A tight squeeze! Developers are building tiny flats the size of a disabled PARKING SPACE - as they cram a kitchen, bathroom and bed into just 180 square feet

• Developers have brushed off criticism over their 182-square foot apartments 
• Appliances are squeezed into every corner of the Cambridge micro-homes
• Campaigners are up in arms over the development, branding the flats 'appalling' 

Shoe-box flats the size of disabled parking bays have been green-lighted for construction, flying in the face of a fierce backlash.

Developers have managed to squeeze an extraordinary amount of equipment into 182 square feet and boast that the micro-homes are fitted with all the essentials needed for day-to-day living. 

A kitchen, bathroom and bedroom are all crammed inside the four walls of the flats, which are to be built inside an old office block on Huntingdon Road, Cambridge.

Almost every inch has been decked out with appliances and furniture appears to slot into tight spaces.

Floor plans show a compact kitchen area on the immediate right to the door. A microwave, dishwasher, fridge and cupboards are behind two double doors.

A desk, bed, table and chair snake around the perimeter of the room and a tiny bathroom is on the other side of the door. 

Marchingdale Developments said: 'The units are of a perfectly reasonable size, allowing for all of the necessary functions to support daily life, and our clients are very clear that there is both a need and demand in Cambridge for the form of accommodation proposed.'

They have brushed off criticism of their 182-square foot apartments from campaigners who have branded the flats 'appalling' and are petitioning for the plans to be ripped up.   

Government rules say the minimum internal space in residential homes should be 400-square feet, however the developers have managed to wriggle through a loophole.

By converting existing space and getting prior approval, they have been able to avoid scrutiny from the local council, where there have been grumblings over the flat's size.  

Cambridge City Council's executive councillor for planning policy, Katie Thornburrow, said 'it's appalling this is going ahead'.  

The smallest of the 149 flats, which were approved on May 20 to be built in the old National Institute Of Agricultural Botany building, are some of the tiniest in Britain.

In Newbury Park, east London, an office block has been converted to flats which are just 140 square feet in size, which critics said forced residents to pack in like 'sardines'.

Marchingdale Developments, which are building the flats next yards away from Cambridge University, said it was disappointed with the criticism and added the plans were fully compliant with legislation.

A spokesman said: 'The prior approval process was introduced by central government in 2013 to increase the delivery of housing and to promote the reuse of vacant office buildings.

'The applicants have complied fully with the legislation and accordingly the principle of development cannot be in question, subject to it being demonstrated that there would be no adverse impacts in respect of transport and highways, contamination, flooding and noise.

'It is important to emphasise that Local Plan policies are not capable of being a consideration during the determination of this type of application as it is for prior approval for development automatically granted by a government development order.' 

Reuben Young, director of housing charity Priced Out, said: 'Permitted development rights have resulted in a lot of bad quality, inadequate housing all over the country.

'If we moved to a rules-based planning system which removed the concept of political approval for specific developments from the planning process, we could keep the best of both worlds.

'Much more needed homes built, and no developers using loopholes to build substandard housing.'