Chimney Cottage The Platt, AMERSHAM, HP7 0HX

Chimney Cottage The Platt, AMERSHAM, HP7 0HX — Buckinghamshire Council - Chiltern Area * — Appeal Decisions Site visit made on 13 December 2022 by Jo Dowling BA(Hons) MPHIL MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 09 January 2023 Appeal A Ref: APP/X0415/W/22/3291992 Chimney Cottage, The Platt, AMERSHAM, HP7 0HX • 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 Mr S Krystman against the decision of Buckinghamshire Council - East Area (Chiltern). • The application Ref PL/21/1314/FA, dated 29 March 2022, was refused by notice dated 12 November 2021. • The development proposed is demolition of existing outbuilding and erection of single storey side extension. Appeal B Ref: APP/X0415/Y/22/3291991 Chimney Cottage , The Platt, AMERSHAM, HP7 0HX • The appeal is made under section 20 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 against refusal to grant listed building consent. • The appeal is made by Mr S Krystman against the decision of Buckinghamshire Council - East Area (Chiltern). • The application Ref PL/21/1315/HB, dated 29 March 2022, was refused by notice dated 12 November 2021.

Chimney Cottage The Platt, AMERSHAM, HP7 0HX — Buckinghamshire Council - Chiltern Area * — Appeal Decisions • The development proposed is demolition of existing outbuilding and erection of single storey side extension. Decision 1. These appeals are dismissed. Main Issues 2. The main issues are the effect of the proposal on the listed building, Chimney Cottage, and its setting and the effect on the character and appearance of the Old Amersham Conservation Area. Reasons 3. Chimney Cottage is a modest detached white painted brick and timber framed building dating from the 17th Century. It has a tiled roof which is half hipped on the east side with two gable ended dormers in the front roofslope. The cottage has two prominent chimney stacks one located on the front elevation and the other on the western gable end. The property has the benefit of a more recent single storey side and rear extension. To the west of the property is located a single storey timber outbuilding. Levels drop across the site so that the single storey side extension and outbuilding are set down from the original cottage. 4. The property is located within the Old Amersham Conservation Area which covers the town centre and includes a variety of periods of building and https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Chimney Cottage The Platt, AMERSHAM, HP7 0HX — Buckinghamshire Council - Chiltern Area * — Appeal Decisions Appeal Decisions APP/X0415/Y/22/3291991 and APP/X0415/Y/22/3291992 architectural styles. The Platt, where Chimney Cottage is located, is a narrow rural lane which includes a number of historic small timber framed houses of a similar design to Chimney Cottage along with a number of newer infill properties. 5. The proposed single storey side extension would infill the space between the existing single storey extension and the boundary. The extension would have a rectangular form and a tiled hipped roof with a glazed lantern light along the ridge. A subordinate link structure would fill the gap between the two extensions and provide a new access. The existing outbuilding would need to be demolished/ removed in order to enable the extension to be built. 6. Section 16(2) of the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (the Act) requires that when considering a proposal that would affect a listed building or its setting special regard needs to be given to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses. 7.

Chimney Cottage The Platt, AMERSHAM, HP7 0HX — Buckinghamshire Council - Chiltern Area * — Appeal Decisions The existing outbuilding is a modest structure of limited bulk and scale which is clearly subservient to Chimney Cottage and does not detract from its setting. I accept that the proposed extension through the use of materials and design features has been carefully designed to reflect the form and scale of the existing extension and elements of the original building. However, it would be of a size, scale, bulk and height that would be significantly bigger than the current outbuilding and far more complex in form. As a result, whilst the host historic building would remain intact and identifiable, when combined with the existing extensions to the property, the proposed extension would lack subservience and would detract from the listed building and its setting. In my view the harm to significance would be less than substantial and where this is the case paragraph 202 of the Framework says that such harm should be weighed against the public benefits of the proposal. 8. I accept that the proposed extension would improve the function and layout of the ground floor which could encourage long term committed ownership and therefore preservation of the building.

Chimney Cottage The Platt, AMERSHAM, HP7 0HX — Buckinghamshire Council - Chiltern Area * — Appeal Decisions However, these benefits would be limited and, I consider, would be insufficient to outweigh the harm to the special interest, or significance of Chimney Cottage. 9. As a result, I consider that the works would fail to preserve Chimney Cottage and its setting for which a clear and convincing justification has not been provided. The works would therefore not comply with the requirements of Section 16(2) of the Act , the guidance contained within the Framework and policies GC1, LB1 and LB2 of the Chiltern District Local Plan (the Local Plan) which require extensions to respect the scale and proportion of the existing building and preserve the character and appearance of listed buildings and their setting. 10. I agree that by siting the proposal to the west of the host building it would not adversely affect the setting of either of the neighbouring listed buildings. However, the proposed extension would be visible from The Platt and due to its size, scale, bulk and design when combined with the existing extensions I consider that it would detract from the character and appearance of the building and this part of the Old Amersham Conservation Area.

Chimney Cottage The Platt, AMERSHAM, HP7 0HX — Buckinghamshire Council - Chiltern Area * — Appeal Decisions The proposal would therefore not comply with Section 72 of the Act, the guidance contained within the Framework and policies CA1 and CA2 of the Local Plan which https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Chimney Cottage The Platt, AMERSHAM, HP7 0HX — Buckinghamshire Council - Chiltern Area * — Appeal Decisions The proposal would therefore not comply with Section 72 of the Act, the guidance contained within the Framework and policies CA1 and CA2 of the Local Plan which https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2 Appeal Decisions APP/X0415/Y/22/3291991 and APP/X0415/Y/22/3291992 advocate that in order to preserve its character and appearance and views to and from it, development in a Conservation Area should, amongst other things have regard to siting, the established pattern of development, scale, bulk and height. Conclusion 11. Accordingly, for the reasons set out I conclude that the demolition of the existing outbuilding and erection of single storey side extension would fail to preserve the setting of Chimney Cottage and the character and appearance of the Old Amersham Conservation Area and as such these appeals should be dismissed.

Chimney Cottage The Platt, AMERSHAM, HP7 0HX — Buckinghamshire Council - Chiltern Area * — Jo Dowling INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3