Four-bed home and five flats at Englewood, 21 Amersham Road, Chesham Bois

What was proposed

The application proposed demolishing the existing dwelling and building a 4-bed home, five flats, a garage, parking, stores, access and landscaping.

“Description of Proposed Development 2.1 This application proposes the demolition of the existing dwelling and the erection of a detached residential building comprising a 4-bed dwelling, and 5 flats (3 x 1-bed and 2 x 2-bed), with a detached garage, cycle parking, and bin store, a relocated vehicular access, and associated parking and landscaping. The new building would have accommodation on two levels up to eaves level, plus accommodation in the roofspace.”

“The flats would share a residential garden area to the rear of the building. The dwelling would have a private garden area, adjacent to that of the flats, but separated by a boundary. To the front of the building, a cycle store and a bin store would be provided. The dwelling would have a separate cycle store and double garage to the front also. Ten parking spaces would be provided and laid out in a landscaped area to the front of the building.”

Officer report

The site and surroundings

The site contained a derelict Arts and Crafts dwelling in a large vegetated plot within an established residential area of special character.

“The site is occupied by an early 20th century Arts and Crafts style detached dwellinghouse, which is in a state of dereliction. The dwelling occupies a large plot which is bound by mature vegetation to all boundaries. To the south of the site is a similar styled detached dwellinghouse (19 Amersham Road), and to the north is 23 Amersham Road which sits at a lower ground level to that of the application site.”

“Finally, it is noted that the site is located within an Established Residential Area of Special Character (ERASC). The main issues for consideration are the impact of the proposal on the design/character of the area; neighbouring amenities; parking/highway implications and ecology matters. The proposed building would be set back from the street at around the same distance as the existing dwelling.”

Officer report

Objections to the proposal

The parish council and residents objected to the development’s scale, character, heritage, highways, parking, privacy, biodiversity, noise and possible precedent.

“- Detrimental to street scene - Detrimental impact of additional traffic - Insufficient parking - Undesirable precedent - Precedent would change the character of the area - Overlooking and intrusion from dormer windows - Concern regarding noise from the air source heat pumps - Lack of biodiversity net gain - Concern regarding loss of hedge - Car parking arrangements out of character with local area - Concern regarding impact of additional vehicles on highway safety - Nothing…”

Officer report

Who spoke

A councillor spoke for the parish council, an objector spoke for objectors, and an agent spoke for the applicant.

The committee’s decision

The committee resolved to defer the application and delegate approval to the Director of Planning and Environment, subject to conditions and SAC mitigation.

“It was proposed by Councillor M Tett and seconded by Councillor C Harriss…”

“Resolved: That the application be deferred and delegated to the Director of Planning and Environment to grant planning permission, subject to the additional and amended conditions noted above, along with the conditions set out in the officer report and the satisfactory prior completion of a Legal Agreement to secure mitigation for the Chiltern Beechwoods SAC.”

Minutes

Changes and safeguards

The committee noted further objections, corrected the highway speed reference and condition wording, updated ecological references, and added bat-box and bat-loft requirements.

“There had been 35 further letters of objection, some of which were from the same households and did not raise any significant new issues. • Within the Highways Officer consultation, the speed restriction along Amersham Road is noted as 40mph when the limit was 30mph, this amendment does not change the overall conclusion of the Highways Officer. • There was a typo in condition 13, to be amended from ‘imstalled’ to ‘installed’.”

Minutes