Issue - meetings

Part retrospective: construction of two storey side extension, loft conversion including hip to gable extension and rear dormer and front/rear rooflights at 9 The Crescent, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth.

Recommendation: that part retrospective planning permission be granted subject to conditions.

Councillor Sian left the meeting room.

The application was part retrospective for construction of two storey side extension, loft conversion including hip to gable extension and rear dormer and front/rear rooflights at 9 The Crescent, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth.

The Planning Officer provided an update that condition 3 required amendment to include reference to No 8 (as well as No 10) in order to require the tile hanging to be applied to both dormer flanks, in accordance with the plans.

A local resident spoke against the application.

Parish Councillor Andrew Gallagher of Croxley Green Parish Council spoke on the application.

Points raised by the speakers against the application included: concerns about privacy and overlooking of neighbouring gardens and into children’s bedrooms; the proposal would be dominant and overbearing and excessively prominent within the street scene; the proposal should be amended to reduce the scale and require obscure glazing, better window placement and natural screening; the proposal did not respect the character of the street scene, particularly with regard to roof form, positioning and style of windows and materials; and the proposal was contrary to the Three Rivers District Council Development Plan and Policy CA2 of the Croxley Green Neighbourhood Plan.

In response to the points raised by speakers in relation to privacy and overlooking, the Planning Officer responded that the brick flanks to the dormers would ordinarily be allowed as permitted development.  Whilst the works which had been carried out to date were not in accordance with the Certificate of Lawfulness, and the proposal was contrary to the Council’s design criteria, officers were of the view that that the rear dormer window, the hip to gable roof and the front rooflights would nonetheless be allowed under the General Permitted Development Order.  There had therefore been a need to balance officers’ reservations about the harm arising from the proposal against the fallback position of permitted development.  The size of the dormer had been reduced since the original submission to match what would be achievable under permitted development.  In response to a question, the Planning Officer reported that the element of the proposal which would not be within the scope of permitted development and which required specific permission was the two-storey side extension.  Therefore, the Committee would need to consider whether there was any harm arising from the proposal in relation to the extension.

The Planning Officer also commented that the proposal would not push development any closer to residents of Cherry Croft.  Whilst the back-to-back distances for some were below the design criteria, this was an existing situation which would not be exacerbated.  The views from the first floor rear extension would be no greater; this was shown on the plans to be an ensuite bathroom and as such could be conditioned to required obscured glazing. 

A Committee Member questioned whether - given that the dormer window was the main reason for concerns about privacy - any condition might be imposed (such as obscured glazing) to mitigate the impact.  The Planning Officer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 142