“Ludicrous” plans to build another floor on top of a 1930s Art Deco block of flats appear to have been temporarily dropped.

Bankway Properties, which is run by property tycoons the Pears brothers, applied to Camden Council to make the changes to Hylda Court in St Albans Road, Dartmouth Park, last month.

Under the plans, an extra floor would be have been added to the existing five-storey building to create three new penthouses.

A row of garages and a “caretaker’s flat” behind the building would also have been demolished to make way for three townhouses.

One tenant told the Ham & High the proposals were “ludicrous”, and that they felt they would be forced to move out if the work goes ahead due to the disruptive nature of the planned construction.

Some neighbours were also unhappy with the plans, claiming they would damage a “building of note” in the area.

Camden Council has now confirmed that the application, which no longer appears on the council’s planning portal, has been withdrawn.

It is understood that planning officers advised Bankway Properties that they would need to submit "additional information" as part of the application, although the council has not confirmed exactly what the plans were missing. 

A Camden spokesperson added: "The council suggested that they withdraw the application and resubmit it with all the necessary supporting information in due course."

Neighbour Katharine Johnson, who opposes the scheme, described the withdrawal of the plans as a "temporary reprieve".

She added: "We expect the application to come back, but it buys us more time. We are going to be ready for them when they resubmit."

Katharine, who has lived next door to Hylda Court since 2002, has applied to Historic England to have the building listed in the hope of scuppering another planning application.

She said: “I think it would be a real shame if this should be allowed to go ahead.

"There’s a great groundswell of people liking the building.

"If you’re into modernist architecture, you’ll love it. If you’re not, you won’t. It’s a bit like Marmite."

The agent for applicant Bankway Properties declined to comment on the latest development.