Appeal 3280073

The appeal is dismissed.

Since the refusal of the planning application, a revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework (the Framework) was published on 20 July 2021. I have taken the revised Framework into account where relevant to my decision.

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

The appeal site lies on the south side of [address] within an established residential area within the settlement of Knowle. The property comprises a large, detached, two-storey house of traditional design, with part brick and part rendered walls under a tiled hipped roof. There is a detached pitched roof brick and tiled garage to the side.

The suburban housing development contains a mix of dwelling designs, building lines, footprints and orientations relative to the highway. However, notwithstanding this variety, there is an overall consistency of building materials throughout the residential area, which, the Council states, reflects those of historic hospital buildings within the locality.

Dwellings are predominantly constructed in red brick, with some elements of white or cream render, under tiled pitched or hipped roofs. This palette of materials and traditional building design is clearly evident throughout the residential development, including the stretch of [address] within which the appeal site is located. As a result, there is a strong element of visual cohesion and uniformity throughout the townscape which makes a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the area.

The proposal would not result in the reduction of any visible brickwork on the property. However, by replacing the existing render on the front and sides of the building at first floor level with green coloured fibre cement cladding, the proposal would introduce a contemporary finish to the building, which would result in the property as a whole having a more modern appearance. This would be at odds with the traditional dwelling design and materials which characterise the area.

The property is sited in a visually prominent location, on an approach road into the housing development and directly opposite Knowle Village Green. This position, together with the open plan nature of the site frontage and the first-floor height of the proposed cladding, means that the proposal would be visually prominent within views from the public realm. It would be viewed as incongruous and unduly discordant within the streetscene, to the detriment of the visual amenities of the townscape.

During my site visit, I saw no evidence of any other properties within the site vicinity which had a similar finish to that of the appeal scheme. The appellant states that the colour is similar to that of cladding which has been installed on another property. However, I do not have the details of that site, and, on the basis of the information before me, the circumstances of that site appear to differ from those of the appeal proposal in that the cited example relates to a rear extension. In any event, I must determine this appeal on the basis of the particular circumstances of the appeal site and on the merits of the scheme before me.

The appellant states that, depending upon the colour, painting the property could potentially result in the building appearing more visually prominent than the proposed cladding. However, that is not the proposal before me. Moreover, painting alone would not introduce a contemporary cladded finish as is currently proposed.

For the above reasons, I conclude that the proposal would cause significant harm to the character and appearance of the area. It would therefore be contrary to Policies DM15 and DM16 of the Winchester District Local Plan Part 2 Development Management and Site Allocations (2017), which amongst other aims, require new development to respect the qualities, features and characteristics that contribute to the distinctiveness of the local area and to use high quality materials that are appropriate to the context.

For similar reasons, the proposal would also be contrary to Policies of the Framework which seek to ensure high quality design as set out in Chapter 12.

The appellant has drawn my attention to the lack of objection to the proposal from neighbours. However, this does not affect my decision in respect of this appeal, which I must determine on the merits of the proposed development before me.

For the reasons given above, I conclude that the appeal should be dismissed.