Area of footpath, Chartfield Avenue, London, SW15 6DQ

Area of footpath, Chartfield Avenue, London, SW15 6DQ — London Borough of Wandsworth — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 22 April 2022 Decision by C Rafferty LLB (Hons), Solicitor an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 13th May 2022 Appeal Ref: APP/H5960/W/21/3282715 Chartfield Avenue, Putney, London SW15 6DQ • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 against a refusal to grant approval required under Schedule 2, Part 16, Class A of The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended) (the GPDO). • The appeal is made by CK Hutchison Networks (UK) Ltd against the decision of Wandsworth Council. • The application Ref 2021/2663, dated 4 June 2021, was refused by notice dated 29 July 2021. • The telecommunications installation proposed is 20m high ‘slim line’ Phase 8 H3G street pole c/w wrap around cabinet and 3no. additional cabinets with ancillary works – to be coloured grey. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Preliminary Matters 2. The provisions under Schedule 2, Part 16, Class A of the GPDO requires the local planning authority to assess the proposed development solely on the basis of its siting and appearance, taking into account any representations received.

Area of footpath, Chartfield Avenue, London, SW15 6DQ — London Borough of Wandsworth — Appeal Decision My determination of this appeal has been made on the same basis, having regard to the policies of the development plan and the National Planning Policy Framework (the Framework) only in so far as they are relevant to the development and prior approval matters. 3. As the application form does not provide a concise description of the proposal, I have taken the description from the appeal form, which closely resembles that provided in the Council’s decision notice. Main Issue 4. The main issue is the effect of the siting and appearance of the proposal on the character and appearance of the surrounding area. Reasons 5. The site comprises an area of adopted highway land on the southern side of Chartfield Avenue, east of boundary with the West Putney Conservation Area. The surrounding area is primarily residential in nature, with the site located in front of the three storey Whitehead House development. Other street furniture is present in the immediate vicinity, such as traffic signs and lampposts, and tall mature trees line the pavement. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Area of footpath, Chartfield Avenue, London, SW15 6DQ — London Borough of Wandsworth — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/H5960/W/21/3282715 6. The proposal would reflect the vertical rhythm of the adjacent lampposts and street signage and would be coloured grey to assimilate with these designs. However, it would be of a considerably greater height and taller than both the nearby buildings and trees. While this height is necessary because of operational and technical requirements, the proposal would nevertheless be a notable and prominent feature in streetscene, appearing unduly imposing. As such, it would fail to visually relate to the other vertical elements on the street, while also appearing out of place against the largely residential backdrop. Due to its scale, this impact would fail to be screened or softened by the presence of the existing trees. 7. The introduction of the proposal alongside the existing street furniture would also result in a sense of visual clutter in the immediate vicinity of the site. Despite being located in a single line, the addition of various elements of differing heights and forms would lend a busy appearance to the highway.

Area of footpath, Chartfield Avenue, London, SW15 6DQ — London Borough of Wandsworth — Appeal Decision This would be experienced by pedestrians and vehicular users of Chartfield Avenue, where the various elements of the proposal alongside pre-existing features on the footpath would visually detract from the surrounding built development and the largely residential feel. Overall, it would be a visually intrusive feature that would appear incongruous in context. 8. Paragraph 114 of the Framework makes it clear that planning decisions should support the expansion of electronic communications networks, including 5G. In this respect the appellant has demonstrated that the proposal would facilitate such expansion, addressing current insufficient capacity. The appellant has further demonstrated that the sequential approach for site selection has been followed in choosing the appeal site as the location for the proposal, with base stations needing to be located near the area that they cover. These benefits attract weight in favour of the proposal. 9. However, although the Framework aims to facilitate the growth of new telecommunication systems, it also places great emphasis the importance of good design and respecting the character of surrounding areas.

Area of footpath, Chartfield Avenue, London, SW15 6DQ — London Borough of Wandsworth — Appeal Decision As such, while acknowledging the above benefits of the proposal, I consider that they would not be sufficient to outweigh the harm that the proposal would cause to the character and appearance of the surrounding area. 10. For the above reasons, the siting and appearance of the proposal would cause material harm to the character and appearance of the surrounding area. Having reached this conclusion the proposal would also conflict with Policies DMS1, DMS9 and DMT1 of the Wandsworth Local Plan Development Management Policies Document (2016), in so far as they relate to siting and appearance. Other matters 11. The appellant has referred to the fact that comparable form of development exists in urban locations across the country, and that the cabinets proposed are typical of control boxes found around the country. This is acknowledged. However, each appeal must be decided on its own site specific circumstances and a general reference to development elsewhere carries little weight, which does not outweigh the harm identified above. 12. It is noted that the appellant is willing to remove the dishes present on the proposed pole.

Area of footpath, Chartfield Avenue, London, SW15 6DQ — London Borough of Wandsworth — Appeal Decision However, due to the height of the pole, it is not considered that this would reduce the visual harm in this location. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2 Appeal Decision APP/H5960/W/21/3282715 13. The appellant has stated that the proposal would cause no harm in relation to highway safety or the living conditions of surrounding residents. This represents a lack of harm, which is a neutral matter in the planning balance. Conclusion 14. For the reasons given above the appeal should be dismissed.

Area of footpath, Chartfield Avenue, London, SW15 6DQ — London Borough of Wandsworth — C Rafferty INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3