Elizabeth House, 56-60 London Road, STAINES-UPON-THAMES, TW18 4HB

Prior approval notification for 2 additional storeys above the existing office building, comprising 12 residential units as shown on drawings numbered 1100, 1200B, 1201B, 1202A 1203,1221A, 1222A, 1223A, 1224A, 1225, 1300A and 1320A received on 22 July 2021 and amended plan number 1220B received on 7 September 2021

Authority: Spelthorne Borough Council
Appeal type: major · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Major dwellings
Inspector: Glassar S

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

whether the proposal would harm the character and appearance of the building and the wider area, with particular regard to London Road

What decided it

The proposed metal grey cladding with vertical seams would create an unacceptable and harmful juxtaposition with the existing red brick building, appearing top-heavy and manifestly at odds with the form and appearance of the existing building, thereby failing to meet the external appearance requirement under the GPDO.

Plan policies cited: Policy EN1

Judgments cited: CAB Housing LTD v SSLUHC & Broxbourne; Beis Noeh LTD v SSLUHC & LB Haringey; Mati. Rotenberbg v SSLUHC & LB of Haringey [2022] EWHC 208 (Admin)

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.