Home extension can go ahead after Telford couple's appeal
A couple have won permission to extend their home despite concerns it might impact on a “historically significant” pub and pair of houses nearby.
Mr and Mrs J Murfin applied for permission to build a conservatory at the side of their home at Church Road, Dawley, but Telford and Wrekin Council’s planning department refused permission in August.
But, after a site visit last week, government-appointed planning inspector Robert Hitchcock has overturned that appeal and allowed the development.
Council planners had said the conservatory, which would be visible from the street, would be “incongruous”, but, in a Planning Inspectorate decision notice, Mr Hitchcock points out that nearby homes are already significantly altered, and the area no longer has “consistent rhythm or character”.
Mr Hitchcock writes that the Murfins’ home is in “an area of mixed age and character dwellings, including traditional semi-detached and detached properties intertwined with more modern terraces, individually-styled properties and infill development”.
He adds: “The proposed development would not appear incongruous or adversely affect any consistent rhythm or character of development within the locality.”
An appraisal document, prepared by council planning officers at the time of the original refusal, said the proposed conservatory, being visible from the street, would be an “incongruous addition”. It also said “the proposed scheme would have a detrimental impact upon the setting, character and appearance of surrounding local interest buildings, distracting from the historic character of the surrounding area”.
Mr Hitchcock says this refers to a semi-detached pair of homes next to the Murfins’ house and The Church Wicketts, a pub opposite.
“The buildings’ significance stems from their forming part of an earlier 19th-century settlement, now incorporated within the wider Malinslee suburb,” he writes.
He adds that, while the conservatory would narrow the gap between the houses, a “visual break” would remain and “no direct physical effect” on the next-door house would result.
In his decision notice, published on Monday, Mr Hitchcock allowed Mr and Mrs Murfin’s appeal but said they must use approved building materials on the external surface “in the interest of the character and appearance of the area”.
