Before…

Borough of Poole: “Relatively straightforward one-for-one house” you may say, and indeed we thought the same when the client came to us with the site. However it was only when a negative pre-application response for a similar one-for-one house was produced and thrust upon us which made us think that we may have more of a fight on our hands than we had bargained for!

It transpired that the Borough of Poole Council considered that “the established pattern of development within this stretch…  has development in a regimented position within their curtilages with regular spacing between them, particularly noticeable at first floor level, offering skyward and vistas of trees to the rear of the houses”.

…and after.

Because the pre-application scheme was seen to be “closing the gap” by almost totally spanning the width of its plot a negative response was received. We took the comments received on board and liaised with the architects in re-designing the scheme, amending it here and there but in particular slightly reducing the width of the built form. We submitted a near identical scheme along with a comprehensive supporting Design, Access and Planning Statement which made an assessment of the context, street gaps and character of the area and justified why the proposal was acceptable in all respects. The case officer in his case officer’s report noted that “the proposed dwelling will be larger than the existing dwelling in terms of its height, width, depth and massing” he nonetheless was satisfactorily convinced that “the appearance of the building will positively contribute to the appearance of the street scene” and that “the proposed dwelling will not materially affect the amenities of neighbouring properties”.

The application was subsequently approved by the Council two weeks ahead of its target date.

If you are planning a ‘grand design’ of your own and would like a firm of planning consultants to push your dream home through the planning system, then please do not hesitate to contact Pure Town Planning to find out how we can help you.