Erection of an extension and infill to front elevation

Appeal Decision Site visit made on 7 June 2018 by John D Allan BA(Hons) BTP MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 22 June 2018 Appeal Ref: APP/F5540/D/17/3191234 1c Hazelmere Close, Feltham, TW14 9PX  The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 against a refusal to grant planning permission.  The appeal is made by Mr Parameswaran against the decision of the Council of the London Borough of Hounslow.  The application Ref 00574/1C/P2, dated 17 October 2017, was refused by notice dated 4 December 2017.  The development proposed is the erection of an extension and infill to front elevation. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Main Issue 2. The main issue is the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the existing dwelling and the wider street scene. Reasons 3. The appeal property is a two-storey dwelling positioned centrally within a short terrace of four and within a wider residential area of mixed property types and sizes. The terrace is stepped with Nos 1c and 1d recessed behind Nos 1a and 1b. All four dwellings were originally built with integral garages projecting forward with a lean-to roof over. Nos 1b and 1d have both converted their garages into living spaces with the original garage doors replaced with windows that broadly match the window pattern for the terrace as a whole. 4. The proposal involves conversion of the garage space to living accommodation and the erection of a ground floor extension to the front by projecting the mono-pitched roof and front wall of the garage sideways to span the remaining width of the dwelling. Part of the works would involve repositioning the front door from a central location to being off-set to one side and in lieu of the garage door. 5. The Council adopted its Residential Extension Guidelines Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) in December 2017. This advises that due to their prominent location, changes and extensions to the front of a house must be Appeal Decision APP/F5540/D/17/3191234 2 minor and not alter the overall appearance of the house or dominate the character of the street. In this case the extension would be of minimal size and would tie in seamlessly with the existing garage projection in terms of form and materials, which could readily be controlled by condition. It would not appear dominant in relation to the scale of the existing house or prominent within the street scene. 6. Notwithstanding, the alterations as whole would significantly change the appearance of the dwelling due to the repositioning of the front door and the consequential expanse of unrelieved brickwork that would span a considerable proportion of the building’s façade. The result would be a largely featureless and bland looking ground floor elevation that would be at odds with the articulated form of the remainder of the terrace. This would be openly seen along Hazelmere Close as an incongruous and poorly conceived intrusion. Without any meaningful relief to the brickwork I find that the proposal would fail to respond positively to its context or display the quality of design that is required by Policies CC1, CC2 and SC7 of the London Borough of Hounslow Local Plan 2015-2030, adopted in 2015. Conclusion 7. For the reasons given, I conclude that the proposal would be harmful to the character and appearance of 1c Hazelmere Close and the street scene. Therefore, and having regard to all other matters raised, the appeal is dismissed. John D Allan INSPECTOR