Land rear of Nos. 33-34, Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5TF

Land rear of Nos. 33-34, Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5TF — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 3 October 2023 by S D Castle BSc (Hons) MA MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 21 February 2024 Appeal Ref: APP/J1535/W/22/3307275 Land rear of Nos. 33-34 Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill IG9 5TF • 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 David Alonso (Amora Homes Ltd) against the decision of Epping Forest District Council. • The application Ref EPF/0050/22, dated 07 January 2022, was refused by notice dated 31 March 2022. • The development proposed is the demolition of the existing garages and the erection of 2 houses with associated parking and landscaping. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Preliminary Matters 2. I have taken into account the revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework (‘the Framework’) published in December 2023. While there have been changes to paragraph numbers since the previous iteration, the parts of the Framework most relevant in this case have not significantly changed.

Land rear of Nos. 33-34, Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5TF — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision I am satisfied, therefore, that the revised version of the Framework does not raise new considerations necessitating further submissions from the parties. 3. The latest Epping Forest District Local Plan Part One was adopted on 6 March 2023 (the EFDLP) after the date that the Council issued the respective decision notices. As a result, the policies of the previous adopted Epping Forest Local Plan (1998) and Alterations (2006) that were cited in the Council’s decision notice have now been superseded by the EFDLP. 4. During the appeal process, the Council confirmed that it had reconsidered its position and would no longer be pursuing its second reason for refusal in respect of the effect of the development on trees. I have considered the appeal on that basis. 5. The Council’s third reason for refusal related to the effect of the proposal on the integrity of the Epping Forest Special Area of Conservation (EFSAC). However, during the course of the appeal, a planning obligation in the form of a Unilateral Undertaking was submitted which included the provision of financial contributions towards mitigation schemes. The Council subsequently confirmed that it would no longer be pursuing its third refusal reason.

Land rear of Nos. 33-34, Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5TF — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision I have considered the appeal on that basis. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Land rear of Nos. 33-34, Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5TF — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision I have considered the appeal on that basis. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Land rear of Nos. 33-34, Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5TF — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/J1535/W/22/3307275 Main Issue 6. The main issue is the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area. Reasons 7. The appeal relates to a site accessed off the northern side of Fairlands Avenue via an existing concrete track between the 3-storey block of flats at nos. 33-34 and the 2-storey semi-detached dwelling at no 35. The site predominantly comprises a large area of concrete, with two blocks of single-storey garages located at right angles to each other on the southern and western boundaries. 8. Fairlands Avenue is predominantly characterised by 2-storey dwellings that front onto the highway behind relatively open front gardens and parking areas. Garden areas are located to the rear of the dwellings and many dwellings share traditional design features such as clay tile hipped roofs, projecting gables, generous overhanging eaves, and chimneys. Common external finishes in the street scene include facing brick, render, and timber. The traditional design features of the dwellings, in combination with their shared street facing orientation and set back, provides Fairlands Avenue with its relatively cohesive character. 9.

Land rear of Nos. 33-34, Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5TF — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision I acknowledge that the dwellings would be intentionally contemporary in appearance, and that significant efforts have been made to achieve a high-quality finish, including with light grey brickwork with a herringbone pattern. Nevertheless, the scale and limited relief of the dwellings’ gable end walls would appear out of character, obtrusive and excessively bulky in private views from surrounding dwellings. In public views from Fairlands Avenue, the eye would be quickly drawn to the oppressive bulk of the overhanging gable end of plot 1, and to the discordant orientation and non-traditional design features of the development. 10. Whilst the flat roofed form of the block of flats at nos. 33-34 is out of kilter with the prevailing character of the streetscene, its consistent alignment and orientation ensure that it does not disrupt the overall frontage street character of Fairlands Avenue. The development, in contrast, does not correspond with either the prevailing traditional architectural details, or with the predominant pattern of development, of Fairlands Avenue. 11. I have had regard to the effect of the adjacent modern flats at Boleyn Court on the character and appearance of the area.

Land rear of Nos. 33-34, Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5TF — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision Whilst these flats can be viewed down the access track to the site, it is readily perceived that they form part of a separate complex of buildings rather than part of Fairlands Avenue. As such, the flats at Boleyn Court do not significantly disrupt the prevailing character of Fairlands Avenue. The introduction of unsympathetic built form in the space between the dwellings on Fairlands Avenue and Boleyn Court would harm the legibility of the area, disrupting the relatively cohesive character of Fairlands Avenue. 12. Accordingly, the development’s scale, orientation, backland position, and incongruous contemporary design would contrast unsympathetically with the more traditional architectural features and consistent frontage layout that characterises Fairlands Avenue. The visual benefit of redeveloping a disused https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Land rear of Nos. 33-34, Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5TF — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/J1535/W/22/3307275 and unkempt garage court would be outweighed by the identified harms to the character and appearance of the surrounding area. 13. The development would, therefore, conflict with Policy DM9 of the EFDLP which requires, amongst other things, that all new development achieves a high quality of design that relates positively to its context and contributes to the distinctive character of the local area. The proposal also conflicts with paragraphs 130 and 135 of the Framework which require development to be sympathetic to local character, maintaining a strong sense of place through using the arrangement of streets, spaces and building types. Planning Balance 14. The 2022 Housing Delivery Test1 results indicate that the Council managed to deliver 30% of the total number of homes required within the previous three years. As such, the so-called tilted balance, whereby planning permission should be granted unless the adverse impacts of the proposal significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, as set out in paragraph 11 of the Framework, is engaged in this instance. 15.

Land rear of Nos. 33-34, Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5TF — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision The proposal would result in some economic and social benefits, including through the dwellings’ construction and as a result of a slight increase in spending and patronage of services in the local area. The proposal would also make a limited contribution to the supply of homes. The dwellings would be in a sustainable location, and would be energy efficient, thereby resulting in limited environmental benefits. However, as the proposal is for only 2 dwellings, the benefits identified attract limited weight. 16. There is no substantive evidence before me that incidents of crime have taken place within the garage court, or that local residents fear crime taking place within the site. The development would, however, likely increase surveillance of the site and therefore reduce the risk of crime, representing a benefit of limited weight in this regard. 17. Weighing against these benefits would be the above identified harms to the character and appearance of the area. EFDLP Policy DM9 is broadly consistent with the Framework, as the Framework also requires development to be sympathetic to the surrounding built environment. The identified conflict with the development plan therefore attracts significant weight. 18.

Land rear of Nos. 33-34, Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5TF — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision Whilst a key aim of the Framework is to significantly boost the supply of housing, when read as a whole the Framework does not suggest this should happen at the expense of other considerations. Therefore, given the harms identified, the adverse impact of granting planning permission would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the limited benefits of two additional dwellings when considered against the policies of the Framework taken as a whole. 19. Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires applications for planning permission to be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations, including the Framework, indicate otherwise. The proposal would conflict with the development plan 1 Housing Delivery Test 2022 – Published 19 December 2023 https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3

Land rear of Nos. 33-34, Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5TF — Epping Forest District Council — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/J1535/W/22/3307275 when read as a whole and there are no other considerations that outweigh this identified conflict. 20. As I am dismissing the appeal for other reasons, there is no need for me, as the competent authority, to carry out an assessment on the likely significant effects of the proposal on the EFSAC, or to explore the necessity for undertaking an Appropriate Assessment and securing mitigation where required. Even if I had done so and found the proposal to be acceptable in this regard, such a finding would not have affected my overall conclusion on this appeal. Conclusion 21. For the reasons above, the appeal is dismissed.

Land rear of Nos. 33-34, Fairlands Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5TF — Epping Forest District Council — S D Castle INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 4