Plans for bungalow in garden of 4 Northgate Avenue, in Bury St Edmunds, rejected by West Suffolk Council

Plans for a bungalow in the garden of a town home which attracted several objections have been refused.

West Suffolk Council rejected the proposals from Mr and Mrs R Hayter-Gare for the property in the grounds of 4 Northgate Avenue, in Bury St Edmunds, yesterday.

The application would have seen a detached two-bedroom bungalow built in the back garden of the property and accessed via an unmade track known as Pigs Lane.

Bury Town Council gave a holding objection to the plans on the grounds of pending Highways and waste collections teams approvals, particularly with impending increase bins due to simpler recycling.

Representations from four members of the public, all of whom had Avenue Approach addresses, were submitted to the application – all objected to the plans.

Concerns over parking, road safety and residential amenity were raised, particularly with regards to Pigs Lane, which was described by one person as being ‘in an extremely poor state of repair’.

The busy nature of Avenue Approach was also highlighted.

Planners said, while the principle of the project in general terms was acceptable, the bungalow would be out of the character of the area and its established ‘spacious plot sizes’.

They said the access for the property would increase traffic and the potential conflict between motorists and pedestrians, and the plans lacked details demonstrating an appropriate waste collection area.

Planners concluded potential for harm and conflict with policy outweighed the ‘marginal benefits’ the new property would provide.