Agenda item

Demolition of the existing dwelling house 'Brackendale', and for the erection of 2 x detached dwellings, associated parking, access and hard and soft landscaping.

Public Participation

Chris Harmon spoke in objection to the application

Jennifer Hexter spoke in objection to the application

Dan Rycroft (Agent) spoke in support to the application

Cllr Elaine Hartford spoke on behalf of Alderbury Parish Council

The Planning Team Leader Adam Madge presented the application which was for the demolition of the existing dwelling house 'Brackendale', and for the erection of 2 detached dwellings, associated parking, access and hard and soft landscaping. The application was recommended for Approval with conditions as set out in the Officer’s report.

It was noted that Junction Road was unadopted. A large tree at the front of the site was to be retained. The proposals included traditional pitched roofs.

The existing bungalow known as Brackendale was sited in a relatively large parcel of land in a residential area within the village of Alderbury. The existing dwelling was accessed via Junction Road, an un-made track. The public footpath ALDE20 ran along this un-made track.

Photographs taken from various viewpoints around the site were explained, including the proximity of neighbouring dwellings.

The site was within the settlement boundary for Alderbury which was listed as a large village in the Wiltshire Core Strategy and was also in a SLA.

Issues for consideration included the principle of development including design and scale; the impact on neighbouring amenity and context and character of the surrounding area, Parking/Highways Impact, Ecological Impact/River Avon Catchment Area and other matters.

There had been 10 letters of objection from members of the public and 2 in objection from Alderbury PC.

Members then had the opportunity to ask technical questions of the officer, where it was clarified that the neighbouring houses along Junction Road consisted mainly of two storey properties and in terms of ratio, the proposal plot was not dissimilar to those around it, despite being a different shape.

Members of the public as detailed above, then had the opportunity to speak on the application.

Some of the main points in objection included the belief that the proposals amounted to overdevelopment and that the plot was more suited for one dwelling than two.

The proposed landscaping was felt not to reflect the local setting and the proposal to have two identical properties next to each other was not in keeping with the street scene as each of the neighbouring properties were individual to each other.

A request for a condition to retain the boundary hedge height to protect neighbouring privacy.

Reference to Ecological damage from the removal of habitats and food for wildlife was also made.

The Alderbury parish council representative spoke in objection to the application. In addition to the comments included in the report, it was noted that Junction Road was private and was widely used by children going to and from the primary school and playschool.

The PC objected to the site and proposal in their current form and suggested that a more sympathetic design of just one dwelling with an improved drainage scheme would reflect the aspirations of CP 57 and policy 6 of the Salisbury District Local Plan. There was also no mention of burning of waste materials on site or a limit to permitted development hours on the site

The Local member Cllr Richard Britton, Chairman of the Committee then spoke to the application, noting that in addition to the points raised by the previous speakers, Junction Road was an unmade private road with only 16 houses, each on quite large individual plots which gave the feeling of a country lane in open countryside.

A key argument against the application was whether the alien proposal of a pair of houses fitted with the nature of Junction Road as there was no other situation in the road with this uniformity of design, which he felt would cause a jarring feature in the street scene.

He stated that the proposal would fill the plot, and recognised the attempts which had been made to meet the objections, however despite agreeing that  the site may be capable of a 2 house development, felt that it would need to be of a smaller size than was proposed.

Attention was drawn to the design guidance in the Wiltshire Council’s policy document, Creating Places which mentioned the importance of space between dwellings, the relationship of a dwelling to the street, and how it relates to its context, in this case, a country lane.

Reference was made to sections of CP57 in terms of high standard of design and a strong sense of place, NPPF para 9, taking into account local circumstances and para 130, the requirement to add quality to the local area and be sympathetic and to C6 of the Salisbury District Local Plan.

Cllr Britton then moved the motion of Refusal against Officer recommendation for the reasons as noted above. This was seconded by Cllr Rich Rogers.

The Committee was invited to discuss the application, the main points include

overdevelopment of the plot, whether the plot was suitable for 2 smaller dwellings or just one. Mixed views on whether it was inappropriate to have two identical dwellings in Junction Road and comments around the current screening around the site which would offer privacy if it remained.

The Committee then voted on the motion of Refusal against Officer recommendation for the reasons stated above.

It was,

Resolved:

That Application PL/2021/08056 be Refused for the following reasons:

The proposed dwellings by reason of their design scale and appearance would, it is considered, be a cramped form of development, out of keeping with the spacious nature of plots in junction Road and the surrounding area and as a pair at odds with the individual designs of other dwellings in the road. As such the proposed development is considered to be contrary to the aims of National planning policy framework (in particular paragraphs 9 and 130) as well as core policy 57 of the Wiltshire Core strategy and the aims of the Councils adopted design guide ‘Creating Places’