Appeal lodged over controversial bungalow plans in Cradley Heath
An appeal has been lodged with the government’s planning inspectors over a plan to build a bungalow in a Cradley Heath cul-de-sac.
Sandwell Council rejected a planning application to build the two-bed bungalow in Castle Close, Cradley Heath, saying a near five-metre retaining wall would leave neighbours feeling “enclosed.”
Despite the rejection by planning officers at Sandwell Council, the move could still go ahead with government planners, who have the power to overrule the local authority, given the final say on the work.
Rejecting the application, planners at Sandwell Council said the retaining wall and fence was “poorly designed” and would be an “abrupt and dominant feature” for those living in Perry Park Road.
As a result it would result in an “unacceptable sense of enclosure and loss of outlook,” the council said.
Eight people had objected to the plans saying it would result in a loss of privacy and lead to a loss of a wildlife habitat.
Some objectors also pointed to landslides in nearby High Haden Road, less than a mile away, where new homes on a recently built estate were ‘cut off’ after a huge mound of earth blocking the road.
A report outlining the objection said: “An updated cross section has been submitted showing the relationship between the application site, retaining wall and fencing, and 13 Perry Park Road.
“The retaining wall and fence on the rear boundary would measure 4.8 metres in height from an already raised garden level when compared to the properties on Perry Park Road.
“The resulting structure would therefore be above the eaves height of the dwellings with a separation distance of 10.3 metres from the rear elevations of these properties.
The local planning authority are therefore of the opinion that the scale, massing and height of the proposed boundary retaining wall and fencing is of a poor design presenting an abrupt and dominant feature to the properties on Perry Park Road resulting in an unacceptable sense of enclosure and loss of outlook.”
However, the council said it did not believe the bungalow would cause a “significant loss of privacy” and the retaining wall would prevent overlooking.
“Any loss of light from the structure would be limited to early morning due to the orientation of the properties,” the council added.
