Dover House Estate Homeowner Told to Remove uPVC Door
Application had been made for retrospective planning permission
Parkstead Road. Picture: Google Streetview
March 1, 2024
The owner of a house in a Putney conservation area must replace a newly-installed front door after Wandsworth Council turned down a retrospective planning application.
Architect Jack Pearce asked for permission for the new uPVC door and windows at the property in Parkstead Road on the Dover House Estate in West Putney. According to his application, they were actually installed in March 2023.
In a report supporting his application, he said the design of the new external windows and doors had taken the character of the conservation area into account, with the new windows matching the property's immediate neighbour.
The new front door is blue with panels and a fanlight. The white uPVC windows have replaced brown uPVC windows - themselves "inappropriate", according to a report prepared by Wandsworth Council.
Nick Calder, the council's Head of Development Management, has written to Mr Pearce, of Studio Reach Architecture, telling him that the new uPVC door should be removed and replaced with a timber door matching the style of the original.
According to the council's report, there was one objection to the retrospective application "on the basis that the installation of uPVC windows and a door fails to preserve or enhance the conservation area and is incongruous with the character of the surrounding area."
The report states: "The proposed alterations fail to preserve the appearance and character of the Dover House Estate Conservation Area. The original timber door was significant as a feature of interest in the conservation area and matched the adjoining door.
"The replacement with a modern uPVC unit is not in keeping with the character or appearance of the surrounding area or the wider Dover House Estate Conservation Area and no public justification has been made for these works."
It adds that while the white replacement uPVC windows are also "incongruous" with the conservation area, "given they are no more inappropriate than the existing brown uPVC windows it is considered that on their own they are not entirely unacceptable".
Mr Calder pointed out the applicant was given every chance to submit an application which was likely to have been considered favourably. But he concluded, "The necessary amendments to make the application acceptable are substantial and would materially change the development proposal."
He finished his letter by stating that the new uPVC door should be removed and replaced with a timber door matching the style of the original.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |