Striking grand-designsNews style home plans get the go-ahead despite protest
PLANS for a striking ‘contemporary’ family house in Coventry have been given the goahead, despite protest from disgruntled neighbours.
A huge project for 23 Innis Road, in Earlsdon, was originally approved by the city council’s planning committee in March last year.
Old photos of the site show the home was left unloved, with an overgrown garden and skip with piles of rubbish sitting on the front lawn.
New plans are to demolish the house and erect an impressive five-bed detached dwelling, fronted by large swaths of glazing.
CGIs placed side-by-side show a huge transformation.
Futuristic designs submitted to the council further show the ground floor will have a spacious 33m2 living room, a playroom with a pool table, an open kitchen/dining room with an ‘island,’ as well as a study and downstairs bathroom.
The first floor will have five bedrooms - three with an ensuite bathroom and one with a walk-in wardrobe - as well as an additional family bathroom.
Although the existing house has already been demolished and the ground works have started, the homeowners had to submit plans to increase the ground floor level by 300mm and the house height from 7.6 metres to 7.9m.
At a planning committee on Thursday, January 23, council officers said this was to nullify a one in 100 year chance the home would be flooded from the nearby Canley Brook if works were not approved.
But that didn’t come without protest from neighbours.
Objecting to the new plans on Thursday, one neighbour on behalf of some residents said: “With the sheer size of the build already out of character in the road, they feel any increase in height will make the build look overbearing.”
The change was prompted by “new information” that only came about after plans were approved, the owner said, adding: “The house dimensions do not change and we are not gaining any extra space.
“It’s our family home, it is me, my husband and three children. Raising the ridge will have a negligible impact on our neighbours.” Planning officer Emma Spandley agreed, stating that even with the changes the height will “still be similar to the average ridge heights” in the street.
She added: “The option there is only to increase the ridge height by 300mm, which is about 10 inches.”
Original plans led to a petition of 87 signatures, 29 letters of objection, and saw all three ward councillors object.
Some objections argued it was overlooking and would result in a loss of privacy, while another even claimed there ‘are too many bathrooms.’ Revised plans were unanimously approved.