Councillors put brakes on building plans for new house in Cannock garden

The proposed two-storey detached home on land at Fairmount Drive, Cannock, was refused after members of Cannock Chase Council’s planning committee went on a visit to the site on November 13.

The decision notice stated: “The proposed dwelling, by reason of its scale and location on an elevated corner plot, would not be well-related to the layout and pattern of the existing surrounding development. Rather it would appear as an incongruous and intrusive feature, reducing spaciousness in the street scene adversely affecting the character and appearance of the area.

“The proposed dwelling would be sited immediately adjacent a public right of way. The site sits in an elevated position above the adjacent right of way and together with the proposed two storey scale and siting of the dwelling would result in a domineering and oppressive form of development that would be harmful to the amenity of the adjacent public footpath for its users.”

The council received an objection on behalf of neighbouring residents. A petition containing nine signatures from people opposing the development was also submitted. 

Concerns were raised in the petition about highway safety, traffic generation and parking. But Staffordshire County Council’s highways department raised no objections to the application. The objector said the new property would face their parents’ home directly. The pair, who are in their mid-70s, had faced “much undeserved stress and many sleepless nights” as a result of the proposal, the objector added.

They said: “My parents already have a property directly in front of their house at the top of Railway Street. They have the property that is being renovated which is at the side of their property. These properties have been there years so they are what they are. 

"Now the plans are to build another property, making my parents’ house feel more like a prison than a home; totally enclosed and losing natural daylight which they have a right to. I’ve showed my parents the proposed plans on your website and they and I are in agreement that the new property will be shoehorned into a space that’s simply not big enough. 

"Furthermore, it will have no similarities to any other surrounding property and will therefore not be in keeping with the location generally.”