EDINBURGH: J.K. Rowling has won permission to build two Hogwarts-style tree houses in the garden of her home, despite complaints from neighbours.

Rowling plans to build the two-storey structures for her children David, 9, and Kenzie, 7, in the grounds of her 17th-century mansion in a suburb of Edinburgh, at an estimated cost of £250,000 ($383,000).

Playhouses ... neighbours say the houses are uncharacteristic of the area.

The author of the Harry Potter series was given permission by the City of Edinburgh council despite objections from neighbours, who are already upset by other building works around her home.

Drawings submitted to the council's planners show the tree houses erected on tall stilts beside mature conifers. They will have tall cedar shingle roofs that are conical and will be connected by partly elevated walkways and a rope bridge.