KINGSTON AND NORTH KINGSTON NEIGHBOURHOOD

Conservation Areas Advisory Committee

PLANNING APPLICATION COMMENT FORM DATE: 12 April 2023

CA13

RBK ref: 23/00774/HOU

Address: 13 St Albans Road Kingston Upon Thames KT2 5HQ Planning Officer: Andrew Forrest

Description of proposed works: Alterations to roof and installation of 5no. rooflights to facilitate loft conversion including internal alterations to first floor. Changes to fenestrations

APPRAISAL

By full committee on …… 12 April 2023 …… with …… 5 …… members present

Issued on 12 Apr 2023

1. Positive support		2. No objection
3. Objection		4. Objection unless revised as below	X
5. No comment/neutral		6. Lack of detail
7. Decision already issued

Reason for objection:

Objection unless revised as below.

Number/ size of roof lights in previous application have been reduced in response to our objection & officers’ refusal (22/01763), which is welcome. However, applicant states they will not be conservation grade because neighbouring properties are not. This is petty & unacceptable as standards/ products have improved.

In particular, the applicant’s Heritage, Design and Access Statement seeks to justify their decision on the basis that #8 St Albans is lacking conservation style roof lights. But that property was granted consent in 2020 subject to condition that roof lights ‘shall be of conservation style, constructed in timber and set flush with the plane of the roof in which they are inserted. The roof lights shall be permanently retained in this style’. A breach of planning condition can be no justification for this application. Furthermore, the applicant refers to certain other neighbouring properties without conservation style roof lights, but many/ most were installed prior to the creation of the CA in 1998, such as #25 St Albans which was granted consent in 1993.

We, therefore, maintain our objection to the current PA unless the proposed roof lights are of conservation type.