ANGRY residents say they “object massively” to plans for new six-storey glass-fronted flats.

The plans would back on to Woodvale Crematorium in Brighton, replacing a garage, and people living in the area are worried the building will overshadow their homes.

One resident said: “I object massively to this development. To put four to six storeys directly in front of my home would severely affect my natural light and would have a huge impact on my privacy as the many massive windows on the new building would be gazing directly into my entire living space – living room, kitchen, bedroom – everything.

“When I bought this flat seven years ago the representative told me that the garage lease was up in about six years and reassured me that the site had been earmarked for two-storey town houses to reflect the homes on the rest of Melbourne Street.

“I would never have invested in my lovely home had I known that I would be living in a fish bowl seven years down the line.”

But a statement from building surveyors Schroeders Begg said “the main proposed new-build habitable rooms” met requirements for “adequate daylight” and “reasonable provision of sunlight availability”.

The plans involve the demolition of the existing garage on the site in Melbourne Street, Brighton, to erect a four, five and six-storey building, plus a basement.

This will include 49 “single co-living residential units”, 15 residential build-to-rent flats and “co-working floor space” as well as a cafe, gym, landscaped residents’ outdoor space and cycle storage. But it will not allow students to live there.

A spokesman for developers Brundell Property Ltd and Funki Co-Living Ltd said: “The proposals are an exciting opportunity to create Brighton and Hove’s first co-living, co-working and C3 use class residential development.

“It makes effective use of a brownfield site, replacing a set of dilapidated buildings and bad neighbour uses with a building of architectural merit, along with an improved environment, townscape and amenity for existing residents.”

The C3 housing class includes situations in which “up to six people live together as a single household” but these are not classified as shared housing.

The developer’s spokesman said: “The city’s population is young and entrepreneurial, with more people in their twenties and thirties than the national average.

“Many have different ideas about community and ownership in a city where they are priced out of home ownership and expect to rent their homes for far longer than older generations.

“Unlike houses of multiple occupancy and other traditional housing, co-living explicitly seeks to promote social contact and build community.

“High-quality, flexible business accommodation is in short supply in the city and will be particularly attractive to entrepreneurs and young businesses.”

Developers also claim the site will “raise the standard of architecture and design in the city” and “deliver a carbon neutral building”.