Date of Meeting: 1st February 2006
Reference No:
Proposal:
Location:
Applicant:
Agent:
Date Received:
Case Officer:
Recommendation:
Parish/Ward: Clewer
Agenda No. 6
North Ward
05/03154/FULL
Full
Erection of new entrance gates with brick walls and piers
Old Mill House Mill Lane Windsor Berkshire SL4 5JQ
The Hobson Trust
SCS Designs
15th December 2005
Michael Byrne
REF
Planning Context:
Excluded Settlement
Flood Plain
Listed Building and
Conservation Area.
Sustainable Development Implications:
None.
LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS:
1.
Main Relevant Policies
Local Plan - DG1, F1, LB2 and CA2; and
Structure Plan – DP5, EN4 and EN6.
2.
Previous Relevant Decisions
There is no previous planning history for the property that is considered
relevant to these applications.
3.
The Highway Authority
The Highway Officer’s formal response is awaited although in discussion he
recommends refusal until such time as the adopted highway rights are
extinguished, as the proposal involves development across the highway, albeit
close to where the private road to Old Mill House begins.
4.
Rights of Way
None affected.
5.
Neighbour Notification Responses
Six letters of objection have been received from adjoining neighbours. The
objections are that:
the proposal would result in a dangerous turning head adjacent to a
slipway;
problems for emergency vehicles;
the reduced parking would impact on the adjoining dwellings;
delivery vehicles would cause disturbance when waiting for access
through the gates; and
pollution and disturbance caused by manoeuvring vehicles outside the
adjoining dwellings.
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
6.
Conservation Department
The Conservation Officer considers that the proposal would not preserve
the setting of the Listed Building nor preserve the character and
appearance of the Conservation Area. The Conservation Officer therefore
recommends refusal.
REMARKS
This application has been promoted to Panel at the request of Cllr. Gliksten on
the grounds that, due to the amount of public interest in this proposal, the
application requires a public examination.
The Site
1.
Old Mill House is a Grade II Listed Building located at the end of Mill Lane
and close to the northern edge of the Clewer Conservation Area. Immediately
adjacent is the Mill Stream with the main river Thames further to the north.
The property lies within a settlement that is excluded from the Green Belt and
lies within Zone 3 (High Risk) of the Flood Plain.
The Proposal
2.
Permission is sought for the relocation of some existing wrought iron gates,
with new walls and pillars built to the front of the property. These would be
on
part of the adopted highway at the end of Mill Lane.
Principal Issues:
3.
The main issues in determining this application are considered to be:
a. the effect on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area and
the Listed Building;
b. the impact on the highway; and
c. the impact on the residential amenities of the neighbouring properties.
a) The effect on the character and appearance of the property and on the
Conservation Area and Listed Building.
4.
The Old Mill House is a Grade II Listed Building and lies within the Clewer
Village Conservation Area. The house has a large wing built in the 1970’s
located on the Mill Stream frontage. It is considered that the proposal would
result in some improvement to the setting of the buildings on the site by
creating a more spacious entrance with a better co-ordinated design of gates
and walls.
5.
Of concern though is the detailed appearance to the proposed walls. It is
considered that the proposed use of render on the new walls would not reflect
the character of the existing dwelling. A red brick would be more suitable in
that it would match the house beyond and would blend in better and be more
in character with the existing walls in this part of the Conservation Area. The
proposed 2m high rendered wall on the right hand side would abut onto an
existing 1.8m high wall. It is considered that as the gates are moved further
away from the house the gates and walls should match the height of the lower
walls on the approach to the property where the two would join. The relocated
wrought iron gates would be much more prominent in the new alignment and
it is considered that the side gate should better reflect the design of the main
gates.
c) The impact on the highway.
6.
The gates and supporting walls would be across an adopted highway and the
applicant has not submitted any evidence that the highway rights have been
extinguished. It is an offence to block a highway and the Highway Officer has
in discussion recommended refusal until such time as the highway rights
have been extinguished.
a) Neighbouring residential amenity.
7.
The concerns of the neighbours are acknowledged and it is accepted that the
proposal would to some extent reduce the sense of openness enjoyed by the
residents of this end of Mill Lane. It is nevertheless considered that as the
gates are wrought iron the loss of a sense of enclosure would not be
significant. It is also considered that the proposal is not so excessive in height
so as to be visually intrusive in a significant way.
Conclusion:
It is considered that the gates, pillars and walls would not cause significant
harm to the amenity of the adjoining properties. However, it is considered
that the proposal would not preserve the setting Listed Building or preserve
the character or appearance of the Conservation Area. An informative can be
added to the refusal notice to draw the applicant’s attention to the need to
extinguish the highway and obtain any other necessary consent(s).
Recommendation :
Subject to the formal response from
the Highway Officer being received, it
is recommended that permission be
refused for the following reason:
Conditions and Reasons
^CR;;
1
In the opinion of the Local Planning Authority, by virtue of the height of the
new wall where it would abut the existing brick wall, the use of render rather
than brick, and the details of the gates in this more visually prominent
alignment,would harm the setting of the Listed Building and would not
preserve the character and appearance of the Conservation Area. As such the
proposal would be contrary to Policies LB2 and CA2 of the Royal Borough of
Windsor and Maidenhead Local Plan (Incorporating Alterations Adopted in
June 2003) and Policy EN4 of the Berkshire Structure Plan 2001 - 2016
(Adopted in July 2005).