PLANS for a multi-use building in the grounds of a historic cottage at Croft, Warrington have been turned down by borough planning chiefs.
They say the development would amount to the construction of new building in the Green Belt – even though there was a previous building on the site.
It is believed the building, in the grounds of Oven Back Cottage, in Winwick Lane, Croft was demolished some time between 2009 and 2015.
The cottage itself is thought to date from the early to mid 1800s and is a locally Listed building
Planning law states that a building in the Green Belt may be acceptable if it replaces an existing building, provided it is in the same use and is not materially larger than the one it replaces.
But in this case, there is now no building to replace.
A borough council planning officer’s report states: “It is clear that the scale of the proposed building is such that it would amount to considerably more than a 33 per cent increase in the size of the original building and therefore would constitute a disproportionate addition over and above the size of the original building.”
The proposal was for an outbuilding on the site to provide a garage, workshop, garden room, shower room and store on the ground floor and a gym, office and games room on an upper floor within the roof space.
