Lack of garden spells 'No' for Wisbech home plans

Plans for a single house on a site in Wisbech have been rejected because the application does not include any garden for the property.

Roy Hirons, from Bexwell near Downham Market wanted to build a two storey, two bedroom home on land north of 6 Ramnoth Road.

However, Fenland District Council's planning officers have refused the application, despite support from the town council, because it did not meet the authority's current planning rules, which stipulate properties other than flats should all have at least one third of their site allocated for 'private amenity'.

A report on Mr Hiron's application by officers explains the site appears to have been part of the garden of 108 Norwich Road, which is at the back of the proposed property.

The report outlines the current planning policy, incorporated in the council's existing local plan, which stipulates properties should have a suitable amenity area (garden) as well as two parking spaces for a property the size of that being proposed.

However, not only does the proposed house fill the site, with only a small area at the back allocated for bins, and a "small strip of frontage planting is indicatively shown to the front boundary onto the road", it only has one parking space.

The report explains that planning policy wants development proposals, amongst other criteria, to promote high levels of residential amenity.

It says: "Planning policy states that development should provide sufficient private amenity space suitable to the type and amount of development proposed and that for dwellings other than flats that as a guide and depending on the local character of the area this means that a minimum of a third of the plot curtilage should be set aside as private amenity space."

And adds: "The two-bedroomed dwelling as proposed is shown to be positioned tight to the site boundaries without any private amenity space and would therefore not afford future occupants of the dwelling any private amenity space or indeed any private sitting out area of any description to be enjoyed whereby the frontage strip shown to the dwelling would not qualify as such."

The report points out that previous applications of a similar design for the site had been approved, but that was before the current policy was in place.

It says the actual design of the house is acceptable and would not adversely impact on the locality of the site, but the fact the application does not conform to planning policy means it must be refused.