Appeal 3310336

The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for boundary fence and integrated bin store with green roof at [site address] , [site address] , Hertfordshire [postcode] in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref 22/1297/HSE, dated 24 July 2022, and the plans submitted with it.

The application form describes the development as retrospective and refers to the retention of it. However, as these do not describe acts of development, I have removed them from the description set out above. I was able to view the completed development when I visited and have taken this into account in coming to my decision.

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

[site address] is a two-storey semi-detached dwelling within a residential area with hardstanding to the front for vehicular parking. [address] is a wide road with a grass verge and pavement. The road is subject to on-street parking which is a dominant feature of the streetscene. The property does not have a side access, so bin storage must be at the front of the property.

Dwellings in the locality are generally set back from the highway and include a variety of boundary treatments including low fences, walls and landscaping. At my visit I observed multiple refuse bins positioned to the front of dwellings in the locality, resulting in visual clutter. I also noted a bin store to the frontage of a dwelling nearby. My attention has been drawn to a number of properties in the locality with medium-high level frontage walls and hedges in excess of 1m in height, which I noted on my visit. As there is a variety of boundary treatments in the locality, I do not find the streetscene as open and verdant as the Council claims.

The proposed bin store and fence are positioned at the back edge of the pavement and are constructed of horizontal wood with gaps between the runs. The bin store is a wooden structure enclosed on 3 sides with a green, mono-pitched roof. The boundary fence is lower in height than the bin store. The design and the materials break up the visual impact of the store and fence and sufficiently relates to other timber boundary treatments in the locality. The fence height is not dissimilar to other boundary treatments in the locality and is of an appropriate design and height.

The bin store does not extend the full width of the dwelling’s front boundary and does not dominate the site frontage. When viewed from the pavement on [address], in either the northerly or southerly direction, the bin store blends in with the brick pillars of frontage walls and other boundary treatments along the road and does not appear as an incongruous, prominent feature in the streetscene.

When viewed from the pavement at the front of the property the bin store is visible. However, it is set behind a grass verge and the presence of on-street parking on the road obscures views of the bin store from wider publicly available views in the streetscene.

I conclude that the bin store and fence are not out of character with the streetscene and do not harm the appearance of the surrounding area. Accordingly, I find no conflict with the National Planning Policy Framework (the Framework) or Policy CS22 of the Hertsmere Local Plan Development Plan Document: [name] (adopted 2013). Neither is there conflict with the Hertsmere Local Development Framework Supplementary Planning Document – Planning and [name]: Guidelines for [name] and Alterations (adopted 2006) or the Hertsmere Local Development Framework Supplementary Planning Document – Planning and [name]: Guidelines for High Quality Sustainable Development (draft 2016). These policies and documents include guidance for the design and location of waste storage and seek good design sympathetic to the local area.

There is sufficient intervening space between the bin store and the windows to the front elevation of the neighbouring property at [address] to avoid any significant harm through loss of outlook.

The roof of the bin store includes gravel and succulent planting, which the appellant states contributes positively to biodiversity. Given the scale of the development I give the ecological benefit limited weight in the determination of the appeal.

The road is straight with good visibility. Given the limited width of the bin store and its degree of separation from the access at no. 110 means that the bin store does not have a significant effect on the visibility of the driveway of this property. It is noted that the local planning authority has not included this as a reason for refusal and there is no objection from the Highway Authority. Accordingly, I am satisfied that neither the fence nor bin store has a harmful effect on visibility in terms of use of existing accesses.

As the development has been completed, it is not necessary to impose the standard time limit for commencement, neither is it necessary to require that it be carried out in accordance with any plans.

For the reasons given above, having had regard to the development plan and Framework as a whole, and taking account of all other matters, the appeal is allowed.