Agenda item

Report No: DEV/WS/24/015

Planning application - one dwelling (following demolition of existing dwelling)

Planning application - one dwelling (following demolition of existing dwelling)

This application was referred to the Development Control Committee following consideration by the Delegation Panel. 

Members were advised that during the course of the application two consultations had taken place with statutory consultees and neighbouring properties due to amendments being received, including alterations to the site layout and dwelling design.

The Senior Planning Officer explained that Great Barton Parish Council had originally submitted objections to the planning application, however, following the submission of amended plans the Parish Council had responded with ‘no objection’.

Following publication of the agenda papers the Chair of Great Barton Parish Council had made contact with the Officer and explained that the ‘no objection’ response had been made in error and the Parish Council wished to confirm that they still objected to the application.

As part of her presentation to the meeting the Senior Planning Officer outlined the limited fallback available to the applicant in respect of Permitted Development rights.

A Member site visit was held prior to the meeting and the Officer also provided videos of the site to the Committee.

Officers were recommending that the application be refused for the reasons set out in Paragraph 73 of Report No DEV/WS/24/015.

Speakers:    Councillor Maggie Dunn (Chair, Great Barton Parish Council) spoke against the application

                   Stacey Cobbold (architect) and Ben Hutton (applicant) spoke in support of the application

During the debate some Members of the Committee recognised that the design of a scheme such as this was often subjective, and considered the proposal to be a visual improvement on the existing property on the site.

A number of other Members, however, referenced the noncompliance with policy and the fact that the site fell outside the settlement boundary for Great Barton.

Accordingly, Councillor Ian Houlder proposed that the application be refused as per the Officer recommendation. This was duly seconded by Councillor Rachel Hood.

Upon being put to the vote and with 10 voting for the motion, 2 against and with 3 abstentions it was resolved that

Decision

Planning permission be REFUSED for the following reasons:

1.   The development site sits outside the housing settlement boundary of Great Barton, in land designated as countryside for the purpose of planning, as such, DM5 of the Joint Development Management Policies Document is engaged. Policy DM5 deals with development within the countryside and states that the replacement of an existing dwelling on a one for one basis would be acceptable where it can be demonstrated that the proposed replacement dwelling respects the scale and floor area of the existing dwelling, in accordance with other policies.

The existing dwelling is a modest rural bungalow that measures just 3.6 metres in height and has a floor area of 95m2. The proposed dwelling is two storeys, measuring 5.4 metres in height when measured from the existing ground level and has a floor area of 174.25m2. The proposal would therefore result in a dwelling which has an 83% larger floor area and an additional storey, from which it can be concluded does not respect the floor area or scale of the existing dwelling, as required by policy DM5.

2.   Policies DM2 and DM22 of the Joint Development Management Policies Document and paragraphs 135 and 139 of the NPPF attach great importance to good design, expecting new developments to be visually attractive, responding to local character and reinforcing local distinctiveness. Design that does not demonstrate it has regard to local context and fails to enhance the character, appearance and environmental quality of an area will not be acceptable. This is supported by CS3 of the St Edmundsbury Core Strategy, as well as GB5 and GB12 of the Great Barton Neighbourhood Plan which state proposals for new dwellings should have regard to the character of the immediate area within which the site is located and not have a detrimental impact on that character, as well as reflecting the local characteristics and circumstances of the site by creating and contributing to a high quality, safe and sustainable environment.

The design of the proposed dwelling is considered to be inelegant, with an over wide frontage and disorderly fenestration. Whilst the setting down of the proposed dwelling into the ground lessens the impact of its two storey height to some degree and the black cladding would tie in with the barn to the east, with the high eaves line, the wall dormers and the overall bulk of the proposed development, the replacement dwelling is not considered to respect the scale and character of the existing dwelling, nor would it result in good design which reflects and respects the character of the area, conflicting with policy DM2 and DM22 of the Joint Development Management Policies Document, CS3 of the St Edmundsbury Core Strategy, GB5 and GB12 of the Great Barton Neighbourhood Plan, and paragraphs 135 and 139 of the National Planning Policy Framework.