Appeal to build 'overbearing' flats dismissed

A government planning inspector sided with the City of Wolverhampton Council and threw the appeal out

An appeal over a plan to build city centre flats refused for being "overbearing" has been thrown out.

Developer AAJ Property Management submitted two planning applications to demolish a garage in Castle Street in Wolverhampton city centre and replace it with new flats.

One application was for permission to build a three-storey block with six apartments and the other for a two-storey building with four flats.

City of Wolverhampton Council's planners approved the smaller building but refused the larger. AAJ appealed the refusal of the taller building but failed to overturn the decision.

The appeal was made to the government's planning inspectors – who have the power to overrule the council.

However, the inspector sided with the council and threw out the appeal saying a three-storey building would be "inappropriate" as it would "exceed the historical scale and disrupt the established character of the area."

"The eastern side of Castle Street is defined by smaller, ancillary buildings that support the primary buildings on Queen Street," the planning inspector said in a report outlining the refusal.

"Introducing a taller, more prominent building would create a visual imbalance, overwhelming the modest nature of the existing ancillary buildings and undermining the subordinate role that these buildings traditionally play."

Revised proposals – including a reduction in the height of the building – were submitted during the appeal but were ruled out by the inspector who said the new designs were "fundamentally different" and the appeal process should not be used to "evolve" applications.

The council said the move to build a three-storey building in Castle Street would be "overbearing" and "out of place" and would be "competing" with the listed buildings in Queen Street.

The council's planners added that some of the details in the work – particularly the windows – would be "out of character" and not match neighbouring buildings.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.