The Old Barracks, 95 Dartford Road , SEVENOAKS, TN13 3TF

The Old Barracks, 95 Dartford Road , SEVENOAKS, TN13 3TF — Sevenoaks District Council — Appeal Decision Site Visit made on 22 September 2021 by H Miles BA(hons), MA, MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 01 OCTOBER 2021 Appeal Ref: APP/G2245/W/21/3271010 The Old Barracks, 95 Dartford Road, Sevenoaks TN13 3TF • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 against a refusal to grant planning permission. • The appeal is made by Ms Lauri Cox of Cassini Developments against the decision of Sevenoaks District Council. • The application Ref 20/02823/FUL, dated 17 September 2020, was refused by notice dated 27 January 2021. • The development proposed is erection of a pair of semi-detached dwellings with associated parking and gardens, retention and adaption of existing dropped kerb. Decision 1. This appeal is dismissed. Preliminary Matters 2. Two dwellings have been constructed on site which I understand are in accordance with a previous planning permission1. The merits of this permission are not in dispute between the main parties and the construction of the dwellings provides certainty to the fallback position. I have therefore considered the appeal on the basis of the current situation. Main Issue 3.

The Old Barracks, 95 Dartford Road , SEVENOAKS, TN13 3TF — Sevenoaks District Council — Appeal Decision The main issue is the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the area, including the locally listed building, with particular respect to the first floor rear element and its roof and the roof above the two storey side additions. Reasons 4. The appeal site includes two recently constructed two-storey semi-detached dwellings fronting Bradbourne Road. The main roof form is hipped and pitched with a secondary part pitched, part flat roof terminating below the main ridge above a subservient two storey side addition. There is also a single storey flat roofed projection to the rear. 5. There are some examples of two storey side additions elsewhere in Bradbourne Road. However, these are not so common as to form an overriding feature in this road, which is characterised by its mixture of styles and designs of dwellings. 1 19/00116/FUL https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

The Old Barracks, 95 Dartford Road , SEVENOAKS, TN13 3TF — Sevenoaks District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/G2245/W/21/3271010 6. The site adjoins the Old Barracks (95 Dartford Road), a locally listed building. Its significance includes its age and therefore rarity thought to date back to 1750, its original features including its external appearance with a hipped slate roof, traditional sash windows and detailing to Bradbourne Road and its historic use with a likely link to a former military barracks in Sevenoaks. The Old Barracks is therefore a non-designated heritage asset which has a notable degree of heritage significance meriting consideration in planning decisions, although it has no statutory protection. 7. The Old Barracks is on a prominent corner site with the open space of Barrack Corner/Rheinbach Gardens nearby. It is therefore experienced in the context of other properties along Bradbourne Road, including the dwellings on the appeal site. There is currently a stepped roofline down from 1-5 Bradbourne Road to the lower roof at The Old Barracks. This results in generous surroundings to the Old Barracks and ensures its significant features are prominent and appreciated in the streetscene.

The Old Barracks, 95 Dartford Road , SEVENOAKS, TN13 3TF — Sevenoaks District Council — Appeal Decision Consequently, in this respect, the dwellings as constructed, including their scale and rooflines make a positive contribution to the setting of the non-designated heritage asset and the streetscene. 8. The proposed development would result in an increased size and scale to dwellings on the appeal site, including increasing the height of the roof above the side addition, removing the stepped roofline between 1 Bradbourne Road and the Old Barracks. This would result in buildings which would be more prominent in the setting of the non-designated heritage asset, and therefore would detract from the appreciation of its significant features as well as the appearance of the wider streetscene. I therefore consider the scale of the harm to the non-designated heritage asset would be moderate. Although the first floor rear extensions would not be easily visible in the streetscene, they would be perceived from nearby residential development and therefore this harm would be experienced. 9. Issues of land ownership are not a material planning consideration to which I can attribute any degree of weight. Nevertheless, I am not persuaded that the location of the proposed boundary fence would be inappropriate.

The Old Barracks, 95 Dartford Road , SEVENOAKS, TN13 3TF — Sevenoaks District Council — Appeal Decision Nor am I provided with any substantive evidence which leads me to conclude that this scheme would not preserve the setting of the Conservation Area. 10. Consequently, for the reasons set out above, the proposed development would result in moderate harm to the appreciation of the significant features of this non designated heritage asset and would have an unacceptable effect on the character and appearance of the area. Therefore, in this respect the proposed development would be contrary to Policy EN1 and EN4 of the Sevenoaks Allocations and Development Management Plan and Policy SP1 of the Sevenoaks Core Strategy. Together these set out principals to create high quality design, and require that proposals must conserve or enhance the character appearance and setting of heritage assets Other Matters 11. The proposed development would not create any new dwellings and therefore would make a very limited contribution to housing need. Therefore, this does not outweigh the public and permanent harm to the character and appearance of the area identified above. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

The Old Barracks, 95 Dartford Road , SEVENOAKS, TN13 3TF — Sevenoaks District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/G2245/W/21/3271010 Conclusion 12. The proposed development would not accord with the development plan and there are no material considerations to outweigh that finding. Therefore, for the reasons given, I conclude that the appeal should be dismissed.

The Old Barracks, 95 Dartford Road , SEVENOAKS, TN13 3TF — Sevenoaks District Council — H Miles INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3