Agenda item

The Committee considered the above-mentioned full application for erection of a dwelling house with detached garage following demolition of existing dwelling house and detached garage.

The Chairman permitted Councillor Dennis Booth to speak in his capacity as ward councillor for three minutes.

The Committee noted that the application site was located in an urban area of Guildford, positioned at the end of Park Chase which was a private cul-de-sac close to the town centre.  The area was characterised by large two-storey houses of differing styles and designs.  The site itself was the largest in the road which was currently occupied by a two-storey house with a garage attached to the side.  The scale of the proposed development was large however, the development retained adequate spacing to the boundaries and would improve the spacing and relationship between the application site and the neighbour at 6 Park Chase, that was currently undergoing extensions, including a large first floor addition, reducing the visual separation between the two dwellings.  New planting was proposed to the northern boundary so to enhance the screening. 

The Committee noted that comments had been received regarding the significance of the existing property, given that it was an example of an Arts and Crafts property and that it should be locally listed.  The Council’s Conservation Officer had reviewed the existing building against the requirements for local heritage listing, as set out in the historic England advice, and considered that the building was unlikely to have a level of historic significance which would merit the Council locally listing the building. 

The proposed northern side elevation had been reduced significantly in terms of its depth and bulk since the 2019 refusal.  The built form of the existing plot only took up 7% of the plot whereas the neighbouring plots were far more developed.  Therefore, considering the surrounding development, this proposal would represent an acceptable form of development in terms of scale, design, and impact on the character of the area.  The application site was located in the Guildford urban area and given that there were no other constraints on this site, the proposal would not have a detrimental impact on neighbouring amenity.  It provided sufficient parking, additional landscaping, sustainability species protection and biodiversity measures as secured by condition and the application was therefore recommended for approval.

The Committee discussed the application and noted the concerns raised regarding the loss of a potential Arts and Crafts house with an unsympathetic bulky replacement with expansive roofscape that would not respect the character of the surrounding area.  The planning officer re-iterated the fact that the building was not listed or locally listed which had also been reviewed by the Council’s Conservation Officer whose view was that the dwelling merited no specific designation. 

The Committee agreed that since the house did not meet the criteria for it to be considered as locally listed an argument could not therefore be sustained on heritage grounds.  The Committee also noted that neighbouring houses were significantly large and bulky and therefore set a precedent.  The replacement dwelling would be set back with an appealing frontage that would not affect the character of the road.

A motion was moved and seconded to approve the application which was carried.

In conclusion, having taken account of the representations received in relation to this application, the Committee

RESOLVED to approve application 20/P/01340 subject to the conditions and reasons as detailed in the report.