Side gable roof and Velux windows to front and rear

Appeal Decision Site Visit made on 14 December 2020 by M Chalk BSc (Hons) MSc MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 13 January 2021 Appeal Ref: APP/Z1510/D/20/3259712 23 Tideswell Close, Braintree CM7 9FR • 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 Mrs Joanne Coomber against the decision of Braintree District Council. • The application Ref 20/00862/HH, dated 19 May 2020, was refused by notice dated 20 August 2020. • The development proposed is described as side gable roof and Velux windows to front and rear. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Preliminary Matters 2. The Council has referred to its emerging Local Plan, which has been submitted for examination. The emerging plan is still some way from adoption, and therefore its policies attract limited weight in the determination of this appeal. Main Issue 3. The main issue is the effect of the development proposed on the character and appearance of the area. Reasons 4. The appeal property is an end-terrace dwellinghouse, one of five in the terrace, which in turn faces a similarly arranged terrace of five houses. Each of the four end terrace houses in the rows has a front and rear gable, with a hipped roof slope to the side. 5. The proposed gable would detract from this consistent design approach, which contributes to the overall character of the area. Whilst the gable would match the existing ridge height and not extend beyond the footprint of the house, it would still appear incongruous in the street scene and unbalance the row of terraced houses. 6. While the addition of Velux windows is normally Permitted Development, this property does not benefit from Permitted Development rights. The proposed front Velux window would appear incongruous in the immediate area as there are no front Velux windows visible to any of the houses in the two rows of terraces, and few in the wider Tideswell Close street scene. The proposed front window would therefore detract from the consistent character of these rows of Appeal Decision APP/Z1510/D/20/3259712 2 terraced houses. The Council has not objected to the rear Velux window, and I see no reason to disagree with this. 7. The addition of a side gable roof and Velux window to the front roof slope of the appeal property would result in harm to the character and appearance of the area. It would conflict with Policies RLP17 and RLP90 of the Braintree Local Plan 2005 and Policy CS9 of the Braintree Core Strategy 2011. Together these policies require, amongst other things, that development recognise and reflect local distinctiveness and be in harmony with the character and appearance of the surrounding area. Conclusion 8. For the reasons set out above, the appeal fails. M Chalk INSPECTOR