Harborough council refuses development as it would be 'harmful to area'

A development planned for the Harborough district has been refused as it was deemed ‘harmful to the character and appearance’ of the area.

Planning officers at Harborough District Council have turned down the application by developers Symonds & Newey.

The developer put in an application to build seven large houses with four or more bedrooms with twin and single garages next to playing fields in Ashby Road, Ullesthorpe. The planning inspector rejected the application on Wednesday, March 27.

The site is described in the inspector’s report as an area where development will be permitted ‘provided it respects the form and character’ of the area.

The proposed houses were to be made of white render, grey bricks and timber cladding, the planning documents state. The roofs of the properties would be smooth grey tiles to match buildings next to the proposed houses.

Planning records show that an original application to build 24 houses in the area was refused in October 2016. A subsequent application was put forward in September 2018 to build nine houses, which was approved in 2019. The area for those houses, which have since been built, was originally fields for grazing horses.

The planning inspector’s report states that development would be allowed where it achieved a high standard of design taking into account the characteristics of the surrounding area. The report notes that while an application for nine homes in the area met the criteria, this most recent proposal does not, stating the latest proposal would remove all open space and introduce a ‘cramped form of development.’

The decision also noted that should such a development go ahead it would undermine the previous decision to grant the nine houses in the area as it would ‘unacceptably increase the density of development on the site.’

The report also notes that any development should contribute towards protecting and improving the natural environment in the area, but states: “The current application would completely wipe out the biodiversity enhancements required for the open space in connection with the previously approved development before they have even been implemented.”