BCP Council (Poole): Matt Annen is delighted to share the news that planning permission has been granted for a replacement house in the Poole Park / Whitecliff area of Poole which was designed by Marlow Architects.
From registration to approved decision notice was just under 4 months, which is quite good for BCP Council at the moment given their appalling delays on many applications. Matt tried to initiate a dialogue early doors but was met with a wall of silence. Nevertheless he continued to email the planning officer responding to representations made from neighbours and internal consultees. The officer eventually contacted Matt requesting a bat survey, not realising that one was submitted with the original documents (and was actually showing under the application on the Council’s website), sparking the question whether the planning officers are using such requests to buy themselves more time?
Anyway, in arriving at a favourable recommendation the officer concluded:
“The submitted plans provide a street scene image that illustrates the difference in height between the existing structure and the proposed replacement. Whilst the proposed replacement dwelling would be of a greater overall height than the existing dwelling, the increase in height would not be so significant that the proposed new dwelling would be out of keeping with the scale of other properties within the street scene or appear unduly dominant. It is considered that the overall scale, bulk and massing of the proposed new dwelling is in keeping with the prevailing scale and proportions of the dwellings along Orchard Avenue”.
Strong representations were made my the neighbours to the rear regarding the impact of the outbuilding on their amenity which were countered by a robust rebuttal from Matt and the officer agreed that this would not be an issue confirming:
“Given the single storey scale of the proposed outbuilding that would be located adjacent to the rear boundary of the site, it is not considered that it would give rise to any material harm to the amenities and privacy of the occupants of the neighbouring properties”.
If you are thinking of embarking on a building project to realise your dream home whether that be via a remodel or full replacement, we’d be happy to assist you navigate what can often be a somewhat frustrating planning process.