Appeal 3374761

The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for render to the front of the property and down the drive side walls. Change the roof tiles to concrete anthracite grey at [site address] in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref S25/1256 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;

Before any works on the external elevations for the development hereby permitted are begun, samples of the materials (including the colour of any render, paintwork or colourwash) to be used in the construction of the external surfaces shall have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

The appeal property is located outside but close to the Allington Conservation Area. There is no evidence before me to demonstrate that the proposed development would fail to conserve the setting of the Allington Conservation Area. The Council’s reason for refusal does not refer to any heritage assets and its officer’s report does not provide any evidence to demonstrate that the proposal the subject of this appeal would have any impact at all on any heritage assets.

The Council’s decision states that the proposed development would not result in any public benefits to outweigh the harm identified. This is not a requirement of national policy nor of Policy DE1, which is the only Local Plan policy that the Council referred to in its refusal notice.

The Council raised no concerns with that part of the proposal relating to changing the roof tiles to concrete anthracite grey.

The main issue in this case is the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area.

The appeal property is a small, detached bungalow. It is located in a largely residential area characterised by the presence of detached and semi-detached one and two storey dwellings within comfortable garden plots. There is a primary school on the opposite side of [site address] to the appeal property. This is set behind a prominent white fence and a tall cage-like green metal fence.

The appeal property is set back from the road behind a grass verge and parking area. The dwelling is situated such that it is much deeper than it is wide and consequently, it only presents a relatively small frontage to [site address] .

During my site visit, I noted that the presence of neighbouring boundary fences, trees and hedgerows combines with the narrow width of the appeal dwelling to result in it appearing modest and unassuming in its surroundings. I also observed during my site visit that there are a number of dwellings in the wider area that demonstrate white rendering not dissimilar to the external finish proposed by the application the subject of this appeal.

I find that the proposal would result in the appeal dwelling taking on a clean, neat and modern appearance. Unsightly marks to the existing brickwork would be covered and the relatively narrow frontage of the appeal dwelling combined with its unassuming presence in its wider surroundings, would ensure that the white rendering would not appear unduly intrusive or visually strident to any significant degree. Further and as noted above, the use of white render is not an uncommon material in Allington.

In refusing the proposed development, the Council considered that the use of white render would break the continuity of the use of brick in the area, I observed during my site visit that the colours of bricks in the vicinity vary considerably and that there are local examples of white render, white fences and white panelling to nearby properties. The use of white render would appear in keeping with these features.

Taking all of the above into account, I find that the proposed development would not harm the character and appearance of the area and would not be contrary to the National Planning Policy Framework or to Policy DE1 of the South Kesteven Local Plan (2022), which together amongst other things, seek to protect local character.

I have considered the conditions against the tests set out in Paragraph 57 of the Framework. I find that a condition requiring approval of materials, in line with the approved plans, is necessary in the interests of local character.

For the reasons given above, the appeal is successful.