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Submit plansHello
We live in a Grade II listed house in a Conservation area in a World Heritage site.
We want to build a modest accessible/adaptable house [for family ] in our large garden 30 metres away to the side.
It will not be visible from the road due to a high boundary wall and will be minimally visible from across the valley from a viewpoint 300 metres away. But, the Heritage Officer's default position is NO
There is an existing drive and gate which the Highways now consider substandard although we are on an unclassified road. And our Planning Authority is saying NO.
We have been advised that if we class the new house as ancillary to our house we may have better luck.
But, we are unsure about the long term legal implications? In the future, the two houses need to be autonomous for inheritance purposes.
Please can you advise?.. or suggest where we can get more information?
Many thanks
Chris Timms
In such a sensitive location, any planning application, be it for a new house or annex, would inevitably come under close scrutiny from the council. While an annex might be easier to achieve, its use would be restricted to that of an annex, and there would be no guarantee of being able to separate the two units in future. This is a case where specialist professional input is essential. Sensitive design, layout, finishes and materials are all a must, as is a robust supporting heritage statement. The latter would need to analyse the impact of the new building on the various heritage designations that apply here, and, hopefully, identify an absence of harm. Without such an approach any application would be unlikely to succeed in such a sensitive location.