The council is to look at ways of stopping developers from turning large numbers of the borough’s family homes into flats.

Councillors last night discussed proposals for a cap on the number of home-to-flat conversions that can be made on any particular road amid fears they risk destroying the character of neighbourhoods.

Cllr John Marshall, Conservative member for Garden Suburb, put forward the motion against overdevelopment at a meeting of the full council on Tuesday (July 31).

He said: “Those of us who sit on area planning committees are regularly asked to consider the conversion of family homes into two or three flats.

“You can’t object to this because there are already flats in the road and you can’t say it is out of character, because it is in character.”

Cllr Marshall gave the example of a road in his ward with 39 properties but only seven family homes.

He said a resident who moved to Garden Suburb in the 1960s told him the neighbours were friendly, the children played together attended the same school.

But now most of the homes have been converted into six or more flats, and the resident claimed the area was home to a transient population that only interacted to argue about noise levels and rubbish in the street.

Cllr Marshall said: “Other local authorities impose limits. We ought to do so as well – otherwise other roads will become a developer’s dream and a family homemaker’s nightmare.”

Cllr Paul Edwards, Labour member for Underhill, put forward an amendment to instruct the council to look into increasing the supply of genuinely affordable family homes in the borough.

He pointed out that housebuilding had not kept pace with population growth, and there had been a sharp deterioration in affordability for private renters.

Cllr Edwards said home ownership was becoming “a pipe dream for young families”.

Labour member for West Finchley Kath McGuirk added: “Where this council fails is their policy on building affordable housing for the people who work and live in this borough.

“How many people will clean our streets? They can’t afford to buy. They can’t even afford to rent in the private sector. They have to travel from outside the borough.

“We are going to face a massive recruitment problem.”

Cllr Marshall said he would not take lectures on building affordable homes from Labour members.

He said there would be more affordable homes build in Barnet this year than there was over the course of eight years while Labour was running the country.

The amendment was voted down, with the 25 Labour members voting in favour and 36 Conservatives voting against.

Cllr Marshall’s original motion was passed unanimously.