Cllr. Alistair McNair

BH2022/00428 - 46 Ridgeside Avenue

3^rd March 2022:

Please accept this letter as my objection to this planning application. While this is a letter of objection, in principle a single-storey outbuilding is perfectly acceptable. The three issues mentioned below can, I believe, be easily addressed, but I felt the issues important to raise. These issues are: proximity to the neighbours; size of structure; potential issues with drainage.

Proximity to neighbours

The proposed development is sited only 600mm from a neighbour’s fence on Overhill Gardens. This is a very large structure at 9m in length, and as such should be positioned much further away, and could be in such a large garden. At this proximity, the outhouse will have an overbearing presence on the neighbour’s garden, and will affect their outlook. Fig. 1 suggests the structure will be sheltered by trees, but this is very misleading. Also, the height of the neighbour’s fence is much lower than the picture suggests at around 1.5m, meaning that much of the structure will be visible from their garden. This size of structure should surely be set at least 2m from the border of a neighbour. Also, because of the windows in the roof, and the roof’s proximity to the boundary, light will very likely flood into

the garden causing light pollution.

Fig.1 Outbuilding in relation to neighbour’s garden

Size of structure

The size of the outbuilding is large, especially with regards its height at 4m. The gable roof in particular makes it look even bigger. The maximum height allowed under the caravan act is only 3.05m which suggests that 4m should be considered high and obtrusive. The roof could be lowered, or slope in only one direction to reduce its impact. Instead of having a green, rural outlook, neighbours will instead have an obtrusive roofline as their outlook. If every property were allowed such an outbuilding it would severely impact the outlook of this

green neighbourhood.

Issues with drainage

The structure will house a bathroom. I have concerns about this, as the garden slopes upwards, and there may be issues with pumping waste water away. Should the drainage fail, waste water may leak into the neighbour’s garden. This issue should be looked into before approval.

It may be felt that the above issues are small, and I believe they are easily rectifiable, but such outbuildings can have a significant impact on neighbours.

Should the Local Planning Authority consider granting this application, I request that it is brought to Planning Committee for determination where I reserve my right to speak to my letter and the application.