Land in Front of 46 and 47 Lansdown Close, St Johns, Woking, GU21 8TG

Land in Front of 46 and 47 Lansdown Close, St Johns, Woking, GU21 8TG — Woking Borough Council — Appeal Decision Site visit made on 4 February 2025 by Lynne Evans BA MA MRTPI MRICS an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State Decision date: 14th February 2025 Appeal Ref: APP/A3655/W/24/3351799 Nos 46 & 47 Lansdown Close, St John’s, Woking GU21 8TG • The appeal is made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) against a refusal to grant [outline] planning permission. • The appeal is made by Mr Ronald Tucker against the decision of Woking Borough Council. • The application Ref is PLAN/2024/0160. • The development proposed is change of use of amenity land to provide hardstanding to facilitate access to driveways on 46 &47 Lansdown Close. Decision 1. The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for change of use of amenity land to provide hardstanding to facilitate access to driveways on 46 &47 Lansdown Close at Nos 46 & 47 Lansdown Close, St John’s, Woking GU21 8TG in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref PLAN/2024/0160, subject to the following conditions set out in the schedule at the end of this decision letter. Preliminary Matters 2. The National Planning Policy Framework (Framework) was revised in December 2024.

Land in Front of 46 and 47 Lansdown Close, St Johns, Woking, GU21 8TG — Woking Borough Council — Appeal Decision I do not consider that there are any material changes in the Framework, pertinent to this appeal proposal. It is not therefore necessary to seek the views of the Appellant or the Council on the revised Framework. Main Issue 3. The main issue in this appeal is the effect of the proposal on the street scene. Reasons 4. The appeal properties are two adjoining properties at the end of a terrace of houses on the west side of Lansdown Close, primarily comprising short terraces of dwellings and within a predominantly residential area. There are parking bays in front of some of the houses along the western side of the Close, separated from the front gardens by a footway and grass verge and the parking bays are also interspersed with deeper grass verges. These parking bays are not dedicated to specific properties. A number of the properties within the Close have off street parking within their front garden areas, including properties at the other end of the same terrace as the appeal properties, and in the adjoining terraces. 5. The proposal would introduce a vehicular crossover across an area of highway land which includes a grassed area and a pedestrian footway in between two parking bay areas.

Land in Front of 46 and 47 Lansdown Close, St Johns, Woking, GU21 8TG — Woking Borough Council — Appeal Decision https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate

Land in Front of 46 and 47 Lansdown Close, St Johns, Woking, GU21 8TG — Woking Borough Council — Appeal Decision https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate Appeal Decision APP/A3655/W/24/3351799 6. At the time of my site visit, the Close was heavily parked, including use of the parking bays and on-street, including some cars parked on existing grass verges. Whilst the existence of the grass verges does assist in softening the extent of built development including hard standings, the extent of grass verge to be lost under this proposal would be very limited and given its small scale, its removal would not make a material difference to the overall street scene. 7. Furthermore, it would be beneficial in terms of facilitating off-street car parking and in that respect the proposed development would assist in removing the presence of on-street parking which is an over dominant and detrimental feature within the street scene. 8. I am therefore satisfied that the proposed development would not harm the street scene. It would accord with Policies CS21 and CS24 of the Woking Core Strategy (2012), Policy DM17 of the Development Management Policies Development Plan Document (2016) and the Framework, and in particular Section 12, all of which amongst other matters seek a high quality of design which respects the local context. Conditions 9.

Land in Front of 46 and 47 Lansdown Close, St Johns, Woking, GU21 8TG — Woking Borough Council — Appeal Decision I shall include a condition to list the approved plan for the avoidance of doubt and in the interests of good planning. 10. In terms of conditions, there is very limited detail in the submitted plans in respect of layout, materials, visibility splays and the provision of electric charging points. Further details on these matters are therefore required in order to ensure a satisfactory development to respect the character and appearance of the local area and to ensure highway safety and sustainable travel modes. 11. In order to be effective and given the nature of the development and the limited information submitted to date, it is my view that the condition relating to the submission and approval of these further details requires to be a pre- commencement condition. In accordance with Section 100ZA (5) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and The Town and Country Planning (Pre- Commencement Conditions) Regulations 2018, I have therefore requested and received the Appellant’s written agreement to the imposition of this condition. Conclusion 12. For the reasons given above and having regard to all other matters raised, I conclude that this appeal should be allowed.

Land in Front of 46 and 47 Lansdown Close, St Johns, Woking, GU21 8TG — Woking Borough Council — L J Evans INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2

Land in Front of 46 and 47 Lansdown Close, St Johns, Woking, GU21 8TG — Woking Borough Council — L J Evans INSPECTOR https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 2 Appeal Decision APP/A3655/W/24/3351799 Schedule of Conditions 1) The development hereby permitted shall begin not later than 3 years from the date of this decision. 2) The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plan: P001. 3) Prior to the commencement of the development hereby permitted, further details shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. These details shall include: a) The parking layout, b) Visibility splays for the new vehicular access off Landsdown Close, c) External materials for the hard surfaced areas, and d) Electric Charging points (current minimum requirements – 7 kw Mode 3 with Type 2 connector – 230v AC 32 Amp single phase dedicated supply) The development shall be implemented in accordance with the approved details and the parking areas shall not be first used until the visibility splays and electric charging points have been provided. The parking areas shall thereafter be retained and maintained for their approved purpose and the visibility zones shall be kept clear of any obstruction over 1.05m high. End of Schedule https://www.gov.uk/planning-inspectorate 3