Faras Lodge Anne Sucklings Lane, Little Wratting, HAVERHILL, CB9 7TA

Faras Lodge Anne Sucklings Lane, Little Wratting, HAVERHILL, CB9 7TA — West Suffolk — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 30 September 2022 by R C Shrimplin MA(Cantab) DipArch RIBA FRTPI FCIArb MCIL an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 15 November 2022 Appeal Reference: APP/F3545/W/22/3296719 Land at ‘Faras Lodge’, Anne Sucklings Lane, Little Wratting CB9 7TA • 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 and Mrs Farenden against the decision of West Suffolk Council. • The application (reference DC/21/2523/FUL, dated 29 December 2021) was refused by notice dated 9 March 2022. • The development proposed is described in the application form as a four-bed house and single detached garage, with landscaping, boundary treatments and bin and bike storage. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Preliminary points 2. The address that was given in the planning application form was plainly incorrect, since it included a reference to a “communication mast”. In the banner heading above, therefore, I have substituted the reference to ‘Faras Lodge’ that has been given in both the Council’s decision notice and in the appeal form. Main issues 3.

Faras Lodge Anne Sucklings Lane, Little Wratting, HAVERHILL, CB9 7TA — West Suffolk — Appeal Decision The first main issue to be determined in this appeal is the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the surroundings. The second is the effect of the proposed development on the residential amenities of neighbours (whether the proposed development would create an unacceptable intrusion on neighbours’ privacy). Reasons 4. Little Wratting is a small village on the north-eastern edge of Haverhill and Anne Sucklings Lane is, effectively, part of a suburban area that relates to the wider urban area of Haverhill. The area has expanded away from the town and new housing is still being constructed near to the appeal site. 5. Anne Sucklings Lane connects to Haverhill Road (the A143) which is a main road leading into Haverhill. It serves an extensive residential area to its south, http://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Faras Lodge Anne Sucklings Lane, Little Wratting, HAVERHILL, CB9 7TA — West Suffolk — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision: APP/F3545/W/22/3296719 with a meandering street pattern, as well as an area to the north where more recent development has occurred (and is still in progress). The development to the south is more closely built up than that to the north, where the development has been more random in character, with some smaller scale and infill schemes but on larger plots in some cases. 6. The appeal site is a substantially undeveloped plot on the north side of Anne Sucklings Lane, although some construction work had commenced at the time of the site visit. On the road frontage, the houses either side of the appeal site are large houses on good sized plots. They are both constructed using traditional forms, with pitched roofs, but in a modern style, although the new house to the south-east, which is still under construction, is more obviously contemporary in appearance. 7. To the rear of the plot, older buildings are visible, Boynton Hall Farm and Chapel Farm Cottage, the latter of which is a listed building. Their setting has been much altered over the years by later development, however. 8. It is now proposed to construct a new house on the appeal site, the construction work for which has already been started. 9.

Faras Lodge Anne Sucklings Lane, Little Wratting, HAVERHILL, CB9 7TA — West Suffolk — Appeal Decision The ‘National Planning Policy Framework’ emphasises the aim of “achieving well designed places” in the broadest sense (notably at Section 12), while making effective use of land and encouraging economic activity. New development ought to be sympathetic to local character and history, although it is also recognised that appropriate change may include increased densities. The ‘National Planning Policy Framework’ is aimed at achieving good design standards generally, which includes protecting the residential amenities of nearby occupiers. 10. Section 16 of the ‘National Planning Policy Framework’ lays particular emphasis on the importance of conserving and enhancing the historic environment, including non-designated heritage assets, and it underpins the obligation that is imposed on those considering whether to grant planning permission for development that would affect the setting of a listed building, to have special regard to the desirability of preserving the setting. 11. These planning principles are also expressed in the Development Plan. Policies are intended to promote sustainable development and to focus development on existing settlements, of which Haverhill is one of the most important.

Faras Lodge Anne Sucklings Lane, Little Wratting, HAVERHILL, CB9 7TA — West Suffolk — Appeal Decision Policies are also intended to promote good design in general and Policy DM2 of the West Suffolk ‘Joint Development Management Policy’ (dated December 2015) is concerned with design issues generally, while Policy DM22 relates specifically to residential design. 12. The appeal site is located within the built-up area of Haverhill and the location is sustainable in planning terms. Indeed, the principle of development has previously been established by the grant of outline planning permission for a new dwelling in 2016. 13. The proposed new house would be located to one side of the plot, preserving a view of the older buildings at the rear and maintaining a sense of openness along the streetscene. It would be a large building, nevertheless, sited at an angle to the road but parallel to the south-east side boundary. The principal 2

Faras Lodge Anne Sucklings Lane, Little Wratting, HAVERHILL, CB9 7TA — West Suffolk — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision: APP/F3545/W/22/3296719 elevation of the house would face across the site, over its main garden space, but a high boundary wall, of white rendered masonry topped by timber slats, would protect the garden from public view. 14. The unusual layout of the site derives from its geometry and from the understandable desire to preserve a glimpse of the historic buildings to the north, to mitigate harm to their setting. In the circumstances, the high boundary wall on the street frontage could be acceptable in the streetscene. 15. Evidently, the layout and design would not conform to a more conventional suburban layout where houses are located more centrally on their plots, with front and rear gardens, but the unusual layout of the site make it necessary in this case for a different solution to be adopted. In any case, the layout of properties to the north of Anne Sucklings Lane is irregular, having developed over the years around the older buildings. The general principles of the site layout, with the proposed new house set to one side and forward on its plot, could be acceptable in principle, therefore. 16.

Faras Lodge Anne Sucklings Lane, Little Wratting, HAVERHILL, CB9 7TA — West Suffolk — Appeal Decision Turning to more detailed design considerations, the proposed new house itself would be constructed with a primary longitudinal roof plan (with a partial flat roof accommodating rooflights), combined with crosswise gabled elements at each end of the structure. The gables that would be adjacent to the south- eastern boundary would create a cramped effect in relation to the neighbouring building. In particular, the south-east facing gable nearest to the road would dominate the neighbouring frontage, where the new house is set back from the road in a more conventional way, and this gable would also have an excessively intrusive appearance in the streetscene. Thus, it would be dominant and awkward in the view along the road from the south-east, although the gabled design generally would relate better to the new house at ‘Willoughby’s’ in views from the opposite direction. 17. Overall, therefore, I have concluded that the visual impact of the proposed house on the surroundings would not achieve the aim of “achieving well designed places” and that the scheme would conflict with national and local planning policies in this respect. 18.

Faras Lodge Anne Sucklings Lane, Little Wratting, HAVERHILL, CB9 7TA — West Suffolk — Appeal Decision Concerns have also been raised about the impact of the proposals on neighbours’ privacy and the atypical layout of the site and its neighbouring properties undoubtedly creates some design difficulties. The site is suburban in character, where absolute privacy is likely to be unattainable, however, and the oblique view that would be obtainable between the rear of Boynton Hall Farmhouse and the front elevation of the new building would be acceptable in its context. On the other hand, the windows or rooflights in the northern part of the proposed new building would overlook neighbours’ private gardens to a degree that ought not to be allowed, even in the suburban context. 19. Evidently, the appeal site lies within an established urban area, which is “sustainable” in planning terms, and the proposed development would make a useful contribution to the supply of new houses. Nevertheless, I am convinced that the harm that would be done to the character and appearance of the surroundings and the impact of the proposal on neighbours’ privacy outweigh the benefits of the project. Hence, I have concluded that the scheme before me would conflict with both national and local planning policies (including the 3

Faras Lodge Anne Sucklings Lane, Little Wratting, HAVERHILL, CB9 7TA — West Suffolk — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision: APP/F3545/W/22/3296719 Development Plan) and that it ought not to be allowed. Although I have considered all the matters that have been raised in the representations, I have found nothing to cause me to alter my decision. 20. In reaching these conclusions I have considered whether the appeal could be allowed but subject to conditions that might overcome the concerns that I have identified. In view of all the uncertainties involved, however, I have formed the opinion that it would not be possible to frame precise conditions to deal with the objections that I have identified and that therefore the appeal must be dismissed.

Faras Lodge Anne Sucklings Lane, Little Wratting, HAVERHILL, CB9 7TA — West Suffolk — Roger C. Shrimplin INSPECTOR 4