Agenda item

Single storey outbuilding to rear for use as a workshop involving demolition of existing timber shed (Retrospective).

Recommendation: Approval

The application was approved.

Single storey outbuilding to rear for use as a workshop involving demolition of existing timber shed (Retrospective).

Officers provided an overview of the application and highlighted the changes set out in the addendum, the application site is a detached property located within the Ickenham Village Conservation Area. The rear garden is long and currently has other outbuildings used as ancillary space to the main house. The street scene is residential with detached properties and long rear gardens. To the rear of the site are the rear gardens of Ivy House Road.

The Lead Petitioner provided a written statement that was circulated to the Councillors before the meeting and hard copies were available at the meeting, the written statement was noted.

"As detailed on the site plan, 17 The Avenue is an L shaped plot which shares a rear boundary with 42 and 40 Ivyhouse Road within the Ickenham Conservation Area. Despite his declaration in the Planning Application, the Applicant has removed several mature trees from the rear boundary between 17 The Avenue and 42 Ivyhouse Road. The said trees were not subject to a TPO but are in excess of 30 years old. I understand that the Council Tree Officer does not have a problem with their removal despite the fact that the Council has a set procedure for the removal of trees within a Conservation Area and such procedure was not followed by the Applicant.

The Applicant has demolished an old wooden shed used for storage of old motor bikes and replaced it with a block built/timber clad pitched roof building described in the application as a workshop. The old shed was not visible to neighbouring properties due to its height (at least 1.5m lower than the new workshop) and because of the screen of trees which have now been removed.

The new building is some 7.5m long by more than 3m wide by in excess of 4m high. A building of great magnitude for a workshop. It has been erected in the "leg of the L-shaped" plot and is not clearly visible from the Applicant's own property. However, to properties bordering at the rear it is the proverbial blot on the landscape as can be seen from the previously submitted photos. It is also clearly visible from Ivyhouse Road, standing in excess of 2m higher than our garage at 42, despite the fact that the Applicant's declaration states that it cannot be seen from the road.

Most of our concerns are of an environmental nature but I feel the Council should be made aware of them in case of future problems.

In view of its height, the Petitioners request the Council to reject this Planning Application and ask for a modified, much lower, flat roofed building in its place. We would also request the Council to prohibit its use for business purposes and request reinstatement of mature trees (not Leylandii) between the aforementioned boundaries to screen any modified building from the view of neighbouring properties.

Indeed it is worthy of mention that as I circulated the Petition in Ivyhouse Road, many residents who have followed the correct procedure when applying for planning permission were extremely concerned that the Applicant went ahead without such permission in the Ickenham Conservation area. In doing so, he has breached bone fide building regulations that other applicants were forced to follow when building extensions/making modifications to property within the Ickenham Conservation Area."

It was noted by Councillors that the outbuilding was not an eyesore and was not part of the boundary. The applicant brought it to the attention of the Committee that the original building had become rotten and the new building was used only as a hobby workshop and had been built sensitively to the local area. It was confirmed that there was electricity in the building but not heating.

The recommendation for approval was moved, seconded and on being put to a vote was approved unanimously.

RESOLVED: That the application be approved, as per the officer recommendation.