Rose and Primrose cottages in Havelet. (0558626)
SOUNDTRACK owner Barry Dodd has failed in his appeal against an Environment Department decision to reject his application to convert two cottages into one.
He had made the application and subsequent appeal retrospectively so is now faced with the prospect of having to reverse the conversion.
Mr Dodd’s case was the first planning appeal heard by a tribunal under the new planning law.
He had claimed the two cottages on their own offered substandard living conditions, but the tribunal dismissed that as it threw out his appeal.
‘The overall finding of the tribunal is that, with the exception of the chronically small kitchen of Rose Cottage, the two dwellings could not be regarded as substandard,’ tribunal presiding member Stuart Fell said.
‘The cottages are efficiently laid out, the rooms are of adequate size and the internal improvements undertaken by Mr Dodd in Primrose Cottage demonstrate that accommodation of high quality and considerable character can be achieved.
‘Given the stated objectives of the Rural Area Plan to protect the existing housing stock and to support proposals to upgrade substandard accommodation, the tribunal concludes there is a reasonable prospect for planning permission being granted for an enlarged kitchen at Rose Cottage, as this would fulfil those objectives.’
Mr Dodd inherited Rose and Primrose Cottages in Havelet from his mother in 1997. They had been turned into four bedsits and he was given permission to return the property to two cottages.
Originally he lived in one and leased the other to a family. When the family left, he decided to convert the cottages into one by knocking down a wall. He had no idea that planning permission was required and was taken to court.
In 2001, he applied for permission to convert the houses into one, which was refused. An amended application was sent in a year later, which was again rejected. He continued applying and receiving further rejections, the last being in 2009.
The tribunal conducted a site visit and found Primrose Cottage to be a ‘charming historic house’ which, although modest in size, offered acceptable standards of living.
Tribunal members acknowledged that the kitchen in Rose Cottage needed to be reconstructed in an ‘enlarged form’ to enable the property to provide satisfactory living conditions.
Article posted on 15th March, 2010 - 2.29pm
Most Commented: