Report Item 3 – 16/00621/FULL – Fleetwater Cottage, Newtown Road, Minstead, Lyndhurst SO43 7GJ

1. REASON FOR COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

Contrary to Parish Council view

2. DEVELOPMENT PLAN DESIGNATION

Conservation Area: Forest Central South

3. PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN POLICIES

• DP1 General Development Principles
• DP6 Design Principles
• DP12 Outbuildings
• CP7 The Built Environment
• CP8 Local Distinctiveness

4. SUPPLEMENTARY PLANNING GUIDANCE

Design Guide SPD

5. NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK

• Sec 7 - Requiring good design
• Sec 11 - Conserving and enhancing the natural environment
• Sec 12 - Conserving and enhancing the historic environment

6. MEMBER COMMENTS

None received

7. PARISH COUNCIL COMMENTS

Minstead Parish Council: Recommend permission, appears to have addressed previous concerns.

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8. CONSULTEES

8.1 Building Design & Conservation Area Officer: Objection.

9. REPRESENTATIONS

9.1 One representation of support:

• Proposed development is more in keeping with the design principles of the conservation area than the existing building.
• Having sufficient parking to meet the needs of the dwelling removes the risks associated with on-road parking.

9.2 One representation of comment:

• Less obtrusive than the application submitted in May 2015.
• The design of the roof is overly complicated in terms of its form and appearance. Traditional vernacular outbuildings in the New Forest typically have simple forms.
• Roof would be more in keeping with the Arts and Crafts movement if it had full hips.

10. RELEVANT HISTORY

10.1 15/00395 - garage (demolition of existing garage) refused on 7 July 2015

11. ASSESSMENT

11.1 The application site is a detached dwelling which is located in a prominent position within the Forest Central South Conservation Area. Fleetwater Cottage forms part of a notable group of buildings with Fleetwater House. They are relatively high status late C19th buildings, with design detailing from the Arts and Crafts period. Fleetwater Cottage is an ancillary building to Fleetwater House being smaller and more simply detailed, with bricks, a clay tile roof, a single chimney and timber multiple pane casement windows. It has been identified as a building of local importance within the conservation area character appraisal and as such is considered to be an undesignated heritage asset. This application seeks consent for a garage; the existing garage at the site would be demolished.

11.2 A recent application (15/00395) for a replacement garage at the site was refused for the following:

The proposed outbuilding, by reason of its excessive scale, size and appearance, would appear as an unduly prominent and visually intrusive structure within the street scene and out of keeping with the host property 'Fleetwater Cottage', resulting in a harmful impact upon the character and appearance of the locality and the surrounding conservation area.

This previous application sought consent for a garage with a footprint of 6.5m by 7.5m and ridge height of 4.6m as seen from Newtown Road. Attached to the double garage was a workshop which had a further footprint of 2.7m by 6.5m and ridge height of 3m above ground level. The structure would have had a total footprint of circa 65m2.

11.3 The current application seeks consent for a smaller garage which would have a footprint of 6.5m by 6m and a ridge height of 4m as viewed from Newtown Road. Attached to the garage would be a workshop measuring 2m by 5m. In total the building would have a footprint of approximately 50m2. The relevant issues which still need to be considered are the impact upon the character and appearance of the conservation area and whether the outbuilding would be appropriate to the host dwelling. Whilst the reduction in the size of the outbuilding is welcomed, in this prominent location to the frontage of the site abutting Newtown Road, there are still concerns with regards to its overall size, scale and appearance within the street scene.

11.4 The guidance contained within the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that development shall contribute positively to making places better (para 56) and that permission should be refused for development of poor design that fails to take the opportunities available for improving the character and quality of an area (para 64). Moreover, paragraph 137 of the NPPF states that Local Authorities "should look for opportunities for new development within Conservation Areas...and within the setting of heritage assets to enhance or better reveal their significance". Core Strategy policies also emphasise the need for good design requiring new development to demonstrate high quality design which enhances local character and distinctiveness ensuring that development is appropriate and sympathetic in terms of scale, appearance, form and siting. The supporting text accompanying Policy DP12 recognises that the New Forest is the most densely populated National Park in the UK and that there is a considerable development pressure to provide for ever larger outbuildings. It is therefore important that proposals for outbuildings are carefully controlled to ensure that they do not appear visually intrusive or detrimental to the character of the New Forest. This is supplemented by the Authority's Design Guide SPD which requires outbuildings to be incidental and subservient to the dwelling in scale and appearance.

11.5 Due to the forward siting of the building, together with the open views afforded across the amenity space of Fleetwater Cottage and the changes in level along Newtown Road, any addition in this sensitive location would appear as a prominent addition within the street scene. It is therefore important that any replacement outbuilding is of a high quality design which enhances the character and appearance of the locality. The garage in situ is thought to have a modest and subsidiary character to the host dwelling which, although visible from within the street scene, has minimal visual impact due to its appropriate scale and design. In contrast, it is considered that the proposed outbuilding, by reason of its scale, size and resulting appearance which is considered to be overly complicated and suburban, would appear as an unduly prominent and visually intrusive structure within the street scene. It is considered that the design of the outbuilding and its contrived and complicated roof forms would exacerbate its size and bulky appearance. The outbuilding would be particularly dominant when travelling in a north easterly direction towards the ford and would appear out of keeping with the host property 'Fleetwater Cottage'.

11.6 Due to the proposed siting of the addition it is not considered there would be a greater impact upon the amenities of the adjacent properties. However, for the reasons stated above it is considered the proposal would result in an adverse impact upon the character and appearance of the locality and the surrounding conservation area. It is therefore considered the proposal would fail to comply with local and national planning policy and as such refusal is recommended.

12. RECOMMENDATION

Refuse

Reason(s)

1. The proposed outbuilding, by reason of its scale, size and overly complicated and suburban appearance, would appear as an unduly prominent and visually intrusive structure within the street scene, out of keeping with the host property 'Fleetwater Cottage', resulting in a harmful impact upon the character and appearance of the locality and the surrounding conservation area. The proposal would therefore be contrary to policies DP1, DP6, DP12, CP7 and CP8 of the New Forest National Park Core Strategy and Development Management Policies DPD (December 2010), Design Guide SPD and the National Planning Policy Framework.

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New Forest National Park Authority

Tel: 01590 646600 Fax: 01590 646666

Date: 28/09/2016

Scale: 1:2500

Ref: 16/00621/FULL

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