Appeal 3324663

The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for the installation of electrical gates to the front boundary at [site address] in accordance with the terms of the application Ref: 223316 dated 19 November 2022, and the plans submitted with it.

The appeal relates to an application for planning permission for development that has been implemented, therefore the application is retrospective, and I have determined the scheme accordingly.

The main issue is the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the local area, with reference to streetscene.

The appeal dwelling is a two storey mid-terrace house with a fully paved front garden used for off street parking. This arrangement is by far the most common use of the front garden of other similar terraced houses on this part of the street.

The houses in this part of the street generally follow the form of the appeal dwelling. However, a significant degree of alteration and extension results in a widely varied streetscene in terms of their detailed design and finishes.

The same is true of the boundary treatments between properties and the highway, including those altered to accommodate off street parking in their front gardens. There appears to be little consistency in the materials and finishes used for boundary treatments. Some properties, including the appeal property also have gated vehicle access.

Whilst the boundary walls in this part of the street are generally low with short projecting piers, especially between houses, these vary in height, materials and finish. There are, however, also instances of no boundary structures between properties and instances of tall hedges and timber fences being used to define boundaries.

This variety in the expression of the houses and their boundary features that I have identified, results in a significantly varied street scene. This is a feature of the character and appearance of the residential streets in this local area.

Within this streetscene context, the electric gates with an approximate maximum height of 1.3 metres and boundary wall piers approximately 1.2 metres in height installed on the boundary of the appeal dwelling with the street, reflect the general varied approach to boundary treatments and do not, therefore, appear as obtrusive in the local streetscene. As such the development accords with the Council’s design guidance with regard to street scene and local character and crossover treatments, as set out in the [name] and Alterations Supplementary Planning Document (2010).

For these reasons, the development does not result in any significant harm to the character and appearance of the local area and accords with policy CS15 of the [site address] Local Plan Core Streaty (2012), policies DM4 and DM29 of the [site address] Local Plan Management Policies (2013), Policy D3 of the London Plan (2021) and paragraph 130 of the the National Planning Policy Framework (2021). These collectively seek to ensure that development has a high standard of urban and architectural design, respect the streetscene, respond to their context and create an attractive local environment.

The Council have suggested conditions, should I be minded to allow this appeal, which would require a time limit on implementation and matching materials to the existing building. As the development has been implemented, I find that these conditions are not necessary.

The appeal is allowed.