Appeal 3342380

The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for a detached garden in the front garden at [site address] in accordance with the terms of the application Ref 23/01242/FUL subject to the conditions set out in the attached Schedule to this decision.

The main issue is the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of its surroundings.

The appeal property is a recently built detached dwelling of a distinctly contemporary design, being well set back from the highway. The dwelling was built with an integral garage which the appellant wishes to covert to an annex to accommodate an elderly relative1.

A hard standing is formed immediately in front of the house, which was occupied by several vehicles during my visit. Otherwise, the front garden is largely lawned.

The site intended for the proposed garage was cleared of trees and vegetation when I visited. The extant hedge running along the site frontage has also been supplemented with plants and several pleached trees. I suspect that the recent planting was undertaken with a view to providing additional screening for the proposed garage.

[address], from its junction with Greenhill to the north almost to the railway bridge to the south, is fronted by detached dwellings of various ages and styles, set in a verdant setting established by trees and hedges. The building line on both sides of the road is not as rigid and formal as the Council appears to suggest. 1 Although this does not form part of the proposal under consideration.

I saw several examples of garages built in front of dwellings most notably in front of the three dwellings immediately to the north of the junction of [address] with [address] and at No [address] on the opposite frontage.

I note too, the appellant’s appendices relating to the various planning permissions granted for domestic garage development in front of dwellings in [address]. All this suggests to me that the Council does not object to this form of development in the locality as a matter of principle, but that each case is determined on its merits.

I found that the proposed garage, which in terms of its scale and proposed materials is acceptably designed, would be very well screened by established greenery when approaching the site from the south. The garage would be in clear view when standing in front of the site and in short range views when approaching from the north. However, it would not be as visually exposed as other domestic garages in the street, and when the recent planting becomes more established this would provide an effective green screen, masking clear views of the garage.

I conclude that the proposal, if built, would sit acceptably in its visual context and would not harm the character or appearance its surroundings. Accordingly, no conflict arises with those provisions of policy BDP19 of the Bromsgrove District Plan and Policy BD2 of the Lickey and Blackwell and Cofton Hackett Neighbourhood Plan directed to achieving high quality design in development and to enhancing the character and distinctiveness of the local area. I also find no material conflict with the relevant aspects of the Council’s design guidance2.

I have considered the Council’s suggested conditions and agree that, in the interests of visual amenity, a condition in respect of external materials is necessary.

It is also necessary, in the interests of certainty, that the development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved plans.

In the particular circumstances of this case I also consider that an additional condition is necessary in respect of planting and landscaping in the interests of visual amenity.

I have taken into consideration the objection raised by the Parish Council and have noted the references made by the main parties, for different reasons, to the two appeal decisions in respect of similar proposals to the north of the appeal site in [address]. However, I have determined the appeal on its specific merits having regard to all the representations made and the provisions of the development plan. 2 The Bromsgrove District High Quality Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) 2

No other matter raised is of such strength or significance as to outweigh those considerations that led me to my conclusions.