Neighbours up in arms over plan for ‘unashamedly’ modern home
IT boasts a hidden garden and sky-lit upper level and is so energy efficient that the new owners can look forward to minimal heating bills.
However, plans for a “unashamedly contemporary” property in a conservation area of Glasgow’s west end have not been welcomed by neighbouring residents who claim it will have an “adverse effect” on the area.
Designed by internationally renowned architect Keiron Lynch, permission is being sought for an “understated” two-level home with basement level on a sunken plot sandwiched between period villas on Turnberry Road and Hyndland Secondary School.
A large rundown garage would be demolished to make way for the property, which, according to architects would “hunker down” into the existing site unobtrusively and is below the garden level of surrounding properties.
A design statement submitted by Keiron Lynch Architecture states that the house would be a “thoroughly contemporary residence tuned for modern day needs and concerns... utilising appropriate renewables such as solar power, rainwater harvesting, heat recovery from waste water and exiting air.”
The firm, which charges £50,000 for a “bespoke design”, says the area already includes homes of “varying architectural styles and eras” and that any view of the dwelling from the road will be impossible with the “topography and existing greenery rendering most of the upper floor and all of the ground floor mostly unseen”.
The developers add that the building has “no larger a footprint area” than the existing building that is to be demolished.
However, the application has prompted complaints from neighbours who say it is not in keeping with the more traditional period properties and will have “an adverse effect on the privacy and tranquillity” of the area.
One writes: “The modern appearance of the building (both in form and materials used) is not at all sympathetic to the older, period style of the neighbouring buildings and area.”
Another said: “The purpose of a conservation area is to preserve or enhance its character and appearance. This proposal does not do this.”
One objector noted that a previous application for property on the site was rejected in the 1980s following an appeal by the applicant to the Secretary of State because it essentially constituted a “development in a back lane”.
The new owners are from Glasgow but are currently living in Perthshire after years of living abroad and one is a local school teacher “with the burden of a 100-mile daily commute.”
Glasgow City Council said the application would be considered “on its own merits”.
Major changes are being introduced to England’s planning laws that could allow homeowners to loosen planning rules and build bigger and taller extensions. In the small print of the Queen’s Speech, which was delivered this week by Prince Charles, it was revealed residents will be given “more involvement in local development”.
Neighbours will be allowed to vote on the size and style of extensions, new homes and conversions happening along their street.
But many have predicted that it will be a recipe for disharmony and likely to lead to more neighbours at war if people are the given a veto on home improvements.
Countryside charity CPRE said the policy would allow homeowners to simply have more space and increase the value of their properties, making it harder still for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder.
Contemporary residence tuned for modern day needs