Homes plan set for refusal?

PLANNING bosses at Warrington are urging councillors to throw out plans for new houses on an old garage site – because a proposed dormer bungalow would clash with adjoining terraced houses.
The plan involves a former garage site in Ford Street, next to a three storey apartment block, Ambrose Court.
It involves a terrace of four houses designed to blend in with existing terraced houses in Ford Street with an attached dormer bungalow at the end nearest to Ambrose Court.
Planners say the site is currently vacant and unsightly and its redevelopment for housing would have obvious visual and economic benefits for the local area.
Residential development would improve vibrancy and activity in Ford Street and address fly tipping problems. The four terraced houses are broadly consistent with the character of the local area.
But the proposed dormer bungalow is different however.
Planners say: “It disrupts the balance, symmetry and unity of the block and would appear as an incongruous and inconsistent adjunct to the terraced block. There are no examples of similar single storey dwellings close by.”
The scheme has been rejected once by officers, under delegated powers, but has now been referred to the borough council’s planning committee.
There are no objections to the scheme from the council’s environmental health and highways departments, nor from United Utilities and the plan is consistent with the council’s Unitary Development Plan and Core Strategy housing objectives.