Case Study
Green Belt House near Marlow

Complex Replacement Dwelling in a Conservation Area on a Flood Plain with increased area and volume using Certificates of Lawfulness.

Our client wants to build a new larger home above the flood level to replace an existing thatched cottage. The cottage is considered by the planning authority to be a non-designated heritage asset and is in a conservation area and in the Metropolitan Green Belt. It is also in Flood Zone 3 due to flooding from the river Thames. Green Planning Studio have been able to add significant value to this project using their expertise in Heritage, Architecture, and Planning.

The Site

Our clients purchased the property with a view to extending and renovating the property – making it their forever home – however, following a series of repeated flood events, they decided that it would be better to replace it with a larger property, raising the floor level if they could.

The Design

The maximum volume of extensions under permitted development rights was determined by a Certificate of Lawful Development which also established that a large garage could be built in the garden. The initial proposal that traded all the volume for a large replacement dwelling was dismissed at appeal because of the impact on the conservation area.

A smaller scheme was proposed. The loss of the non-designated heritage asset and its contribution to the Conservation Area was assessed as being ‘less than significant harm’. This was weighed against the benefits of the proposal in terms of the health and wellbeing of the residents, and improvements in carbon footprint. The front of the replacement dwelling is conservative, and we were able to demonstrate through our heritage expertise and computer graphic images the positive impact the new dwelling would make to the Conservation Area. The house approved after a series of applications and an appeal.