SAA Succeeds on Appeal for Residential Development in the Green Belt
Steven Abbott Associates LLP (SAA), has been successful with an appeal relating to an amended residential scheme on a Green Belt site in West Lancashire.
Permission for the demolition of the existing farmhouse and ancillary buildings and subsequent erection of two dwellings with detached double garages was first granted on appeal in January 2009. The applicant has since submitted plans to increase the gap between the proposed structures (from 4.5m to 15m), which West Lancashire Borough Council refused on the grounds that it impacted on the visual amenity and openness of the Green Belt.
SAA Associate, Christie McDonald, challenged the decision on the basis that the amended scheme increased the openness of the site rather than having the opposite effect. “There is actually no increase in the overall amount of built development proposed and the widening of the gap between the properties should not adversely affect the visual amenity any more so than the previously approved scheme,” said Christie McDonald.
“Any loss of openness would be offset by the extended views of the countryside as a result of the widening of the gap and would be further mitigated by the presence of grass and foliage.”
The inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to determine the appeal concurred that the proposed dwellings comprise an appropriate response to the local landscape and will have an acceptable impact on the openness of the Green Belt.
(October 2010)
Visuals by Steven Abbott Associates LLP
