Appeal 3358732

The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for an insulated garage building at [site address] [postcode] in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref 24/03195/FUL, and the plans 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.

No site clearance, preparatory work or development shall take place until a scheme for the protection of the retained trees (the tree protection plan) and the appropriate working methods (the arboricultural method statement) in accordance with paragraphs 5.5 and 6.1 of [name] 5837: Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction - Recommendations (or in an equivalent [name] if replaced) shall have been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. The scheme for the protection of the retained trees shall be carried out as approved.

No works or development shall commence until a full specification of the proposed hedge planting at the rear of the building has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. The specification shall include the quantity, size, species, and positions or density of all trees to be planted, how they will be planted and protected and the proposed time of planting. The tree planting shall be carried out in accordance with the approved specification.

If, within a period of 3 years from the date of planting, any of the hedgerow trees are removed, uprooted, destroyed or die or become, in the opinion of the local planning authority, seriously damaged or defective, other hedgerow trees of the same size and species as those originally planted shall be planted at the same place within the first planting season following the removal, uprooting, destruction or death of the original hedgerow trees unless the local planning authority gives its written consent to any variation.

No facing or roofing materials shall be used other than those detailed on the application form.

The insulated garage building hereby permitted shall be used for the storage of garden and building maintenance equipment and accessories associated with the property of 1 [site address] and for no other purpose.

The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plans: 03 Site plan – proposed, 04 Site plan proposed and 05 Proposed elevations and site section.

An application for costs was made by [name] against Shropshire Council and this is the subject of a separate Decision.

The main issue is the effect of the proposed building on the character and appearance of the area.

[site address] is a large, detached dwelling set within a site approximately 5 acres in area and which includes a barn, tennis court and mature trees. An insulated steel building was constructed at the property following the grant of permission in 2017. Access is via a long driveway from [site address] . The property is relatively close to the urban area of Shrewsbury but has a rural character and setting.

The appeal follows refusal of a similar proposal for an insulated garage in February

That refusal included the reason that: “Limited justification has been provided outlining the required purpose and need for the proposed development, particularly when viewed in terms of its overall scale and design, as well as in the context of the existing provision already present on the site”.

The proposed garage would be sited between the new steel building and woodland near the boundary with a public footpath and a railway line. At the time of my site visit some storage containers were located near the steel building. The materials for the proposed garage would be green box profile cladding and coated steel panels to match those used in the existing steel building. The garage would be smaller in size and scale than the steel building with a height of around 3.49 metres to the ridge compared to 5.3 metres and a floor area of around 60 m2 compared to 99 m2 for the existing steel building.

The proposed garage would be well screened within the property because of adjacent woodland, the buildings of [site address] , and the topography. The rear of the garage would be visible from the adjacent public footpath and by rail users as well as in more distant views from properties across fields beyond the railway line. In view of its scale and design, and subject to the planting of a hedgerow to the rear of the proposed building, it would not be visually prominent and would cause no significant harm to the character and appearance of the area.

I find that the proposed development would not conflict with [name] CS6 and SAMDev policy MD2 which together seek to ensure that development is of sustainable design and is appropriate in scale, taking into account the local context and character.

The Council’s tree officer has raised no objections regarding the effect on trees, subject to conditions.

There is a dispute between the main parties regarding the extent of the domestic curtilage. However, that is not a matter which affects my finding in respect of the effect of the proposed garage on the character and appearance of the area.

I have based my decision on the proposed use of the building as described in the [name] as for “the storage of garden and building maintenance equipment and accessories that are required for the upkeep of the house and garden and includes grassland, paved areas, hedgerows and woodland.”

The Council and the appellant were consulted on draft conditions without prejudice to the outcome of this appeal. In addition to the standard condition for the commencement of development a condition is imposed to confirm the approved plans. In this respect, the Council requested that the location plan be removed from the conditions as it did not consider the red edge shown on the plan to form the entire extent of the applicants’ residential curtilage. A condition confirms the use of external materials in the interest of the character and appearance of the locality. A condition requires details of tree protection measures in the interest of amenity. Use of the permitted building is specified in accordance with the submitted details.

I have found above that the proposed development would cause no significant harm to the character and appearance of the surrounding area. The proposed development would comply with the design objectives of the National Planning Policy Framework and the development plan as a whole and should be allowed.