Appeal 3339399

The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for Alteration to front elevation incorporating a window in lieu of a garage door; and conversion of existing garage into habitable space at [site address] in accordance with the terms of the application Ref: 234798HH dated 1 December 2023 and the drawings submitted with it subject to the following conditions:

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

The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plan: SA1124/HHP3, SA1124/HHP4.

Materials to be used in the external surfaces of the development hereby approved shall match those found in the existing building.

The main issue is the effect of the proposal upon the character and appearance of the host dwelling and1 the [address] (Haymills) Conservation Area.

The appeal site (No.61) is a two storey, mid twentieth-century, detached house which sits within the [address] ([name]) Conservation Area (HHCA), a planned residential estate erected in the two decades prior to the Second World War which the Council’s character appraisal notes for its wide variety of house types. No.61 lies in a part of [address] where there are many open frontages albeit with plots defined by garden walls and hedges where these have not been removed. It is set back from, and slightly raised above, the road frontage with, at the time of site visit, an open parking area in its forecourt. A 1 Having regard to the duties set out in Section 72(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 flat-roofed single garage, which is proposed to be converted to habitable accommodation, infils to its boundary with the adjacent house.

[site address] lies within the residential part of the HHCA and appears to be an example of the identified2 ‘moderne type 6’ house types found in the area, according to the [name] (2008). The proposal would insert a window consistent with the general pattern of fenestration found in No.61 and other nearby dwellings and would retain the structure but would repeat, as the appellant indicates, approved conversions of garages which have taken place in dwellings close to the appeal site including dwellings of the same house type. The proposal reflects a situation where modern private vehicles do not generally need to be kept under cover, and garages such as that found at the appeal site are frequently used for purposes other than parking of a vehicle; and in this case the garage at No.61 appears to be unused.

The Council suggest that the loss of garages is a threat to the values of the HHCA3, although attached garages are not specifically referred to in the relevant HHCA character appraisal document for its specific house type, such are clearly integral to the composition of these dwellings given their date of construction.

It is notable that the frontage access/parking area to No.61 has been widened by the partial removal of the front garden wall, works which the Council’s Character Appraisal indicates as a negative factor in the HHCA. However, these works are not reflected in the submitted ‘Block Plan’, which shows a single-width parking area, nor is this a matter referred to by the Council. My observations direct that the effect of the proposed elevational change would be very limited, and in consequence, although the widening of the parking area would tend to make these limited effects more prominent, harm to the character and appearance of the HHCA would be limited. Overall, the significance of the HHCA as a heritage asset would be unaffected by what is proposed in the appealed matter.

I therefore conclude there would be no conflict with Policy 7C(B) of the Ealing Development Management DPD (2013) which seeks that planning decisions should preserve and enhance the character and appearance of Conservation Areas such that the proposal would accord with the development plan taken as a whole. I therefore conclude, for the reasons given and taking all matters raised into account, the appeal succeeds subject to the usual plans and timing conditions. A further condition to ensure consistency in use of construction materials is necessary to protect the character and appearance of the area.