Fenland District Council Planning Committee: summary of all decisions made - including Bromsgrove House

Councillors on Fenland District Council planning committee made a string of decisions at their meeting on 6 April at Fenland Hall in March.

Bromsgrove House, Honeysome Road, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire PE16 6SB

Change of use of land to residential curtilage and erect a two-storey self-contained residential annex involving the demolition of existing outbuilding.

Officer recommendation: Refuse The proposal would result in the construction of a self-contained residential unit and separate curtilage to the host dwelling, of a form and character not in keeping with other development in the locality and encroaching on land categorised as countryside and thereby protected for its own sake.

The site is located at the northern end of Fenton Lode or Twenty Foot Drain, approximately 170m North of the junction with Honeysome Road, itself 1 km south of the roundabout junction of the A141 Fenland Way, bypassing Chatteris to the west.

The access road to the site incorporates C & G Coaches on its western corner and an electricity substation to its eastern side. The Lode is an unadopted byway serving agricultural buildings and two detached dwellings at its northern end and provides access for maintenance of the adjacent drain.

The application seeks permission for the construction of a detached annexe following demolition of the agricultural building on the northern side of the red-lined site, and the change of use of agricultural land to residential curtilage for the use by the occupiers of the annexe. For comparison purposes, the existing outbuilding has a floor area of 144 square metres and a ridge height to the roof of 3.5m.

Committee Decision: APPROVED. To go against Officer Recommendations and approve the application (majority vote).

Land Southeast Of Norbrown, Hospital Road, Doddington, Cambridgeshire PE15 0UG

Erect up to two dwellings.

Officer recommendation: Refusal The site is considered to be located within an unsustainable location where future occupants would be reliant on private motor vehicles to access services and facilities, as such it would not provide a suitable location for housing.

The application site is paddock land, however, appears to be being used as storage in relation to the construction of the frontage development. There is an informal gated field access off Hospital Road, and the access in relation to the new dwellings has been partially constructed, there are electricity poles running alongside the access. Hospital Road is a single-track country lane characterised by high hedges and landscaping along both sides of the road. There are no footpaths only grass verges and a distinct lack of lighting along the road.

The application seeks outline planning permission for up to 2 dwellings with all matters reserved, though access is indicated from Hospital Road.

Committee Decision: APPROVED. To go against Officer Recommendations and approve the application (majority vote).

Land West Of Lowlands, Colletts Bridge Lane, Elm, Cambridgeshire PE14 0EE

Erect one dwelling and garage.

Officer recommendation: Refuse The development proposed would enclose Collets Bridge Lane into the open countryside beyond to the detriment of the character and appearance of the area and would arguably create a precedent for further development on the western side of Collets Bridge Lane that would erode the existing open rural character this side.

Colletts Bridge is a group of approximately 30 dwellings. The site is accessed via Collets Bridge Lane, a very narrow single-track road. The site is located on the west side of the lane positioned between residential dwellings known as La Chaumiere to the south and The Hazels to the north, both 2- storey detached dwellings.

The land is generally open in nature, bounded by a 1.8m close boarded timber fence to its northern boundary and a 1.2m post and wire fence demarking the southern and western boundaries. An agricultural field access sits immediately to the south with open countryside beyond the site to the west.

The proposal is an outline planning application for the construction of a single dwelling and detached garage on the land, with all matters reserved for later approval.

Committee Decision: REFUSED (unanimous vote).

Agricultural Building East Of 723, Whittlesey Road, March, Cambridgeshire PE15 0AW

Erect 1 x dwelling (2-storey 5-bed) involving the demolition of existing agricultural building

Officer recommendation: Refuse The application, owing to its location in relation to the existing village, would not be considered as an infill development and by virtue of its location would be out of keeping with the core shape and form of the settlement extending beyond what is visibly the physical extent of the village and thereby appearing as an intrusion into the countryside.

The development proposed would, by virtue of its design and appearance, combined with its backland location appear as a unattractive and discordant feature at odds with the prevailing character of development and adversely impacting upon the character and appearance of the area.

The application site is located to the west of a ribbon of development on Whittlesey Road in Turves. The site backs onto this single line of development fronting Whittlesey Road and consists of a Nissen style building finished in brick and asbestos roof. Access to the site is by way of an existing agricultural track that cuts diagonally between 725 Whittlesey Road and Hamble House to the south.

The application proposes the erection of one dwelling (2-storey 5-bed) involving the demolition of the existing agricultural building. The dwelling would consist of a living room, kitchen/dining room, utility, and study on the ground floor and five bedrooms on the first floor.

Committee Decision: APPROVED. To go against Officer Recommendations and approve the application (majority vote).

Land East Of Bank View, Gull Road, Guyhirn, Cambridgeshire PE13 4ER

Removal of condition 3 (materials) and variation of condition 2 (occupancy restriction) and 8 (list of approved drawings), relating to planning permission F/YR21/0425/F (Erect a dwelling (2-storey 4-bed) and detached garage, involving the demolition of the existing glasshouses) to allow changes to elevational details, to re-position garage and clarify extent of ‘business operation’ on site.

Officer recommendation: Refuse It is considered that the prominence of the garage and the lack of separation between it and the modest bungalow, known as Rhonelda to the south, will be detrimental to the character of the street scene through the consolidation of the built form on the site. Furthermore, the lack of visual interest within this prominent elevation will further compound its character impact.

The Site on Bank View is located to the western side of Gull Road, it comprises a nursery enterprise with associated buildings and features a bungalow to the rear of the site which is nearing completion. The application site at the time of the initial site inspection (17.05.2021) comprised a range of dilapidated glasshouses situated to the south of the existing access to the site and associated service road to the wider nursery complex and the dwelling to the rear of the site. However, subsequent to the initial visit the glasshouses had been removed and the site cleared for development with Heras fencing erected to the front boundary.

Whilst the proposed description assigned to this application seeks to: (a) Revise the elevational details of the garage and house, (b) Agree construction material and (c) Clarify the occupancy tie, in essence deleting the existing dwelling to the rear of the proposed property from the ‘blue’ land as this property is not tied to the nursery use (d) Reposition the garage to serve the dwelling Items (a) to (c) have previously been accepted under F/YR20/1490/VOC which was not determined at the time that this more recent application was made. Accordingly, the sole change to consider in respect of this application is the repositioning of the garage to serve the dwelling.

Committee Decision: REFUSED (unanimous vote).

Land Southeast Of 127, Wype Road, Eastrea, Cambridgeshire PE7 2AZ

Erect up to two dwellings (single storey) and the formation of an access and a 1.2m wide footway to frontage (outline application with matters committed in respect of access, layout, and scale)

Officer recommendation: Refusal The application site constitutes an area of open countryside located outside the developed footprint of the settlement. The proposal would result in an incursion into the open countryside rather than small scale infilling and would result in the loss of the open character of the site and the urbanisation of the area.

The application site is located on the south-western side of Wype Road, Eastrea and adjoins a recent development of two bungalows. It is agricultural land with a current crop, there is a partial hedge alongside Wype Road beyond the wide grass verge. Open countryside extends adjacent south and east of the site and the location is considered to be rural in character.

The application seeks outline planning permission for the erection of 2 single[1]storey dwellings. Matters of access, layout and scale are committed meaning that the final appearance and landscaping are reserved for future submission under reserved matters.

The development proposes a single point of access to be shared between the two properties. A small section of hedge is required to be removed to accommodate the access, which is 5m wide, surfaced in tarmac for the first 10m and drained away from the highway. Plot 1 measures 14.5m x 10m and 6m high; Plot 2 measures 17m x 9m and 5.7m high (both excluding the protruding gable elements). The garages measure 6.5m x 6.5m and 4.8m in height.

Committee Decision: APPROVED. To go against Officer Recommendations and approve the application (majority vote).

The next meeting of Fenland District Council Planning Committee is on Wednesday, 4 May 2022 at 1pm.