Indian-origin brothers anger locals over plans to build 5 mansions in UK

Indian-origin billionaire brothers, Mohsin and Zuber Issa, have angered locals with their plans to build five mansions in the town of their birth in north-west England.

The Issa brothers, whose family moved to the UK from Gujarat, were born in Blackburn and went on to set up petroleum chain Euro Garages among Europe's largest fuel retailers.

Earlier this month, they submitted plans to the local council proposing to knock down eight existing houses to make way for five new mansions on Billing End Road in Blackburn.

However, local residents fear the development would ruin the character of the area if the plans are not amended, according to the Lancashire Telegraph'.

Blackburn faces many challenges and has areas in need of vast improvement, so it is of paramount importance that high-quality areas are not undermined by insensitive development, a spokesperson for the residents' group said in a letter to the planning office.

The letter goes on to brand the new development as super-sized "McMansions", which would jeopardise the character and charm of the area.

It reads: The current design proposal takes eight high-quality, uniquely-designed, desirable, generously-sized family homes with large gardens and creates a linear housing estate of identical super-sized mansions.

The design of the development proposals can be described by the term McMansions with sheer size dominating over design quality.

A design and access statement submitted as part of the planning application on behalf of the Issa brothers, both in their mid-40s, claims the existing dwellings are all early 20th century with no distinguished architectural merit in varying styles.

The family, which has declined to comment on the planning dispute, had acquired a 25-million-pound mansion in the posh Knightsbridge area of London last year.