BCP Council (Poole area): Pure Town Planning are pleased to have recently secured planning permission for the erection of a rear and side extension, part single storey and part two storey, the formation of a new front, rear and side terrace with boot room and utility below, replacement front steps and fenestration alterations to a dwelling in Lilliput. The scheme was designed by Marlow Architects.
The property is a semi-detached dwelling with white rendered elevations, a red brick plinth and a grey tiled hipped roof, presenting as three storeys to the rear with a semi-basement form to the front, complete with a mansard-style roof and first floor veranda. It sits within a TPO area, in a street characterised by detached and semi-detached homes of mixed design where, as the officer acknowledged, traditional and contemporary styles sit comfortably alongside one another.
Our client’s brief was an ambitious one: to add meaningful family accommodation across two levels, create usable outdoor terracing to the front, rear and side, and introduce practical utility and boot room space below, all without overwhelming a building that already has a distinctive and rather layered form.
Four letters of representation were received: three objections and one in support. The objections raised concerns about the proposals being overbearing, loss of daylight, loss of privacy The officer’s assessment found that the scheme was carefully designed to avoid an overbearing relationship, that shadowing to the neighbouring properties would be minor and short-lived across the day, and that privacy could be safeguarded by a condition requiring a 1.8m screen to the rear terrace.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing, towards the end of the determination period the case officer came back to us with concerns about the design of the scheme and, in particular, the impact of the flat roof additions on the character of the host dwelling and the wider area. The officer offered us a single opportunity to address those concerns under BCP Council’s “one amendment policy” in other words, one shot at getting it right, with refusal the alternative.
This is exactly the point at which an application can quietly fall over. Following a period of constructive back and forth between the planning officer, the client and the architect, we identified that the officer’s principal concern came down to excessive mass and bulk rather than the principle of extending. The scheme was amended to reduce the bulk and massing of the first floor side extension and to replace the predominantly flat roof design with a roof form that matches the existing dwelling more closely.
The result is a scheme that reads as genuinely subservient to the host building and far more sympathetic to its existing design. The officer confirmed that the original concerns had been overcome, concluding that the proposals would not harm the character of the area and complied with Policy PP27 of the Poole Local Plan and Policy DP3 of the NPPF.
The application was determined in 9 weeks and 4 days. Whilst that is 11 days beyond the 8 week statutory target, it is a strong outcome once the amendment process, re-consultation and tree officer input are taken into account and a considerably better result than a refusal followed by a fresh application or an appeal running well into next year.
Are you thinking of extending a semi-detached or terraced home? Semi-detached and terraced properties are, without question, the most difficult houses to extend well. Shared boundaries, tight side gaps, back-to-back rear elevations and a rhythm of similar houses in the street mean that officers scrutinise massing, roof form and overlooking far more closely than they perhaps would on a detached plot. If you are considering extending a semi-detached or terraced property get in touch with Pure Town Planning today to find out if we can assist you.