Holbrooke House 34-38 Hill Rise, RICHMOND, TW10 6UA

Holbrooke House 34-38 Hill Rise, RICHMOND, TW10 6UA — Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council — Appeal Decisions Site visit made on 28 February 2024 by A Parkin BA (Hons) DipTP MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 12th March 2024 Appeal A Ref: APP/L5810/W/23/3324107 Holbrook House, 34-38 Hill Rise, Richmond upon Thames TW10 6UA • 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 R Leigh against the decision of Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council. • The application Ref 23/0849/FUL, dated 31 March 2023, was refused by notice dated 31 May 2023. • The development proposed is a new bin enclosure. Appeal B Ref: APP/L5810/Y/23/3324111 Holbrook House, 34-38 Hill Rise, Richmond upon Thames TW10 6UA • The appeal is made under section 20 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 against a refusal to grant listed building consent. • The appeal is made by Mr R Leigh against the decision of Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council. • The application Ref 23/0850/LBC, dated 31 March 2023, was refused by notice dated 31 May 2023. • The works proposed are for a new bin enclosure. Appeal A: Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Appeal B: Decision 2. The appeal is dismissed.

Holbrooke House 34-38 Hill Rise, RICHMOND, TW10 6UA — Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council — Appeal Decisions Preliminary Matters 3. As set out above there are two appeals on this site. Appeal A concerns the refusal of planning permission and Appeal B concerns the refusal of listed building consent, although in both cases, the appeal site and the proposals are the same. I have considered each proposal on its individual merits and with regard to the relevant legislation, policy and guidance. However, to avoid duplication I have dealt with the two schemes together, except where otherwise indicated. 4. The official list entry for the appeal building refers to its name as Holbrook House, which is referenced by the appellant on their Statement of Case. However, the Royal Mail, the Council and also the appellant on the application form and appeal form, refer to Holbrooke House. I am satisfied these names concern the same building but I have used the name from the official list entry in my Decision, for reasons of clarity. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Holbrooke House 34-38 Hill Rise, RICHMOND, TW10 6UA — Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council — Appeal Decisions Appeal Decisions APP/L5810/W/23/3324107 and APP/L5810/Y/23/3324111 5. As the proposal is in a conservation area, and relates to a listed building, I have had regard to sections 16(2), 66(1) and 72(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (the Act). Main Issues 6. The main issues for Appeal A and Appeal B are whether the proposals would: • preserve a Grade II listed building; and, • preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Richmond Hill Conservation Area. Reasons 7. Holbrook House is a Grade II listed building1 within the Richmond Hill Conservation Area (RHCA), said to date from the 18th century. It is constructed from bricks and has an unusual asymmetric design with a two-storey, shallow bow-fronted wing on the northwest side of the front elevation. 8. The main part of the building has three storeys, with a mansard roof above behind a cornice, and is set back from Hill Rise by a small walled garden containing a mature deciduous tree, with a footpath leading to a stuccoed porchway by the entrance door. There are sash and casement windows on the front elevation over three floors, with dormer windows in the mansard-type roof above at the front and rear. 9.

Holbrooke House 34-38 Hill Rise, RICHMOND, TW10 6UA — Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council — Appeal Decisions A further, somewhat narrower and more prominent bow-fronted wing, which was originally part of Holbrook House2 but is now separately listed as 40 and 42 Hill Rise3, is visible above the ground floor, which is occupied by a high street office unit. 10. The appeal building has also been extended to the rear since it was first constructed, with flat-roofed and functional brick extensions containing Georgian-style and more contemporary windows. 11. In my view, the significance of this listed building, insofar as it relates to these appeals, stems from its original design, historical development, position and materials. 12. The RHCA spans the river Thames to the south of Richmond town centre and contains a wide range of uses and building types from different eras, together with some significant areas of public open space. There are distinct character areas within the RHCA, with the geography of Richmond Hill and the river helping to provide coherence. 13. The significance of this designated heritage asset, insofar as it relates to these appeals, stems from its location and historical development, and from the historic buildings, streets and spaces to be found there. 14.

Holbrooke House 34-38 Hill Rise, RICHMOND, TW10 6UA — Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council — Appeal Decisions Holbrook House is now used as a serviced office building, with what is said to be a private access road, Holbrooke Place, to the northwest of the building, serving a number of commercial buildings to the rear. 15. The proposal concerns an irregularly shaped piece of land next to Holbrooke Place, to the rear of the building. The land is bounded on two sides by later 20th 1 List Entry Number: 1286011 2 A Holbrook House name plate is fixed to the side wall of No 40, by the front garden of the appeal building. 3 List Entry Number: 1065433 https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Holbrooke House 34-38 Hill Rise, RICHMOND, TW10 6UA — Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council — Appeal Decisions Holbrook House is now used as a serviced office building, with what is said to be a private access road, Holbrooke Place, to the northwest of the building, serving a number of commercial buildings to the rear. 15. The proposal concerns an irregularly shaped piece of land next to Holbrooke Place, to the rear of the building. The land is bounded on two sides by later 20th 1 List Entry Number: 1286011 2 A Holbrook House name plate is fixed to the side wall of No 40, by the front garden of the appeal building. 3 List Entry Number: 1065433 https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Holbrooke House 34-38 Hill Rise, RICHMOND, TW10 6UA — Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council — Appeal Decisions Appeal Decisions APP/L5810/W/23/3324107 and APP/L5810/Y/23/3324111 century extensions to Holbrook House, a two-storey, flat-roofed extension to the southwest containing a substantial, Georgian-style, obscure-glazed, panelled window; and, a single-storey, flat-roofed extension to the southeast that is used as a toilet block, with five small square windows above head height. 16. This land, which is covered with setts and also contains a drain, and a bollard to prevent vehicles from parking there. At the time of my site visit the land was being used for the storage of five waste and re-cycling bins of varying sizes, as well as a timber pallet. I observed no other bins or waste in the vicinity. 17. The proposal would entail enclosing the irregularly shaped land with an aluminium louvred fence some 1.75 metres high, with a sliding access gate. The design of the fence/gate means it would be a largely opaque barrier, which would rise to just below the height of the cills of the five windows in the single storey extension. However, it would screen more than half of the Georgian- style, obscure-glazed window in the two storey extension. 18.

Holbrooke House 34-38 Hill Rise, RICHMOND, TW10 6UA — Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council — Appeal Decisions Whilst the fence would not be readily visible from Hill Rise, it would be visible from Holbrooke Place and the buildings and land to the rear of Holbrook House. In views from there, its design, scale and position would be out of keeping with the adjacent extensions. Although not part of the original fabric of Holbrook House, the extensions make a limited contribution to the setting of the listed building from the rear, where the Mansard-type roof and original brickwork are also visible. 19. The scale and design of the proposed fence, including the sliding gate, would largely obscure the Georgian-style window and would be a visually awkward addition that would detract from the setting of Holbrook House, causing less than substantial harm to its significance. In so doing it would detract from the character and appearance of the RHCA, again causing less than substantial harm to its significance. 20. The current use of the land as a bin and waste storage area is untidy and does not make a positive contribution to the setting of the listed building. However, the visual harm caused by the proposal would be significantly greater, harming the architectural legibility of the building, which is still apparent at present. 21.

Holbrooke House 34-38 Hill Rise, RICHMOND, TW10 6UA — Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council — Appeal Decisions Whilst the construction of the proposal would provide very limited economic and social benefits, these would not outweigh the less than substantial harm to designated heritage assets I have identified. 22. For these reasons, the proposal would fail to preserve a Grade II listed building and would harm the character and appearance of the RHCA. This harm would not be outweighed by public benefits. Consequently, insofar as relevant, the proposal would conflict with Policies LP1 (local character and design quality) and LP3 (designated heritage assets) of the Richmond upon Thames Local Plan 2018; and, with the National Planning Policy Framework December 2023, in this regard. Conclusion 23. For the reasons given above, I conclude the appeal is dismissed.

Holbrooke House 34-38 Hill Rise, RICHMOND, TW10 6UA — Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council — Andrew Parkin INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3