2022 Submissions

January started with a flurry of objections. The proposed alterations for a residential flat on the roof of 40 Birnbeck Road would greatly diminish the historic roof scape and detract from this key view from the hillside. The raised roof with solar panels would place unwelcome barrier between the hillside’s aspects and relationship to the sea front. (21/P/3164/FUL)

WITHDRAWN

The display of an internally illuminated fascia and an internally illuminated projecting sign at 41-43 Oxford Street was against Shopfront Design Guide both due to the illumination and materials of construction. (21/P/3447/ADV)

APPROVED

The need for the proposal to raise the parapet walls on the Devil's Bridge over the railway on Bleadon Hill with new railings and mesh screen fitted to railings on the parapet extension (track side) was queried. It was considered that the proposed change would totally ruin the appearance of this listed structure. (21/P/3546/LBC) WITHDRAWN

The retrospective application for the replacement of a boundary fence fronting Kew Road and additional requirement to infill fence at 47 Bristol Road Lower was considered to change the street view from a road of character to a road that puts a barrier between architecture of the buildings and public realm. (22/P/0081/FUL) REFUSED

In February a further objection was made to the proposal for flats on the Royal Pier Hotel site. A previous objection was made when the plans were first published. Now visual images are available they have confirmed that the proposal is incongruous and has a damaging effect due to its scale on the natural setting of the Town. It fails to meet the Principles for Managing Change outlined in the Character Area Appraisal and Management Plan for the Seafront. (21/P/2682/FUL)

NO DECISION YET

March started with an objection against the application to discharge a planning condition. The use of a smooth prefabricated precast stone material to increase the boundary wall height for flood protection at 57 Beach Road was a clear breach of the granted planning permission. This required the use of the existing wall material i.e. stone. (22/P/0342/AOC) APPROVED AFTER MATERIALS CHANGED

The month ended with an objection against the Burger King proposal for an internally illuminated fascia and projecting sign at their shop in the Sovereign Centre, which is now in the conservation area. The 2019 NSC Shopfront Design Guide is a Supplementary Planning Document. It states that illumination of signs or advertisements on all buildings in conservation areas will not be supported. (22/P/0775/ADV) APPROVED

In June an objection was made to the detail of the proposal for the change of use of ground floor from empty shop unit to 2 self-contained flats at 40 Moorland Road. The “Shopfront Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document has a key principle that residential conversions of shops should seek to retain original shop front features where these are of historic interest and/or contribute to the character of the area. This did not. (22/P/1013/FUL)  APPROVED AFTER REDESIGN

The month finished with support being given to the application for the installation of new shopfronts to no's 4, 6 and 8 and replacement of flat entrance doors to no's 6 and 8 Walliscote Road. It would significantly improve this part of the Magdala Buildings. The current appearance totally detracts from the appearance of this magnificent terrace. It was pleasing to see the proposed changes follow the detail of the Shopfront Design Guide as well as restoring many of the buildings features. (22/P/1169/R4) APPROVED

In September an objection was raised against the proposed partial removal of the existing front wall and associated drop kerb to create 2 additional off road parking spaces to the front of the property at 16 Quantock Road. The property lies in the Ellenborough Sub Area of the Whitecross Character Area of the Great Weston Conservation Area.

The adopted Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan, highlights that for the issue of Loss of/inappropriate boundary treatments e.g. front garden walls, Quantock Road was considered as Level 2 some, issue could be monitored. (22/P/1335/FUH) WITHDRAWN

A further an objection was raised against another proposed for the partial removal of the existing front wall to lower easier access for multiple vehicles to park at 38 Arundell Road. The property lies in the Grove/Montpelier Sub Area of the Hillside Character Area of the Great Weston Conservation Area.

The adopted Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan, highlights that for the issue of Loss of/inappropriate boundary treatments e.g. front garden walls, Arundell Road was considered as Level 2 some, issue could be monitored. (22/P/2256/FUH) REFUSED

In October a comment was made on the proposed erection of a two storey building containing two one-bed apartments at the rear of 9 Meadow Villas in Burlington Street. It was agreed the erection of a building at the site would improve the street scene. However, it was thought the proportion of stone in the new building should be significantly increased to relate to the other buildings in the road. (22/P/2229/FUL) APPROVED AFTER WALLS CHANGED FROM RENDER TO STONE

The month continued with an objection to the retrospective application for the erection of a 1.9m fence (wooden fence over brick base) at the front boundary of 50 Church Road, Worle. The fence was considered to spoil the street scene. Many of the justifications given could apply to any house. In addition the concern over light pollution could be mitigated by other means. (22/P/2322/FUH) APPROVED

An objection was also made to the change of use from the existing 4 bedroom house of multiple occupation (HMO) to a 7 bedroom HMO (Sui Generis Use) at 15 Gerard Road. The road suffers from problems of parking as half the road is double yellow lined and the other half uncontrolled and there are seldom spare places to be found. The property according to the application form has 3 parking positions. However the proposed increase from a 4 bed to 7 bed will exacerbate the problem. (22/P/2317/FUL) WITHDRAWN

In November an objection was made to the removal of the front garden to create parking space for 34 Hill Road resulting in the demolition of the existing stone wall. The adopted Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan, stated for both the loss of/inappropriate boundary treatments e.g. front garden walls and the loss of front gardens to hardstanding in Hill Road was moderate and needed monitoring.(22/P/2622/FUH) WITHDRAWN

The month continued with a comment on the proposed replacement of all existing windows with uPVC marine grey colour windows at 32 - 34 Birnbeck Road. It was pleasing to see that the plan is to convert the existing building rather than demolition and a rebuild. However, concern over the cost of uPVC windows rather than the preferred metal could lead to a difficult choice and compromise. (22/P/2063/FUL) REFUSED

Another comment was made was made on the application for listed building consent for the construction of an external access ramp to the front entrance to create a level access to the ground floor at 32 Waterloo Street (the former Mercury office). The proposal produces a bottleneck on the pavement and is likely to cause problems for those with invalid chairs or baby buggies. A solution would be to widen this spot by extending the footpath into a small section of the road. (22/P/2174/LBC) WITHDRAWN