Appeal 6005228

The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted to replace the existing InPost (parcel lockers) with the installation of two InPost units at the existing shopfront to form an L-shape of units at [site address] , in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref 25/2116/FH, subject to the conditions in the attached schedule.

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

The appeal site is the hard surfaced forecourt between the front of a convenience shop and the public highway of [address], that is largely used for car parking by the shop’s customers. Although the shop is adjacent to a residential building to the north, it is situated at the end of a row of fairly similar two storey buildings with ground floor commercial units, set on a stepped building line. Those units have glazed shop style fronts and advertisement signage of varying colours and branding. They are occupied by a mixture of hot food takeaways, a hair salon and a pharmacy. Customer car parking is provided on the hard surfaced forecourts between their front walls and the road.

Together with the large public house on the opposite side of [address], those units give the area in the vicinity of the appeal site a commercial character and appearance. This contrasts markedly with the rows of residential properties towards the north and south.

The proposed parcel lockers would be relatively low height structures with a functional cuboid shape. They would be sited in a L-shaped arrangement on the hard surfaced forecourt to the front of the convenience shop. The imagery in the planning statement shows they would typically have simple corporate branding on a largely monochrome finish. The appearance of the parcel lockers would therefore be muted by comparison to the varied, more strident colours used in the advertisement signage to the existing commercial units in the row.

One of the proposed parcel lockers would be sited parallel to the shop front. The other would be sited perpendicular to the shop front and alongside the boundary with the hair salon. As that parcel locker would only project a few metres forwards of the salon’s front wall, with a sizeable proportion of its built form set close to the salon’s side facing wall, its modest massing would be closely related to those larger buildings. It would also be set well back from the edge of the carriageway.

In that context, neither of the proposed parcel lockers would appear as a harmful intrusion of built form or accumulation of clutter, and the spaciousness to the frontages of those buildings would not be harmfully eroded. In views from [address], The Parade and [address], the cumulative modest massing of the parcel lockers would be absorbed into the backdrop of the larger two storey buildings, which owing to the stepped building line includes their side elevations.

Taking all the above into account, the proposed parcel lockers would visibly assimilate into the row of commercial properties. They would reinforce the area’s character and appearance, including as a place of commerce, activity and service to the public. For those reasons, I therefore conclude that the proposed development would not be harmful to the character and appearance of the area. It would be consistent with Policy HB1 of the Folkestone & Hythe District Places and Policies Local Plan, [name] 2020, which states that planning permission will be granted for development that makes a positive contribution to its location and surroundings, and respects existing development with particular regard to the layout, scale, proportions, massing, form, materiality and mix of uses.

For the same reasons, the proposed development would be consistent with Paragraph 135 of the National Planning Policy Framework insofar as planning decisions should ensure that developments function well and add to the overall quality of the area, establish or maintain a strong sense of place, and are sympathetic to local character, including the surrounding built environment.

In addition to the standard time limit condition, I have specified the approved plans in the interests of certainty as to the scope of the planning permission granted. To avoid doubt, it is also necessary to control the colour finishes of the parcel lockers to those shown in the appellant’s submissions, whilst retaining some flexibility for the Council to agree alternative colours.

For the reasons given above, I conclude that the appeal proposal is consistent with the development plan when read as a whole. There are no other material considerations, including the provisions of the National Planning Policy Framework, to indicate that a decision should be made other than in accordance with the development plan. Consequently, the appeal is allowed.

The development hereby permitted shall begin not later than 3 years from the date of this decision.

The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with drawing nos: S001 Version 3.0; S002 Version 2.0; S003 Version 1.0; and S004 Version 1.0.

The external surfaces of the parcel lockers hereby permitted shall be finished in the colours shown on the imagery in the planning statement, unless alternative colour finishes have first been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority, and thereafter retained as approved. End of schedule