Care home plans rejected

A Halesowen care home’s bid to build an extension in the garden of a neighbouring house has been rejected.

Dudley Council dismissed the plan from Two Gates House Care Home on Two Gates Lane which would have seen the addition of seven new bedrooms.

The application proposed the reallocation of a portion of the garden attached to a residential dwelling to the northeast of the care home.

A report from council officers on the application said: “Whilst the council acknowledges the presumption in favour of sustainable development and the need to boost housing delivery, the proposed extensions represent an unjustified form of garden land development that fails to respect the established character and settlement pattern of the area.”

Council officers found the extension would significantly reduce the garden from 35m long to just 8.8m, which planners concluded failed to be in keeping with other plot sizes.

The proposed new building would also have windows to the side facing towards neighbouring houses and had potential to result in overlooking.

Planners also concluded the new development would have a significant overbearing impact on neighbouring properties.

The reduction in garden space for the house next door to the care home was also a problem.

The planned development would reduce the garden area at the house to 57.9 square metres while planning guidelines set out a minimum area of 65 square metres for new homes.

The report said: “Despite the proposal not creating a new dwelling, the proposed development would result in a poor level of private amenity space for the existing dwelling that fails to comply with minimum guidance.”

The application also included an extension within the existing boundaries of the care home to increase the size of a day room.

Planners concluded the day room extension would be acceptable because “it would be read with the context of the existing rear extensions and would not be immediately visible from neighbouring gardens or the public highway” however it was not granted permission having been submitted in the same application as the proposed seven-bedroom building.