62 The Ridge Way, SOUTH CROYDON, CR2 0LF

62 The Ridge Way, SOUTH CROYDON, CR2 0LF — London Borough of Croydon — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 22 October 2024 by L Reid BSc (Hons) MA MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 22 November 2024 Appeal Ref: APP/L5240/W/24/3342605 62 The Ridge Way, South Croydon CR2 0LF • 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 Shazad Mahmood against the decision of the Council of the London Borough of Croydon. • The application Ref is 22/04357/FUL. • The development proposed is demolition of the existing dwelling and creation of 8 new houses with associated parking, landscaping and children's play area. Decision 1. The appeal is dismissed. Preliminary Matters 2. The proposal follows a previous planning application for the erection of 5 houses and 4 maisonettes with parking, landscaping and a children’s play area which was refused by the Council1 and dismissed at appeal in April 20232 (the previous scheme). 3. An arboricultural impact assessment, tree protection plan, tree survey and constraints plan and amended plans have been submitted with the appeal. I have considered these plans under the principles established by the Courts in Holborn Studios Ltd3.

62 The Ridge Way, SOUTH CROYDON, CR2 0LF — London Borough of Croydon — Appeal Decision Although the proposal is unchanged, the amended plans show an outbuilding which was constructed on the site after the Council made its decision and the additional tree plans have been updated. Whilst interested parties have been notified about the appeal, they have not been given the opportunity to make representations on these amendments and updated plans giving rise to procedural unfairness. For that reason, I will not accept them. I will return to the matter of the outbuilding and the trees later in my decision. 4. During the appeal the appellant submitted a completed Unilateral Undertaking. The Council has confirmed the second reason for refusal is no longer being contested. Main Issues 5. The main issue is the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area. 1 Council Ref: 21/01298/FUL 2 Appeal Ref: APP/L5240/W/22/3303607 3 Holborn Studios Ltd v The Council of the London Borough of Hackney [2017] EWHC 2823 (Admin) https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

62 The Ridge Way, SOUTH CROYDON, CR2 0LF — London Borough of Croydon — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/L5240/W/24/3342605 Reasons 6. The Ridge Way and Arkwright Road are suburban residential streets. Along this section of Arkwright Road, there is a gradual increase in building height as the road has a steep gradient. The Ridge Way is more level with less noticeable variation in building height. Typically, the buildings are two-storey houses with wide footprints sat in spacious plots. Whilst there are differences in the detailed design of the houses, there is some consistency in their scale and mass. These attributes positively contribute to the character and appearance of the area. 7. The appeal site is a corner plot prominently located at the junction of The Ridge Way and Arkwright Road. Due to the topography changes, there is a slight level change across the site as it turns the corner down to Arkwright Road. A large ‘L-shaped’ house and outbuilding occupy the site. The frontage of the house is to The Ridge Way and its side elevation faces Arkwright Road. Whilst the house has a footprint longer than most of its neighbours, because of its height and depth, it assimilates well into the street scene. 8.

62 The Ridge Way, SOUTH CROYDON, CR2 0LF — London Borough of Croydon — Appeal Decision The proposal seeks to erect 8 houses effectively contained within two blocks, linked by a lower element. One block would be sited at the corner junction of the plot with its front to Arkwright Road and its side to The Ridge Way. The other would have its frontage to The Ridge Way. 9. Scale and mass were a key concern of the previous Inspector. The design of the proposed building has been altered when compared to the previous scheme, including a reduction in height, removal of a fourth storey and changes to the roof form. This has reduced some of the scale and massing of the proposed building. 10. The proposed building would have a substantial footprint. Irrespective of the smaller than average building length to plot width ratio percentage, the total length of the building would be over 30 metres which would be much greater than that typically found in the street scene. Despite the lower link, when viewed from The Ridge Way, the building would present as one continuous long block of built form. 11. The depth of the proposed building would be within the range commonly found within the street scene. However, by its very nature as a corner plot, the appeal site is more prominent than the neighbouring sites.

62 The Ridge Way, SOUTH CROYDON, CR2 0LF — London Borough of Croydon — Appeal Decision The proposed building would be visibly larger in depth than the existing house. The depth would be most noticeable on the north west elevation where it would be easily seen when travelling along The Ridge Way and would be highly conspicuous. 12. The proposed building would be no taller than the houses on the opposite side of the roads, but it would not be viewed in this context. It would be notably greater in height than 60 The Ridge Way. This would accentuate the building’s apparent height and would be distinctively at odds with the more consistent building heights that can currently be observed along The Ridge Way. The height of the building would respect the transitions in building height along Arkwright Road. However, this would not overcome the harm. 13. Through its combined proposed length, depth and height, the building as a whole would have a very sizeable scale and mass. The resultant built form would be considerably larger in comparison to the nearby houses. Even though https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

62 The Ridge Way, SOUTH CROYDON, CR2 0LF — London Borough of Croydon — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/L5240/W/24/3342605 the proposed building would be well set back from the road boundaries and would have garden space around the building, because of its very large size, it would not assimilate well into this street scene of houses of a smaller scale and mass. 14. The attempts to reduce the mass of the building through its sunken design and the use of projecting gables would not reduce the overall size to such a degree that would result in it responding appropriately to the local character. The outbuilding is single-storey and when viewed from The Ridge Way only the roof is visible. Even when considering this cumulatively with the existing house, the scale and massing would be smaller than the proposed building. 15. The use of appropriate external materials and the design taking cues from the design of the existing house and neighbouring houses would not overcome my concerns over the scale and mass of the building. 16. For these reasons, I conclude that the proposal would cause significant harm to the character and appearance of the area. Accordingly, it conflicts with Policies SP4 and DM10 of the Croydon Local Plan 2018 (the Local Plan) and Policy D3 of the London Plan 2021 (the London Plan).

62 The Ridge Way, SOUTH CROYDON, CR2 0LF — London Borough of Croydon — Appeal Decision These policies amongst other things, require development to be of a high quality that responds to the existing character of a place and enhances the local context. Whilst seeking to achieve a minimum height of three storeys, development should respect scale, height and massing. Other Matters 17. Whilst the Council is content with the updated tree plans and has agreed to withdraw this reason for refusal, I am mindful that comments at the planning application stage were received which referred to the impact of the proposal on trees. Had I found the proposal to be acceptable, I would have requested further consultation in the interests of procedural fairness. However, as I am dismissing the appeal for other reasons, this is not necessary. Even if I had found the tree issue to be resolved, this would not have impacted my decision. 18. The Unilateral Undertaking secures the sustainable transport contributions sought by the Council. As the appeal is to be dismissed on another substantive issue, it is not necessary for me to consider the legal agreement in detail. 19.

62 The Ridge Way, SOUTH CROYDON, CR2 0LF — London Borough of Croydon — Appeal Decision Even though the specific parts of the policies are not listed, the decision notice states clearly and precisely the reasons for refusal and specifies which policies are relevant. Compliance with the entirety of a policy would be required where specified by the wording of the policy itself. Planning Balance 20. The proposal would cause significant harm to the character and appearance of the area and therefore conflicts with the development plan. 21. The Council raised no objections with respect to the principle of the development, quality of the accommodation, the impact on neighbouring residential amenity, fire safety, natural surveillance, highway safety and the level of vehicle and cycle parking. However, compliance with relevant national and local planning policies on these matters would be required in any case. These matters are neutral considerations and do not weigh in favour nor against the proposal. https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3

62 The Ridge Way, SOUTH CROYDON, CR2 0LF — London Borough of Croydon — Appeal Decision Appeal Decision APP/L5240/W/24/3342605 22. I have considered the appeal in the context of Policies SP2 and DM1 of the Local Plan and Policy D3 of the London Plan with respect to the delivery of homes, housing choice and optimising the capacity of sites. The appeal site is within Flood Zone 1. The proposal would provide 8 homes, most of which would be family-sized units, with access to private amenity space and a children’s play area. One of the units would also be wheelchair accessible. It is not proposed to remove the existing nearby trees, and additional landscaping would be planted. Some social and economic benefits would also stem from employment associated with the construction phase and future occupants would bring trade to nearby shops and services. 23. Taken together, these are moderate benefits given the quantum of development under consideration. Therefore, they would not outweigh the significant harm I have identified including the conflict with the development plan. Conclusion 24. The proposal conflicts with the development plan and the material considerations do not indicate that the appeal should be decided other than in accordance with it. Therefore, the appeal should be dismissed.

62 The Ridge Way, SOUTH CROYDON, CR2 0LF — London Borough of Croydon — L Reid INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 4