Appeal 3333711
Public case and site metadata stored from the official casework database, including fields that were empty in the source release.
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Official decision document
The decision, section by section
4 sections
Read the development description and the Inspector’s text from the official decision PDF in source order. Source headings are retained where available. Personal and contact details are removed by an automated privacy filter; this is source material, not Rules for You analysis.
Section 01
Development description
‘amendment to Approved Application (DC/2022/01593) from pitched roof dormers to flat roof dormers on the front elevation’.
Section 02
Decision
The appeal is dismissed.
Section 03
Main Issue
This is the effect of the appeal proposal on the character and appearance of the host property and the surrounding area.
Section 04
Reasons
The two appeal dormers have already been constructed on the front elevation of the appeal property. The principle of front dormer extensions and their position on the roof were approved in a recent planning permission ref DC/2022/01593. The flat roof design of the dormers is consistent with the contemporary architectural treatment of the host property and to my mind is an acceptable approach in an area of diverse house designs where dormers are a characteristic design feature.
However, the dormers are overly large in proportion to the size and scale of the front roof plane and the ground floor windows. Due to their size and the extent of their projection from the roof, the dormers appear dominant, out of proportion with the scale of the property as a whole and are incongruous. Furthermore, whilst the proposal complies with certain guidance in the [address] Extensions (SPD), the proposal conflicts with its paragraph 6.4 in this regard.
The appeal property is in a prominent location at the bend of the road and at a point where the designs of the adjacent properties transition. Notwithstanding its set back from the road frontage, the building is conspicuousness due to the strident and discordant appearance of the dormers. The development harms the character and appearance of its surroundings.
I conclude that the dormer development results in a top-heavy roof which unbalances the overall appearance of the building. The proposal does not respond positively to the character and appearance of the surrounding area and consequently fails to comply with Policies EQ2 and HC4 of the Local Plan and Policy ESD2 of the Formby and Little Altcar Neighbourhood Plan which, in summary, seek to achieve high quality design that makes a positive contribution to the surrounding area. As already indicated, the scheme conflicts with similar design guidance in the SPD relating to roof alterations. The proposal is also counter to the design guidance in the National Planning Policy Framework which states that development that is not well designed should be refused.
For the reasons set out above and having regard to all other matters raised, the appeal is dismissed.
Planning inspector and document dates
The official casework attribution is grouped under a one-way keyed hash and shown only by its local identifier. Decision-letter dates and page references are extracted by fixed first-page rules and checked against that authoritative record.
Appeal Decision
- Extracted inspector · page 1
- Inspector attribution ID 322No official casework-database value to compare
- Extracted decision date · page 1
- 12 April 2024Matches the official casework database
- Extracted site visit dates
- 6 April 2024 (page 1)
Reference and authority
Official identifiers and the planning authority recorded against this case.
- Case reference
- 3333711
- Application reference
- DC/2023/01175
- Lead case reference
- Not recorded
- Planning authority
- Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council
- Planning authority code
- E08000014
Casework details
The casework, procedure, development and linking details supplied by the official record.
- Casework type
- Householder (HAS)
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development type
- Householder developments
- Appeal type reason
- 1. Refused planning permission
- Appeal reason
- Refusal
- Type detail
- Unknown
- Jurisdiction
- Transferred
- Link status
- Not Linked
Site and development
Published appeal-site measurements and planning designations, without the withheld precise location fields.
- Site area
- Not recorded
- Floor space
- Not recorded
- Number of residences
- 0
- Site in Green Belt
- No
- Agricultural holding
- Not recorded
- Affects setting of a listed building
- Not recorded
- Historic building grant made
- Not recorded
- Relates to a conservation area
- Not recorded
- Flooding is an issue
- Not recorded
- Site within an AONB
- Not recorded
- Site within an SSSI
- Not recorded
Decision and dates
The published outcome and every imported case date.
- Official decision
- Dismissed
- Decision category
- Dismissed
- Received date
- 23 November 2023
- Valid date
- 23 November 2023
- Start date
- 14 February 2024
- Planning authority decision date
- 4 September 2023
- Appeal decision date
- 12 April 2024
Case administration
Published recovery, call-in, costs and enforcement information for this case.
- Redetermined
- No
- Bespoke
- No
- Date recovered
- Not recorded
- Date not recovered or derecovered
- Not recorded
- Call-in date
- Not recorded
- Costs applied for
- Not recorded
- Enforcement grounds count
- Not recorded
- Enforcement grounds
- Not recorded
Source and catalogue history
When this record appeared in the rolling official release and when the catalogue stored it.
- Source
- Planning Inspectorate casework database
- Source data system
- Horizon
- Dataset status
- Current release
- Catalogue record ID
- 49480
- First seen
- 20 August 2026 at 14:24
- Last seen
- 20 August 2026 at 16:27
- Removed from release
- Not recorded
- Record created
- 20 August 2026 at 14:24
- Record updated
- 24 August 2026 at 16:21