Couple lodge planning appeal

Ross McGarva and his wife, who live in a single storey bungalow in Dryfe Park, were shocked when their application to raise the roof of their home and create accommodation space in their attic was knocked back in January this year.
Council planning officers insisted that the proposed alterations “would not be in keeping with the wider street scene” and planned changes were “unsympathetic to the existing dwelling house.”
However, the couple have now lodged an appeal and are calling on councillors to overturn the planning decision.
They submitted a detailed argument in writing along with photos of neigbhbouring properties with higher roofs than theirs.
A statement produced on their behalf reads: “It is important to note that the house would remain a single storey bungalow with accommodation in the attic space. It would not be a 1.5 or two storey house.
“The roof tiles from the back of the house will also be recycled and used on the front to ensure it blends in consistently with other houses on the street.”
It goes on: “The decision does not appear to be consistent with the approval of others developments in the vicinity, while arguments about the proposal’s unsympathetic and excessive scale are rendered incoherent by the approval of other houses which have a much larger scale and knock-on impact on the street scene.
“This clearly shows that the council does not apply its planning standards fairly and consistently.
“The decision argues the plans are unsympathetic to the existing dwellinghouse.
“The applicants agree that the dormer window on the front elevation is not in keeping with the rest of the street and are happy to remove from the planning application.
“All materials sourced in the alterations would be sympathetic to the current aesthetics of the dwellinghouse and surrounding properties.”
It went on: “The applicants believe that the council’s decision should be overturned and the proposed alterations to 30 Dryfe Park approved.”
The appeal will go before the council’s local review body meeting next Wednesday.