A “monstrous” garage may face having to be torn down after planners refused a retrospective planning application for it to stay in place.

Anglesey Council’s planning committee refused permission for the plans in Llanddaniel on the recommendation of officers, citing its size and design as areas of concern.

According to the report presented to councillors, a recent site visit found that the steel frame of the garage had already been erected without planning permission, measuring 13.8m long x 9.2m wide and 5.7m in height and covering a greater area than the house next door.

Members were told during Wednesday’s virtual meeting that further work had taken place since the site visit, including the walls and roof, and would be used to store vehicles and a campervan.

It was described by officers as “resembling an industrial unit more than a conventional garage”, with a letter of objection having also been submitted.

But local member Cllr Eric Wyn Jones urged councillors to back the applicant, noting his view that the plans conformed with the Local Development Plan.

He added: “The garage would be for private use and wouldn’t have any impact on anyone and can’t be seen from the road.

“I don’t see it as being out of place at all and can be justified by policy and I wouldn’t have called this in to committee nor supported it otherwise.”

But fellow local member Cllr Dafydd Roberts described the plans as a “monstrosity”, with the size of the garage not justifying its intended use.

Cllr John Griffith added: “I understand that the applicant has another venue to store vehicles, which doesn’t make this development essential in my view.

“This is no ordinary garage as you may see across the country. Something over 18 feet in height is something akin to what you’ll see on industrial units.

“It’s much, much bigger than the residence next door and we must protect our landscapes or else we’ll have people years down the line wondering who on earth gave planning permission for such developments.”

But Cllr Ken Hughes said it was “all a matter of opinion,” stressing that there were policies to both justify and oppose such a development.

Despite this, the plans were voted against by councillors, meaning that enforcement action is likely unless a successful appeal is lodged against the decision.

Pointing to several other garages that have been approved on Anglesey over recent years, the supporting statement accompanying the application noted: “While the shed may be larger than some, that in itself does not make such a proposal unacceptable.”

Adding that the proposal needed to be looked at “in its context” as well as if it had any impact at all on the locality, it concluded:  “If this is not seen to exist then the planning system leaves itself open to criticism.

“If there are other cases similar in nature that have been approved then there is a duty to compare and assess.”