Conditions / Refusal Reasons
The plot is highly visible from public vantage points inside of Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and goes some way to inform the green and rural character of Park Lane. The large extensions proposed, due to their form, scale, massing and appearance would appear large and overbearing in relation to the existing dwelling and modest character of the original cottage. The development would form an incongruous and prominent feature across the plot, which would detract from the special architectural and historic interest of the original cottage and rural character of the plot and surrounding Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The development would result in an unacceptable level of harm to the character of the existing dwelling and to the wider character of the surrounding countryside. As such, the proposal would be contrary to polices STRAT1, DES1, DES2, ENV1 and ENV6 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035 and policies LCDPG, LCDPE and LPLV of the Kidmore End Neighbourhood Plan.
There is insufficient information to demonstrate that the development can be implemented without a risk to Highway Safety and to other users of the Highway within the vicinity. Therefore, the proposal is contrary to Policy TRANS5 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035 and policies LTSRU and LTSAP of the Kidmore End Neighbourhood Plan.
The roof of the existing dwelling is in some state of disrepair with multiple accesses to the roof void. The site, contains a number of mature trees which fall within an area of Protected Ancient Woodland and immediately adjacent to areas of lowland beech and yew woodland, designated as both Protected Ancient Woodland and UK Biodiversity Action Plan: Priority Habitats. The existing dwelling has the potential to support bats which are a protected species. Insufficient information has been provided in the form Preliminary Roost Assessments and a biodiversity net gain calculation, able to demonstrate how the proposal might be implemented without harm to any protected species present on site, their habitats, and achieve the required net gain in biodiversity. Therefore, the proposal is contrary to Policies STRAT1, ENV2 and ENV3 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035, and the NPPF.
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