Appeal 6000065

The appeal is dismissed.

On 12 December 2024 the Government published its revised National Planning Policy Framework. Its content relative to the main issue of the appeal is largely unchanged. It has not therefore been necessary to give the parties opportunity to comment on the revisions.

The effect on the character and appearance of the existing dwelling and the area.

The appeal building is a mid-19th century dwelling that faces out over an area of similarly aged development, which includes dwellings that are paired and those that are arranged in terraces. The dwellings in the area are not entirely consistent; some are taller, and some have gabled roof forms; however, hips are a feature of the area, and where low pitched like at the appeal property they have an elegant appearance and contribute to the character and appearance of the area.

To the rear the appeal site has quite a different setting, with an area of mid-20th century residential development with dwellings arranged as single plain blocks.

The rear of the appeal dwelling is visible from [address] to the side, and [address] to the rear. Although both are incidental views, the view of the back of the dwelling with its traditional form, that is seen amongst other similarly aged dwellings, is one that contributes to the character and appearance of the area.

The dwelling is semi-detached. A strong sense of symmetry is provided by the parts of the semi-detached pair that are centred on the prominent central chimney and front facing parapet. To either side of this the dwellings have a single road fronting bay, with a matching bay window arrangement and shallow hipped roof. Beyond this to the southwest the appeal dwelling extends further. Although this appears to be part of the original dwelling, it has a secondary form, derived from its set back wall and roof. This gives it the appearance of an extension to the primary block that is centred on the main chimney breast.

The proposal would see the roof to this part of the dwelling extended up and out so that it forms a full gable to the side. This would make it more dominant, which would harm the existing arrangement whereby this wing has a subsidiary relationship to the part that it sits alongside. Raising the ridge height would also mean that the ridge would no longer be neatly centred on the chimney. The effect would be a modest erosion of the character and appearance of the existing dwelling, and the neat and carefully considered design of the pair of dwellings with their primary and secondary elements.

At the rear the change would be much more noticeable. The rear roof would be entirely obscured by a prominent and assertive rearward extension. This would dominate the rear aspect of the dwelling and obscure the elegant form of its original low-slung roof. Although public views of the rear of the building are largely limited to those identified above, where glimpsed it would draw the eye owing to its scale, and its incompatibility with the traditional design language of the existing dwelling. It would appear entirely out of place when viewed amongst the traditional forms of the adjacent 19th century dwellings.

In summary, the proposal would harm the character and appearance of the existing dwelling and the wider area. It would not accord with Policies 6 and 37 of the London Borough of Bromley Local Plan 2019, which seek to ensure that development proposals are designed to a high standard, respect or complement the host dwelling, are attractive, and contribute positively to the streetscene.

For the reasons above, the appeal should be dismissed.