A controversial underground development in Wandsworth Common has been given the green light in what residents have dubbed an example of “basement mania”.

Wandsworth planning committee unanimously approved the proposal to excavate at 35 Lyford Road, enlarging the existing basement and providing front, rear and side light wells.

Before the meeting, 16 objections poured into the council, with residents complaining of extra traffic, noise, overdevelopment and flooding in an area that already suffers from dampness.

One resident said in a letter: “This basement mania within Lyford Road has yet to stand the test of time on the water table. These basement constructions are new phenomena.”

Speaking on behalf of his constituents, Wandsworth Common ward councillor Maurice Heaster called it a “very large development indeed”.

“There’s nothing like that in this part of the borough and this conservation area. We are creating a precedent,” he added.

“A construction of this magnitude is going to have some effect.”

There have been worries about basement conversions in Wandsworth in the past, particularly in the exclusive Toastrack area, not far from Lyford Road.

Two months ago we reported that developer Justin Harris was hoping to renovate three adjacent properties in the sought-after location, one of which was owned by Location Location Location presenter Phil Spencer, but that residents feared the “underground under garden” conversions could cause their properties to flood.

In response to a spate of wealthy homeowners wanting to build downwards, Kensington and Chelsea Council commissioned a study into basement conversions.

It concluded that a solitary basement would be unlikely to affect groundwater flows, but warned that the cumulative effect of new basements could have a greater impact.

Of the Lyford Road development, Councillor Billi Randall said: “It may seem quite old fashioned, but a basement is what’s underneath your house.”

Members expressed some concern over the scale of the development and the amount of spoil it would generate, but approved the plans subject to a number of conditions.

The applicants, Dr Chris Hatry and Dr Penny Childs, said they sympathized with the concerns, but had made significant changes to the proposal which put them beyond any reasonable grounds for objections.

They added: “We will make every effort to see the work is carried out in a way which minimises the inconvenience caused.”