'Chalet' in garden for disabled foster child refused by Peterborough council

Planning permission for a "chalet bungalow" to house a disabled foster child has been refused by Peterborough City Council (PCC).

The three-bedroom building would have been constructed in the garden of 25 Nansicles Road in Orton Longueville.

Cllr Heather Skibsted (Greens, Orton Longueville) said the council’s planning committee should take the family’s needs into account when determining the application.

They’re in a “unique situation”, she said at a planning meeting, as they want to downsize from their current home but also want their foster child to be able to continue living in the area he knows.

But the committee criticised the applicants for failing to provide sufficient details regarding access to the site and its impact on surrounding trees.

Committee member Cllr Christian Hogg (Liberal Democrats, Fletton and Stanground) said he feels like “we’ve had our time wasted” because of these "gaps" in the application.

Cllr Amjad Iqbal (Labour, Central) added that, as the application has come through the planning process before, he would have expected more to be done to bring it in line with the council’s policies and requirements.

The committee was unanimous in its refusal.

PCC’s planning officers also said the extra dwelling would constitute overdevelopment, although they added that it wouldn’t impact current neighbours.

It would, however, impact any future owners of the home currently at 25 Nansicles Road, they said in a report.