The Garden Room, Dalton Street, St Albans, AL3 5QQ

change of use from offices to residential including partial demolition of the existing office building (removal of ground floor) and construction of two semi-detached dwellings with private gardens, associated car parking and landscaping

Authority: St Albans City Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning
Procedure: Written
Development: residential
Postcode: AL3 5QQ

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposal on the significance of Dalton House which is a Grade II listed building (as 'Bleak House')
whether or not it would preserve or enhance the character and the appearance of the St Albans Conservation Area, including having regard to the effect of the proposal on trees

What decided it

The harm to the significance of the Grade II listed building Dalton House and the St Albans Conservation Area, combined with unresolved concerns about effects on protected trees, was not outweighed by the limited public benefits of delivering two dwellings, particularly given the absence of clear and convincing justification for the heritage harm.

The limited public benefits of housing delivery on a brownfield site in a sustainable location were insufficient to outweigh the collective harm to the listed building and Conservation Area significance and the unresolved effects on protected trees, resulting in conflict with the development plan.

Framework references: 11

Plan policies cited: Policy 69, Policy 70, Policy 74, Policy 85, Policy 86

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.