A bungalow replacement scheme in the West Wight village of Freshwater has been waved through in the face of resistance from a local parish council.
Dr Jane Worlock’s development proposal at 7 Chine Close in Freshwater was accepted by County Hall despite being labelled ‘out of keeping’ and ‘incongruous’ by Freshwater Parish Council (FPC).
The new 2-bedroom house would be an ‘improvement’ in terms of ‘provision of accommodation, sustainability, accessibility and design/appearance’, according to a statement from her agent, Andrew White Planning Consultancy..
“The proposed dwelling would comprise modest accommodation including an open plan living/kitchen/diner, 2 bedrooms (one en-suite), shower room, utility room and entrance hall.
“There would also be an integral garage including enough space for the parking of a car and bicycle along with storage for bins.
“This proposal would constitute an acceptable component within this evolving built environment where there is clearly capacity to accommodate architectural change and advancement without causing harm.”
A spokesperson for FPC said:
“Freshwater Parish Council recommends refusal of this application as the proposed development is out of keeping with the existing street scene. The development, if approved, would redefine the street scene and be incongruous to the location.”
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Planners wrote:
“The proposal would see a small increase in footprint – however given the tight plot on which the host property sits the increase would not be excessive and officers consider the slight increase would not result in overdevelopment of the site.
“It is acknowledged that the design approach would result in a dwelling that would appear significantly different when viewed within the wider context of the residential street scene.
“However, the front elevation has been designed to be similar in terms of layout with the garage and entrance door located to the righthand side and two windows, albeit smaller scale, located to the lefthand side.
“Whilst the roofline would be entirely different to anything else within the area it would not stand any higher than its neighbours or the existing roof and officers are of the opinion that it would add design interest into the street scene.”
