According to the planning application, submitted by Robert Le Sueur, it is also proposed to construct a two-storey four-bedroom house on the site and install an outdoor swimming pool.
Godel Architects, which compiled a design statement accompanying the application, said that the property on Rue de
Sorel had recently been inherited by their client.
‘The property was originally a traditional farm building but has not been used
as a farm for a considerable number of years and the principal residential element to the south of the site is now separated into three individual dwellings which have been rented out for some years,’ it said.
‘Owing to the organic development of the site over time, none of the residential units have particularly satisfactory internal plan arrangements, parking or amenity-space provision.
‘Given the need to upgrade the existing accommodation, our client wished to develop a plan which would see layout and fabric improvements to the existing three dwellings to the south, and to investigate the possibility of clearing the ancillary accommodation to the north of the site with a view to constructing a new house on the vacated site.’
The statement also notes that a number of later external additions such as plastic-framed windows, plastic external doors and a faux-classico portico porch are either to be removed or replaced with more historically and aesthetically suitable fixtures.
It is planned to remove a roadside block wall and replace it with a granite one to ‘reinstate the country lane character’ and add a wildflower habitat for wildlife and ‘refugia’ within the grounds.
It added that the only property that may be impacted by the development was Oak Farm, to the north of the site. However, according to the statement, the owners had been consulted and were satisfied with the proposals.
The design statement added: ‘The various dilapidated and redundant buildings to the north are unsightly and unsuitable for any ongoing employment use, not least because of their arrangement on the site, the very poor access arrangements and the fact that this is predominantly a residential area unsuited to commercial development.
‘This proposal seeks to create a new, well designed and discreet dwelling on the site of the redundant structures to the north of the site which is supportable under policy given that there are a wide range of environmental benefits to be derived.’
