Rowington garden bungalow plan is thrown out by committee

A plan to build a two-bedroomed bungalow in the garden of a Rowington house has been thrown out by councillors because the site on Old Warwick Road was outside of the village boundary and in the green belt.There was support for the new home from the parish council but members of Warwick District Council’s planning committee unanimously refused planning permission at their meeting this week.Ward member Cllr Richard Hales (Con, Kenilworth Abbey and Arden) urged councillors to go against the recommendation of their planning officer and approve the plan.

An officer’s report raised concerns about the lack of a footpath between the site, in the grounds of Clinton House, and the village centre but Cllr Hales dismissed this.He told the meeting: “The wide verge is part of the Heart of England Way and well used by walkers. In the rural community people are used to walking on the verge and this is a very wide verge. A light has been put in by the county council to light the verge up to the pub.”He added: “This [application] gives the residents the opportunity to stay within the parish with a self-build two-bed bungalow in their garden.”Donna Savage, the applicants’ agent, pointed out that the need for a two-bed bungalow had been identified in Rowington’s housing needs survey published this year and that an identical structure on the land had already been approved as an outbuilding.She said: “We could actually build this and then come back in for a change of use to a separate dwelling and we believe substantial weight should be given to that.”That suggestion was dismissed by the council’s planning business manager Sandip Sahota who said such an application would be refused.

Cllr Terry Morris (Ind, Warwick Saltisford) was equally dismissive.

He said: “The fallback position occasionally gets used as an attempt to sway.

"However, we have many clear policies, many of which protect our green belt.

"No special circumstances have been put forward and I am happy to go along with the officer’s recommendations to refuse planning.”