Timber fence

Appeal Decision Site visit made on 9 July 2019 by L Wilson BA (Hons) MA Decision by A U Ghafoor BSc (Hons) MA MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 22 July 2019 Appeal Ref: APP/W4705/D/19/3228173 96 Heights Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD9 6DT • 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 I Ahmed against the decision of City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. • The application Ref 18/05335/HOU, dated 17 December 2018, was refused by notice dated 13 February 2019. • The development proposed is a timber fence. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Appeal Procedure 2. The site visit was undertaken by an Appeal Planning Officer whose recommendation is set out below and to which the Inspector has had regard before deciding the appeal. Procedural Matters 3. The application that led to this appeal is retrospective. An amended version of the description of development has been used in the banner heading above based on the Council’s decision notice rather than the application form as it provides a more accurate description. 4. The Grounds of Appeal (GOA) submitted by the appellant could not be taken into account due to inflammatory comments. The appellant was given until 18 July 2019 to submit a new GOA. A revised GOA was not submitted by the appellant and therefore the appeal is based on the submitted representations. Main Issue 5. The effect of the fence on the character and appearance of the street scene. Reasons for the Recommendation 6. The appeal site comprises a semi-detached property located within a residential area. The properties are set back from the highway behind front gardens. A range of boundary treatments are present in the area which include hedging, fencing and walls. The fence runs along part of the side shared with No. 94 Heights Lane. It has been fixed to another solid fence and has been painted on one side. It is considerably taller than the original fence and neighbouring boundary treatment. Furthermore, its height is emphasised by the sloping Appeal Decision APP/W4705/D/19/3228173 2 nature of the site. As the fence is located towards the front of the site it is clearly visible. The fence harms the street scene as it appears as a dominant and incongruous feature due to its height and sitting in a prominent location. 7. For these reasons the fence has an unacceptable effect on the character and appearance of the street scene. Consequently, it does not comply with policies DS1, DS3, DS5 and SC9 of the Local Plan for the Bradford District Core Strategy Development Plan Document, July 2017. Conclusion and Recommendation 8. For the reasons given above I recommend that the appeal should be dismissed. L M Wilson APPEALS PLANNING OFFICER Inspector’s Decision 9. I have considered all the submitted evidence and the Appeal Planning Officer’s report and, on that basis, I too agree that the appeal is dismissed. A U Ghafoor INSPECTOR