Appeal 3300375

The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for the conversion of garage to habitable room with installation of white PVC window on front elevation and bi-fold doors on rear elevation at [site address] in accordance with the terms of the application Ref: P/1853/21 dated 4 May 2021 and the plans submitted with it.

The Council and appellant confirm that the appeal relates to work which has already been carried out, I have made my decision on that basis and, therefore, no implementation or other conditions are necessary.

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

[site address] (No.19) is a three-storey terraced dwelling of late twentieth-century construction set within a distinctive and pleasantly arranged development of terrace blocks of houses of similar design. Whilst many of the neighbouring dwellings retain integral garages, a significant number of those conversions which have already occurred employ shallow depth windows similar to that installed at No.19.

The Council suggest the alterations are unsympathetic by reference to design guidance1 for such conversions; my observations are that the layered elevational treatment which articulates the top, middle and ground floor storeys of the dwelling blocks as horizontal entities is quite capable of 1 Harrow Council Design Guidance Note: [address] [name] absorbing the modulation of fenestration introduced by the change which has occurred as it has done elsewhere. Vertical alignment of openings is a key design component as is the alignment of window heads and both are apparent in the works which are the subject of this appeal, but variation in window depth is evident in examples given in the Council’s guidance on garage conversions in the [address] Estate and the [name] (2010) (RDGSPD)

The distinctive appearance of this development derives from its grouped layout, tree’d spaces together with consistency in overall form and materials used. The consistent use of materials and window form are apparent in the works and the vertical alignment in fenestration sufficient to cause no harm to the character and appearance of No.19 or, therefore, to the wider setting which, as I have noted, includes many examples of similar works to those at No.19. Even if the works were shown to have minor misalignments as the Council suggest this does not, in my view, materially affect the external appearance of the dwelling or its group given the consistencies I have identified.

I therefore conclude the works accord with the relevant policies of the development plan, those being Policy DM1 of the Harrow Development Management Policies Local Plan (2013) together with the adopted RDGSPD which, taken together, seek to ensure a high standard of design, and therefore the proposal would accord with the development plan taken as a whole. Consequently, for the reasons given and taking all matters raised into account, the appeal succeeds.