give six months in which to revert the property back to its former use as a 'dwelling house'.

"However, it should be noted that the use of the property as a 'dwelling house' can still involve the occupation by six unrelated residents, providing that they live communally.

"Furthermore, an appeal could be made against the refusal of permission, the EN or both."