Appeal 6006569

The appeal is dismissed.

A draft National Planning Policy Framework ‘Plan-making and national decision-making policies’ was issued by the Government for consultation on 16 December 2025 (Consultation Draft Framework) and with a deadline for comments by 10 March 2026. No final decisions upon the consultation have yet been announced. Therefore, and for this reason, I afford the Consultation Draft Framework limited weight as a material planning consideration. In respect of the main issue, I have afforded full weight to the published National Planning Policy Framework 2024 (as amended) (the Framework) and the adopted development plan for the area. In this case, the Consultation Draft Framework does not alter or outweigh my conclusion below regarding the appeal.

The main issue is the effect of the proposal upon the character and appearance of the area.

The appeal property is located in a residential area, built to an overall design in the mid twentieth century as part of the Peterborough Town expansion scheme. The area includes terraces of one, two and three stories with communal parking, landscaped areas, and public and private open spaces. Footpaths link and separate the blocks, and those latter footpaths help to define each block, one from the other.

The appeal property is a three-storey, end of terrace house in multiple occupation (HMO) and, like the rest of the block and others of the same height, it includes an asymmetrical roof and a mansard, with a regular pattern of windows with the same shape and alignment. There is a footpath link between the host property and the next block.

The host property includes a single storey addition to the end of the main gable. The proposed development would involve its demolition and its replacement by a three-storey high extension on the same floor area, though slightly increased by less than 3m2. The proposed extension would be used to provide additional communal spaces for the occupants of the five bedrooms.

The proposed extension would be set back from the elevation to the host property and would have a lower ridge height. Such features create an extension which is seen to be subordinate to the host property, but the resulting design loses important design components of the host property and the associated block. The roof line and pitches are different and there is no mansard roof. Windows do not align with those in the host property and they are of a different shape. Overall, the proposed extension does not assimilate well with the host property, with the terrace as a whole, or with the original design for the housing area.

The single storey addition would be replaced by a three storey high extension adjoining a footpath link. While there would be only a minimal increase in the footprint, the proposed extension, by its additional height, would unacceptably reduce the sense of openness between the adjoining terraced blocks with the loss of views of the space and sky. The openness between the terraces is a feature which helps to define one from the other and the loss would have a significant and adverse impact.

Therefore, I conclude that the proposed development would not accord with part A of Policy LP16 of the Peterborough Local Plan 2019 which requires development to contribute to the character and local distinctiveness of the area, or with chapter 12 of the Framework which requires the same.

There are no material planning considerations that indicate that the application should be determined other than in accordance with the development plan. Therefore, the appeal should be dismissed.