Agenda item

Erection of bungalow with room in roof on land adjacent to 1 Irwin Avenue and 14 Dodsworth Avenue. [Heworth Ward]

Members considered a full application, submitted by Toad Hall Developments, for the erection of a bungalow with room in the roof on land adjacent to 1 Irwin Avenue and 14 Dodsworth Avenue.

Officers updated that this was a revised application following its deferral at the Sub-Committees meeting in October 2007. They reported that the speaker at today’s meeting had emailed Members a letter, which set out the neighbour’s objections to this application for a bungalow, and their support for the next application, on the agenda, for a two storey detached dwelling. Officers reminded Members that the inclusion of a cat-slide dormer window facing Irwin Avenue was the only change to the original proposal. Members were informed that a cat-slide dormer was one with a pitched roof, which was shallower that the main roof, and not a flat roofed.

Representations were then received from a neighbour who represented six local residents. He stated that the issue was the type of dwelling that was appropriate on the site. The neighbours felt a bungalow on this prominent corner plot would be out of keeping with the uniform frontage along Irwin and Dodsworth Avenues. These were semi detached two storey dwellings with pitched roofs, inset porches and bay windows. They felt that a bungalow would be a mass and scale that did not reflect adjacent dwellings, as there were no single storey dwellings or bungalows in the area. He also stated that the residents supported the application on the agenda for a two storey detached dwelling which they felt was more in keeping with the character of the area and drew on the design of adjacent dwellings.

Representations in support of the application were made by the applicants agent, who stated that they had tried to reflect the plot size and the single storey sub station on the opposite corner of Irwin Avenue. They considered that the bungalow was of a similar size, scale and mass. She confirmed that amendments to the design had been made in line with Members comments at their meeting in October. She also confirmed that they would be happy with either of the applications on the agenda although the cat-slide dormer she felt did not add anything to the design of the bungalow and felt that this should be re-examined.

The Chair confirmed that there were two separate applications on the agenda for this site and that they should be considered as such.

Certain Members felt that a comparison should not be made with the sub station, which was not a dwelling. They felt that the proposed bungalow would be out of keeping with the surrounding area and that it would appear incongruous on this site.

RESOLVED:             That the application be approved subject to the imposition of conditions set out in the report.

REASON:                  In the opinion of the Local Planning Authority the proposal, subject to the conditions listed, would not cause undue harm to housing density, sustainability, visual impact, open space, neighbour amenity and highway issues.  The application therefore complies with policies GP1, GP4a, H4a, H5a, T4, and L1c.