Appeal 3331405

The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for demolition of existing garage to side and erection of two storey side extension with integral garage at ground floor level at [site address] in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref 23/01048/FULH, dated 20 June 2023 and the plans submitted with it, subject to the following

The development hereby permitted shall begin not later than 3 years from the date of this decision.

The materials to be used in the construction of the external surfaces of the development hereby permitted shall match those used in the existing building.

The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plans: 010 [name], 012 [name], 013 [name].

During the determination of the application, the council changed the description of development to include further detail of what was proposed (and would require planning permission). I have therefore used the description of development on the decision notice for accuracy.

The main issue is the effect of the appeal proposals on the character and appearance of the host dwelling and wider area.

[address] is a suburban residential street with a mix of semi-detached and detached two storey houses and bungalows with front gardens and generous rear gardens with off street parking. There is considerable variety in the range and size of dwellings along this part of the street.

The appeal property, No 203 and its adjoining neighbour are noticeably set back from the established building line and form part of a pair of semi-detached, two storey houses.

Unusually, No 203 has a wider frontage with an existing double garage to the side. The proposals are a resubmission of a previously refused scheme, where amendments have been made in response to previous concerns expressed by the council.

The proposals include an integral garage and ground floor wc and utility room with a studio to the first floor, over the garage.

Policy DM1 ([name]) of the Southend-on-Sea Development Management Document (2015) (DMD) requires development to add to the quality of an area through its design approach including scale, massing, height, form, materials and proportions.

At para 2.49 of Policy DM3 (The Efficient and [name] of Land) of the DMD it states that ‘a poorly designed addition can easily destroy the original character’ of a building.

The Southend-on-Sea Design and [name] (2009) (SPD) provides guidance on rear extensions, amongst other things and states at para 351 (in relation to side extensions) that ‘...side extensions can easily become overbearing and dominate the original property. In order to avoid this, side extensions should be designed to appear subservient to the parent building.’ It goes on to explain how this can be achieved – through for instance setting back the extension and dropping the ridge line of the extension roof and so on.

There is a degree of symmetry between the host dwelling and its adjoining neighbour, however, this is limited by the fact that the host dwelling already has a double garage to the side and a consequently far wider frontage.

The proposals have been designed to ensure that they are set back from the principal elevation of the house as well as having a ridge line that is set well below the existing.

Having regard to the design approach being taken, the mixed character of the street and the fact that the appeal property is well set back into its plot, I do not find that the proposed extension would result in harm to the host dwelling the street scene or wider area. I therefore consider the proposals to be aligned to policies DM1 and DM3 as well as the relevant parts of the SPD.

I have added a planning condition setting out the timescale for the development (1) for certainty, as well as conditions requiring that materials match the host dwelling (2) and ensure that the development is constructed in accordance with approved plans (3) in order to protect the character and appearance of the area.

For the reasons given and having regard to all other matters raised, the appeal is allowed, subject to the conditions set out above.