Appeal 3271530

The appeal is allowed, and planning permission is granted for construction of a timber framed garage with pitched roof at [site address] , Hawstead [postcode] , in accordance with the terms of the application ref: DC/20/1913/HH, dated 3 November 2020, with the following submitted plans therewith: Elevations, [name], Location Plan all dated 13/11/2020 and Site Plan dated 4/11/2020 and subject to the following condition:

The garage hereby permitted shall not be occupied or used at any time other than for purposes ancillary to the residential use of the dwelling known as No. [site address] , Hawstead.

The garage was constructed prior to the application to the Council.

The main issue is the effect of the garage on the character and appearance of the area.

The appeal site is located at the end of a row of detached dwellings located at the southern side of [address]. On the opposite side of the road there is a further row of dwellings. These dwellings are set well back from the road by a wide grassed verge which is generally open except for some small trees and shrubs and car parking spaces. There is also a much narrower grass verge fronting the gardens of dwellings on the south-eastern side of [address], including the appeal site.

The garage replaced a previous pitch roofed garage at the appeal site which was smaller in size and set back within the side garden of No.19. The garage subject to appeal has a footprint of around 10 m x 6 m and a ridge height of around 3.8 m. It has external wall materials of black painted timber boarding and a black corrugated sheet roof with some clear panels.

The Council considers that the garage is highly visible in the public domain. However, although it has been constructed forward of the front elevation of No.19, it has been set back slightly from the front boundary of the dwelling and behind the roadside grass verge. There are trees and shrubs mainly at the rear of the grass verge at this point which provide significant screening of views of the garage from [address] and surrounding properties. The screening effect would be reduced in winter when tree leaves have fallen. However, despite its size, I consider that the garage with its dark boarded materials would not appear particularly prominent in the street scene. The open nature of the grass verge at this point is unaffected by the garage.

No.19 adjoins agricultural land, being the last property in the row. The garage may be seen as No.19 is approached at the entrance to Hawstead along [address] from the west. However, because of its relatively low height and appearance as a rural outbuilding the garage maintains the character of the countryside location, partly screening the more suburban forms of residential development to the rear. Moreover, as the appellant has illustrated in the grounds of appeal, the shape, traditional roof form and facing materials of the garage are reflective of the local vernacular for rural outbuildings.

Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury Local Plan Joint Development Management Policies Document (Local Plan JDMPD) policy DM24 requires extensions to dwellings to reflect the character and design of existing dwellings. However, I consider that the scale, design, and form of the garage is acceptable in the particular circumstances of this case. That is because it is situated at the end of a row of dwellings, has a rural character and appearance, is separate from the dwelling and seen next to agricultural land. I consider that the proposal has no significant harmful effect on the character and appearance of the surrounding area and does not conflict with Local Plan JDMPD policy DM24 in that respect. The development reflects local distinctiveness in accordance with Local Plan JDMPD policy DM2 and [name] policy CS3.

The appellant has indicated that there is a particular family need for the garage. I note that the Parish Council, although objecting to the proposal, suggested a condition restricting the use of the garage to ancillary to the residence only and to preclude stand-alone commercial use. It is possible that any future owner of the garage may not have similar intentions to those of the appellant and therefore I have included a condition to restrict its use to purposes ancillary to the residential use of the dwelling.

I have taken all other matters raised into account, including the provisions of the National Planning Policy Framework regarding good design. For the reasons given above I conclude that the appeal should be allowed.