192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 30 July 2024 by C Livingstone MA(SocSci) (Hons) MSc MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 14 October 2024 Appeal Ref: APP/U5930/W/24/3338283 192 Odessa Road, Waltham Forest, Forest Gate E7 9DY • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) against a refusal to grant planning permission. • The appeal is made by Mr Sean Key against the decision of the Council of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. • The application Ref is 232274. • The development proposed is subdivision of land at 192 Odessa Road and construction of a single storey building to create a single storey detached dwelling house (2-bedroom)(Use Class C3) with roof mounted solar panels, associated hard and soft landscaping, provision of bicycle/bin storage and boundary treatment. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Preliminary Matters 2.

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision The Council has confirmed that the policies from the Waltham Forest Core Strategy (2012) and the London Borough of Waltham Forest Development Management Policies Local Plan (2013) referred to in the Decision Notice have been superseded by policies from the Waltham Forest Local Plan Part 1 Shaping the Borough 2020-2035, Adopted 2024 (LP1). Appeal decisions must be based on the policies from the development plan prevailing at the time of determination. In the case of this appeal, the Council has suggested that Policies 53, 56, 57, 60, 66 and 81 of the LP1 are now the policies most important to the determination of the appeal. The appellants are aware of the revised policy framework and have had the opportunity to comment upon its relevance to the appeal. 3. The Councils fifth reason for refusal relates to the absence of a legal agreement to secure the scheme as car free and a financial contribution towards the Strategic Access Management and Monitoring Strategy (SAMMS), which I will address as the third and fourth main issues, as well as a contribution towards sustainable travel and Construction and Logistics Plan monitoring, which I will cover later in my decision.

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate - Appeal Decision APP/U5930/W/24/3338283

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate - Appeal Decision APP/U5930/W/24/3338283

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision Main Issues 4. The main issues are: • the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area; • whether the proposal would provide acceptable living conditions for future occupants with regard to outlook and external amenity space; • the effect of the proposal on the safe and efficient operation of the local highway network with regard to parking provision; and • the effect on the Epping Forest Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Reasons Character and appearance 5. The appeal site is in a residential area, where properties are predominantly traditional brick terraces, which front on to Odessa Road. However, there are some examples of blocks of flats on the street; the neighbouring property is a three storey block of flats, of a simple block like design. Spaces between buildings are limited so that the street appears built up and the short front gardens have mostly been hard surfaced to create bin storage areas. In contrast most properties have more spacious rear gardens, some with ancillary sheds and outbuildings that occupy only a small proportion of the space. The rear gardens provide a backdrop to the densely built development along the street frontages.

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision Their mature and attractive appearance is apparent from surrounding properties and contributes positively to the area’s character and appearance. 6. No 192 Odessa Road (No 192) is a brick, semi-detached dwelling that fronts on to Odessa Road. The rear garden is an irregular shape, which is larger than other properties in the area, and angled towards the neighbouring block of flats. The proposal is for the sub-division of the garden in order to allow for the erection of a two-bedroom, three person property. The proposed dwelling would have a flat roof and would be accessed via a gate in the fence at the side of No 192. 7. The proposal would be of a contemporary design and would utilise a green roof and a palette of external materials that would contrast with the more traditional detailing of No 192. Given the variance of the architecture within the immediate area the modern design of the proposed scheme would not necessarily be out of place. However, it would not have a frontage on Odessa Road, as such it would fail to make a positive contribution to the street. Further, with the exception of a few small courtyard areas the proposed property would occupy the majority of its plot.

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision This would significantly alter the garden character of the site and would be detrimental to the established pattern of development and overall character and appearance of the area. 8. I appreciate that due to its siting and relatively low profile the proposed property would not be a prominent feature within the street scene. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate - Appeal Decision APP/U5930/W/24/3338283

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision This would significantly alter the garden character of the site and would be detrimental to the established pattern of development and overall character and appearance of the area. 8. I appreciate that due to its siting and relatively low profile the proposed property would not be a prominent feature within the street scene. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate - Appeal Decision APP/U5930/W/24/3338283

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision Nevertheless, it would appear dominant and out of place when viewed from surrounding properties from where it would appear wholly out of keeping with the area. Given the constrained nature of the site and the extent of the developed area, providing landscaping would not ameliorate these concerns. The fact that the site is not located in a conservation area does not make the scheme acceptable as national and local policy make good design an expectation for all new development. 9. For the reasons detailed above the proposed development would be harmful to the character and appearance of the area. Therefore, it would be contrary to Policy 53 of the LP1 which supports development only where it reinforces or enhances local character and distinctiveness taking into account patterns of development, urban form and grain and building typologies. Additionally, development must also respond appropriately to their context in terms of scale, height and massing and provide a coherent layout and block structure with active street frontages on to the public realm. Living conditions – future occupiers 10.The proposed dwelling would be close to the boundary of the plot, which would be marked by a 2m high boundary treatment.

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision As a result, the windows that serve the bedrooms would look out on to narrow triangular courtyards. The open plan living area would be dual aspect and would include a window near to the boundary and a large, glazed doorway overlooking the patio. 11.The close proximity to the boundary treatment would result in an enclosed and poor outlook from the bedrooms. This would result in an unsatisfactory internal living environment for the future occupants. The proposal includes details of a soft landscaping plan that has been designed to improve and soften the outlook. However, the landscaping does not overcome my concerns regarding the close proximity of the windows to the boundary the impact of which would be oppressive. 12.The area identified as the kitchen in the open plan living area would be close to the large doorway and would allow for a suitable outlook. However, the lounge area of the open plan space is distant from the window and the internal layout is such that that occupants in the lounge area would be subject to restricted views outside which would also have a harmful impact on their living conditions.

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision My concerns are not addressed in this respect by the roof design and rooflights, which would offer only limited views of the sky above the building. 13.The external amenity space proposed as part of the dwelling includes a front garden area bound on one side by No 192 and a high boundary treatment and, as detailed above, several small triangular areas; formed between the external walls and the boundary. The proposed plans indicate that a patio area would be formed at the entrance to the property which would accommodate its lower floor level. 14.Policy 51 of the LP1 requires new homes to provide a minimum of 50 sqm of private external amenity space. This policy also stipulates that such spaces must be a minimum of 5 sqm and achieve a minimum depth of 1.5m; and footpaths should not be included in the calculation. There is a dispute between https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate - Appeal Decision APP/U5930/W/24/3338283

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision the main parties regarding the extent of the external amenity space available. The appellant states that a total of 50 sqm of private external amenity space would be provided. However, the Council calculates that only 23 sqm would be available. This is because the Council did not include the courtyards and footpaths in its calculation. Based on the submitted plans it appears that not all of the courtyard areas would meet the size requirements and would not be practical to use. 15. There is no substantive evidence before me to demonstrate that the private external amenity space for the proposed dwelling would meet the minimum area requirement of 50 sqm. The constrained size and layout of the garden would impact negatively on its quality and usability and could not be reasonably enjoyed as an area where a family and children could play, sit, relax, socialise, and dry clothes in privacy. As such, the proposed property would have a garden that is insufficient and low quality. While access to nearby public open space could be beneficial to future occupants of the development it would not ameliorate the harm to the living conditions of the occupants resulting from the poor standard of external amenity space.

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision 16.For the reasons detailed above, the proposal would fail to provide acceptable living conditions for future occupants with regard to outlook and external amenity space. As such the proposal is contrary to Policies 56 and 57 of the LP1 which requires new developments to avoid harmful impacts in terms of overlooking and set minimum standards for external amenity space. Parking 17.The application site is within a controlled parking zone (CPZ), which is indicative of a level of parking stress as existing. I also noted on my site visit that most of the front gardens in the area are too small to accommodate private parking spaces, which further increases demand for on-street parking. 18. Whilst future occupants may not be dependent on private cars for day to day transport requirements they might want to own and park a vehicle for those journeys that are not possible or practical on public transport. This would exacerbate the level of parking stress in the area and encourage travel by private car which has a detrimental impact on air quality, personal health, wellbeing and the environment. 19.

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision In light of these impacts, Policy 66 of the LP1 requires all new residential developments to be car free only allowing car parking in exceptional circumstances. There is no evidence before me to demonstrate that the proposal would be in accordance with any of the criteria listed. Therefore, a planning obligation would be required to prevent the proposed dwellings from being occupied by individuals that hold a parking permit. 20. Therefore, the proposal would have a harmful effect on the safe and efficient operation of the local highway network with regard to parking provision. As such, the proposal fails to comply with the requirements of Policies 60 and 66 of the LP1 which requires new residential development to be car free and promotes active travel. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate - Appeal Decision APP/U5930/W/24/3338283

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision Special Area of Conservation 21. The officer report states that Waltham Forest falls within the ‘Zone of Influence’ (ZOI) for the Epping Forest Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The Council’s Habitats Regulations Assessment identifies that all new residential development within this ZOI constitutes a likely significant effect on the sensitive interest features of the SAC due to increased recreational pressure, either when considered alone or in combination with other plans or schemes. 22. It is understood that for schemes comprising one or more units of residential accommodation, the Strategic Access Management and Monitoring Strategy (SAMMS) was prepared by the Conservators of Epping Forest, with the involvement of Natural England. The SAMMS levy requires a financial contribution from all new residential schemes. 23. The appellant has indicated that any financial obligations could be accommodated within the community infrastructure levy. However, as the SAMMS is not infrastructure it would need to be secured through a S106 agreement. Therefore, the proposal fails to comply with the requirements of Policy 81 of the LP1 which requires that all new residential development contributes to the delivery of SAMMS.

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision Other Matters 24. The Council’s third reason for refusal included reference to a legal agreement to secure a financial contribution toward improving sustainable modes of transport, an additional monetary sum towards the monitoring of the Construction Logistics Plan; as well as a S278 agreement for highway related works for the renewal of the footway fronting the site. However, the Council has not provided adequate justification or evidence to demonstrate that these obligations are necessary to make the development acceptable. Therefore, the statutory tests of paragraph 57 of the Framework have not been met. 25. My attention has been drawn to similar developments in the wider area. Three of the examples provided were within the London Borough of Newham and therefore were considered under a different development plan. While two of the examples provided were within the London Borough of Waltham Forest, however I do not have the full background to these developments. As such, these examples do not lead me to a different conclusion on the main issues. 26. I note that the appellant has taken pre-application advice from the Council in finalising the scheme.

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision However, the advice provided by the local authority cannot pre-empt the democratic decision making process or a particular outcome, in the event that a formal planning application is made. 27. The Council has raised no objection in relation to other amenity standards for future occupants including in relation to internal floor area, ceiling heights, waste storage, cycle storage, daylight and sunlight. It has also raised no concerns regarding energy efficiency, drainage, fire safety, ecology, biodiversity and the living conditions of neighbouring residents. However, the absence of harm in these respects form neutral factors in my assessment of the appeal, weighing neither for nor against the proposal. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate - Appeal Decision APP/U5930/W/24/3338283

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — Appeal Decision 28. The proposal would provide an additional housing unit, in an accessible location where there is an identified need. This would maximise the use of the site and make a modest contribution to the housing supply in the area. In so doing, the proposal would support the aims of the National Planning Policy Framework which details the Governments objective of significantly boosting the supply of homes. There would also be associated economic benefits during construction. Conclusion 29. The proposed development would comply with some policies in the development plan. However, the scheme would conflict with a number of policies in respect of its impact on the character and appearance of the area, the quality of living environment, parking and the integrity of a Special Area of Conservation. I therefore conclude that the proposal would conflict with the development plan as a whole. Material considerations do not indicate a decision otherwise than in accordance with the development plan. 30. For the reasons given above the appeal should be dismissed.

192 Odessa Road, Forest Gate, LONDON, E7 9DY — Waltham Forest London Borough Council — C Livingstone INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate - Appeal Decision APP/U5930/W/24/3338283