Man’s plan to build house in back garden knocked back

A LOCAL resident’s plan to build a two-storey house in his back garden has been turned down by South Tyneside Council due to concerns about the design and privacy.

The council’s planning department rejected the application for land at the rear of a property on Burnham Grove, East Boldon.

The homeowner had submitted plans last year to divide his garden and construct a new two-bedroom house. Despite receiving three letters objecting to the development, citing issues such as loss of privacy, potential flooding, and disturbance during construction, the East Boldon Neighbourhood Forum did not oppose the plans but expressed concerns about the design. The owner had hoped to “release some of the land to the rear” as it was “too much to maintain”.

A heritage statement submitted on behalf of the applicant said the large garden could “comfortably accommodate a new dwelling with its own garden, whilst maintaining a suitably sized garden to the existing dwelling”.

But, after looking at the planning application and checking it against planning rules, South Tyneside Council’s planning department said no to it on February 14, 2024.

The main reasons, written in a council decision report, were because of the design of the plan, as well as how it would affect neighbours’ privacy and the lack of a “safe and suitable pedestrian access” for people who would live there in the future.

Council planners concluded that the housing plan would be “inappropriate backland development that would be incongruous and incompatible with the layout, form and character of the surrounding area”.

In this context, it was argued that the plans would “result in demonstrable harm to the setting of the adjacent East Boldon Conservation Area”.

The council decision report also said that the proposal would “fail to achieve adequate separation distances between the proposed new dwelling and the neighbouring properties on Burnham Grove”, resulting in impacts.

This included “unacceptable overlooking” of one property and the house appearing “overbearing and visually intrusive” to neighbours.

The person who applied to build the house can fight against the council’s decision by appealing to the Secretary of State.