Rear extension granted on appeal contrary to Council's design guidelines in Rochdale
The purpose of the SPD was to prevent rear extensions from being overbearing to neighbouring occupiers and to prevent undue loss of light and privacy rather than to rigidly comply with a set of rules and standards.
The Inspector duly assessed the impact of the extension in terms of site specific considerations such as the surrounding land uses, topography, boundaries, levels and the size of the neighbour's ground floor windows. The Inspector concluded that the extension did not form a prominent or dominant feature on the outlook for the neighbour or have an overbearing effect upon the rear garden. The Inspector noted that the Council had failed to substantiate its claim that a loss of light would occur, but concluded that the orientation of the extension is unlikely to affect light or sunlight reaching the rear rooms and gardens of the neighbouring properties.
