Appeal 3347456

The appeal is allowed and permission is granted for a loft conversion with front dormer windows at [site address] , in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref 24/00282/FUL, dated 4 April 2024, subject to the attached schedule of conditions.

The main issue is the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the street scene.

The proposal is for a loft conversion of No [site address] , a two storey double fronted detached house on a corner plot within a new housing estate on the northern side of the city. This would involve two flat roofed dormers on the front facing roof slope and three rooflights on the rear facing roof slope. The Council have no objection to the latter, which would be relatively inobtrusive, but object to the front facing dormers on the basis that they would upset the symmetry of the [address] street scene and result in a design that is not featured as a house type in the area.

It is true that the even numbered properties Nos 22–30 form a symmetrical set of five detached houses with No 30 the mirror image of No 22. However, the garages and spaces between the houses are not symmetrical and with fenced off school grounds opposite the symmetry of the group is not readily apparent from any public viewpoint. The group forms part of a longer, non-symmetrical frontage and is only seen from either end. In these long views the addition of two modest sized front facing dormers would not appear intrusive or discordant in the street scene.

Modest flat roofed dormers of the design proposed are in fact common on the estate, indeed occurring on the roofslope of the carports behind Nos 30 and 22 and numerous carports elsewhere. Other examples include dormers on the two-storey linking sections between Nos [address] overlooking the balancing pond, on semi-detached houses such as Nos [address] and Nos [address] and, most comparable of all, on two storey double fronted houses such as Nos 3, 10, 12 and [address]. No 30 with front facing dormers would look very similar to these nearby properties.

For these reasons the proposal would not adversely affect the character and appearance of the street scene and would comply with Policies ENV1 and ENV2 of the East Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2015 (as amended 2023). These require the scale, form, design and materials of proposals to positively complement existing development and seek development of high quality, enhancing and complementing local distinctiveness and having regard to local context.

Three conditions are necessary. In addition to the standard implementation time limit it is necessary to define the approved plans in the interests of certainty and to control the external materials to be used to ensure the satisfactory appearance of the development.

The proposal represents an acceptable design that complies with the relevant policies of the development plan. The appeal should therefore be allowed.

The development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of three years from the date of this decision.

The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plans: Location Plan 01/3135a/24 Site Plan 02/3135a/24 Ground Floor Plan as Existing 03/3135a/24 First Floor Plan as Existing 04/3135a/24 Ground Floor Plan as Proposed 06/3135a/24 First Floor Plan as Proposed 07/3135a/24 Second Floor Plan as Proposed 08/3135a/24 Elevations as Proposed 09/3135a/24

The materials to be used in the construction of the external surfaces of the development hereby permitted shall be those specified on drawing 09/3135a/24 ‘Elevations as Proposed’ unless otherwise submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority.