Report Item 6 – 22/00537/FULL – 53 & 55 High Street, Lyndhurst SO43 7BE

1. REASON FOR COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

Contrary to Parish Council view

2. DEVELOPMENT PLAN DESIGNATION

• Conservation Area
• Defined New Forest Village

3. PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN POLICIES

• SP16 The historic and built environment
• SP17 Local distinctiveness
• DP2 General development principles
• DP18 Design principles

4. SUPPLEMENTARY PLANNING GUIDANCE

Design Guide SPD

5. NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK

• Sec 12 - Achieving well-designed places
• Sec 16 - Conserving and enhancing the historic environment

6. MEMBER COMMENTS

None received

7. PARISH COUNCIL COMMENTS

Lyndhurst Parish Council: Recommend refusal for the reasons listed. Each property should retain its individual character as described within the Conservation Area appraisal of Lyndhurst High Street. No 53 should retain the 4 top windows and the central vertical mullion. No 55 should have 3 top windows and the central vertical mullion. The doors should replicate the original wooden doors not the replacement PVC ones. All replacements if approved are to be wood. (Unanimous, Cllr Stratford abstained from voting).

Following receipt of Conservation Officer comments, further Parish Council response was received: Pleased to see the UPVC disappear and to be replaced by wood. However, the three shop fronts should have three distinct individual designs rather than a single repeated design. We therefore still object to this planning application.

8. CONSULTEES

9. REPRESENTATIONS

10. RELEVANT HISTORY

• 10.1 Replacement shopfront (21/00810) withdrawn on 12 January 2022
• 10.2 Use of ground floor as 3 shops and first floor as 2 flats; rear single storey extension (02/74884) granted on 24 June 2002

11. ASSESSMENT

11.1 The application site comprises two small units with no.53 selling baked goods and coffee for consumption off the premises and no.55 being an art and collectibles gallery. The units form part of a group of three, the third, no.57, being separated by an additional door leading to first floor accommodation, which are characterised by the use of small top lights over the main display windows and doors. Other shopfronts within the High Street are of a wide variety of styles but with some uniformity provided by the use of materials, almost exclusively timber for the surrounds and glazing bars. The units, which are identified as being in buildings of local historic interest, are centrally located in the High Street, adjacent to the pedestrian crossing and within the Lyndhurst Conservation Area.

11.2 The proposal seeks to replace the shopfronts of the two units. The current shopfront of no.53 is unauthorised and the previous application, to regularise the works that had been carried out, was withdrawn following advice from the Authority's officers that they were not acceptable. The proposal would result in both shopfronts being of a similar style, using timber windows and doors. The key considerations are:

• Whether the design and materials of the new shopfronts are appropriate to the building; and
• The impact on the streetscene and the character and appearance of the conservation area.

11.3 The site is located within the conservation area where, under Section 72 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act special attention should be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of that area. Policy SP16 of the Local Plan requires development to conserve and enhance the significance or special interest of non-designated heritage assets and do not cause harm to the character and appearance of the conservation area.

11.4 In this case, it is recognised that neither of the shopfronts are original, having been replaced or created in the 1970's. However, as set out in the Conservation Area Character Appraisal, they were of a traditional design in keeping with the character of the property and with other shopfronts in the High Street. Given the relatively recent date of the shopfronts, there would be no objection in principle to their replacement, particularly given the inappropriate materials that have been used for no.53 and the poor condition of the door to no.55. The proposals would use the existing openings into the building and would not result in the significant loss of historic fabric.

11.5 The replacement shopfronts are simple and traditional in design and would retain the element of small top lights over the main display window. Whilst the frontages do not exactly replicate the 1970's shopfronts, the use of timber frames and glazing bars is appropriate and would be in keeping with the majority of shopfronts within the High Street. It is therefore considered that the proposals would accord with the Design Guide and Policy SP16, in that they would conserve the character and appearance of the conservation area and the locally listed building.

11.6 Concern has been raised by the Parish Council that the three shopfronts would be too uniform in appearance and should rather have the individual designs that were previously in place. It is not, however, considered that where, as in this case, the replacements are appropriate in terms of style and materials and would not have an adverse impact on the character and appearance of the conservation area, it would be reasonable to require them to be identical to the previous, relatively modern frontages that they replace. The High Street has a wide variety of shopfronts and the similarity of these three small units, which are already alike in terms of their proportions, would not significantly reduce the visual interest of the High Street as a whole. A reason for refusal on this basis could not therefore be sustained.

11.7 The proposed shopfronts are of a traditional design, appropriate to the building and will not adversely affect the character and appearance of the conservation area. The development is therefore in accordance with Policies DP2, SP16 and SP17 of the adopted Local Plan.

12. RECOMMENDATION

Grant Subject to Conditions

Condition(s)

1. The development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of three years from the date of this permission.

   Reason: To comply with Section 91 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as amended by Section 51 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

2. Development shall only be carried out in accordance with plans:

   • 9810.110 Rev.P1 - Location and block plan
   • 9810.111 Rev.P1 - Existing and proposed front elevations

   No alterations to the approved development shall be made unless otherwise agreed in writing by the New Forest National Park Authority.

   Reason: To ensure an acceptable appearance of the building in accordance with Policies SP16, SP17, DP18 and DP2 of the adopted New Forest National Park Local Plan 2016- 2036 (August 2019).

3. No windows/doors shall be installed until the following details, at a scale of 1:10 elevation and 1:5 section, have been submitted to, and approved in writing by, the New Forest National Park Authority.

   1. Typical joinery details including window/doors
   2. Fascias
   3. Paint colour
   4. Fascia and sign lettering detailing

   Development shall only take place in accordance with those details which have been approved.

   Reason: To ensure an acceptable appearance of the building in accordance with Policies DP2, SP16, SP17 and DP18 of the adopted New Forest National Park Local Plan 2016- 2036 (August 2019).