Appeal 3282529

The appeal is dismissed.

The car canopy has already been erected.

The main issues are: • the effect of the canopy on the character and appearance of the area, including the Pampisford Conservation Area (CA) and the setting of adjacent listed buildings; and • the effect of the canopy on highway safety.

The car canopy, an open sided grey steel structure supported by two uprights and with polycarbonate roof, about 4.9 x 2.9 m in size and about 2.73 m high, covers two previously existing parking spaces in one corner of the grounds surrounding [site address] , a [name] listed building. The spaces and structure are separated from the grounds, and the attractive late 16th/early 17th century half-timbered and thatched building within, by a thick hedge about 1.5 m tall and several large trees within the grounds.

Whilst this screening reduces the visual impact on No 7, the structure lies immediately adjacent to the [address] at the heart of [name], a sensitive, high quality historic environment comprising numerous listed buildings, most timber framed and plastered with thatched roofs. These www.planningportal.gov.uk/planninginspectorate include No 5 adjacent and Nos 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 opposite, a fine row of historic buildings with exceptional group value which line the road. The canopy lies in the immediate setting of these buildings.

The canopy is an unattractive, utilitarian, bus shelter type structure made of modern materials that may be suitable for some undistinguished urban settings. However, in the historic village setting of [address] amongst numerous listed buildings it looks completely out of place, an alien, unsympathetic, modern intrusion in the otherwise attractive street scene. The poor-quality design is incompatible with its sensitive location.

For these reasons the canopy adversely affects the character and appearance of the area, including the [name] and the setting of adjacent listed buildings, contrary to [name]/1 and NH/14 of the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018 (SCLP). These require high quality design that makes a positive contribution to its local context and proposals that sustain and enhance the district’s historic environment and the significance of heritage assets and their settings. Permission for the canopy would also conflict with the legislative duty1 to have special regard to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of a CA and the setting of listed buildings.

The canopy has been erected over an existing parking area which is used to park two cars off the road. Whilst the parking area does not meet modern standards, being too small to accommodate many types of car and requiring reversing into the highway with minimal pedestrian visibility, this has been the case for many years without incident. However, the canopy formalises this substandard arrangement and the two upright supports act to reduce the area for parking slightly, increasing the likelihood of cars overhanging the footway in future which would be a danger to passing pedestrians.

The canopy therefore adversely affects highway safety and conflicts with [name] HQ1 and TI/3 which seek to ensure car parking does not cause safety issues and takes into consideration the site location and highway safety issues.

The canopy was erected without realising that planning permission was needed in order to tackle a persistent problem of bird droppings. Whilst this problem is appreciated, it does not justify the erection of an unattractive metal bus shelter type structure in the sensitive location concerned.

Having regard to the above the appeal should be dismissed.