A former Premier League striker’s plans to renovate his Norwich dwelling have sparked a row after being accepted with out going to committee.
Dean Ashton’s software for main works on a Victorian terrace in a conservation space in Cambridge Avenue drew robust objections from neighbours.
However Norwich Metropolis Council accepted the plans utilizing delegated powers – which means full planning permission wasn’t required – a transfer some locals say shut them out of the method.
The plans for the extension
The appliance features a single-storey rear extension designed to extend dwelling house, a big dormer window added to the rear roofline to create extra bedrooms or usable loft house, and exterior steps resulting in the basement on the entrance of the home.
The plans additionally contain alterations to the entrance backyard, together with removing of mature vegetation to accommodate the basement entry.
Following preliminary issues, the scale of the rear extension was lowered in revised plans, however the total scope stays substantial for a Victorian terraced property in a conservation space.
Council approval utilizing delegated powers
Norwich Metropolis Council accepted the appliance utilizing delegated powers, which means it was signed off by planning officers with out dialogue by the council’s planning committee.
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Below the council’s coverage, household-scale developments are sometimes handled this manner except councilors name them in for additional scrutiny.
A council spokesperson stated: “The revised scheme was thought-about to have a suitable scale and design which might not lead to vital hurt to the character and look of the conservation space or residential amenity.”
They added that planning officers had taken under consideration the conservation context and objections, however decided the adjustments meant the appliance could possibly be accepted with out committee debate. “Planning officers thought-about the representations made and concluded that the amended proposals complied with adopted planning insurance policies. As such, it was decided beneath delegated powers.”
Plans will “irrevocably change a uncommon terrace of homes”
Native residents expressed robust opposition, warning that the “massive rear extension and outsized dormer can be an unsightly eyesore” and “trigger vital and everlasting hurt to the character, aesthetic and surroundings” of the Victorian terrace and conservation space.
Considerations additionally give attention to the entrance basement steps, which “would radically disrupt the road entrance elevation… breaking the integrity of the platform in an irrevocable manner.”
Structural dangers had been raised too, with one neighbour noting the extension’s weight “could nicely trigger some new motion” and citing “cracks” already growing in adjoining houses.
Many stress that “the distinctive high quality of the terrace… is its stylistic unity which will probably be destroyed if this growth is permitted.”
However, planning for the extension was allowed because it was not deemed dangerous and the security issues not stated to be of any concern by the council.
