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Design And Access Statement Land To North Of Little Beckjay Revisions to approved planning application 20/00124/FUL Proposal - This proposal consists of the construction of two modest two bedroom detached open market cottages on land to the north of Little Beckjay and the formation of a new vehicular access exiting on to Beckjay Lane. The proposed site is located in the south Shropshire hamlet of Beckjay, within the parish of Clungunford. Prior to this revised application a previous application ( 20/00124/FUL) was submitted and granted full planning permission for a very similar development of two two bedroom cottages. Site Appraisal / Residential Amenity - The proposed development site currently constitutes part of the substantial garden / amenity land of Little Beckjay to the south of the site. A small dilapidated bird aviary ( soon to be removed ) currently sits on the site along with an area used for bonfires and a vegetable plot. The remainder of the site is laid to lawn with tress / shrubs around parts of its boarders. Little Beckjay was purchased by the current owners in 2015 following a substantial period in the ownership of the previous occupants. During the current ownership many improvements have been carried out on both the house and gardens, including work on the proposed site which has included the removal of dead , diseased and storm damaged trees. A number of mature conifer trees have also been recently removed by Western Power in the course of maintenance and repairs of the over head power lines that run along the western boundary of the site. The current garden / amenity land of Little Beckjay is very substantial for the 4 bedroom property it currently serves, siting in an approximately 3/4 of an acre plot. Even once the proposed development site of approximately 725m2 is divided from this it still leaves a very substantial rear garden for users of Little Beckjay to enjoy together with the generous front and side garden is also has available. Little Beckjays garden land runs parallel with Beckjay Lane with the entire plot being roughly rectangular in shape. The current dwelling ( Little Beckjay ) is located on the southern end of the plot , with the proposed development site on the northern end of this plot. This subsequent division results in a very usable garden with the shape and size of the plot being well placed to accommodate a division as proposed. This sentiment was echoed during approved planning application (20/00124/FUL) concluding that the amenity land left available to Little Beckjay would be comfortably within acceptable limits befitting a detached four bedroom house. Design / Site layout - Careful consideration has been taken of the design of the proposed dwellings so as not to detract from setting within the hamlet and of that of the grade II listed Little Beckjay, with the desire to enhance the hamlet by building two high quality and attractive cottages whilst not being overbearing on the hamlet. A pair of modest two bedroom cottages were chosen for the proposed development rather than a single detached dwelling as its felt it would be more In keeping within the hamlet with small cottages already being present. A large majority of recent new build planning applications within the locality ( and the wider ritual South Shropshire / North Herefordshire catchment ) have consisted of large detached 4 bedroom properties, which sadly immediately price out the younger generations and families due to the high average house prices together with a high percentage of detached housing stock. The result of which is an ageing local population as is common in many rural areas currently. Two modest, attractive, far more affordable cottages would appeal to a much wider demographic affording younger generations and families the opportunity to live within the parish, helping to address this rapidly declining trend. The proposed development site is located between Little Beckjay to the south and The Paigles to the north, infilling between the two and merging into the street scene running parallel to the west of Beckjay Lane. The proposed development would mirror other properties along Beckjay lane and creating a linear and uniform pattern of development as approved in the previous application ( 20/00124/FUL) . The existing properties along the lane are positioned both parallel and perpendicular to the lane, the proposal being parallel would mirror the Paigles directly to the North and The Thatch 100 meters south of the site. The rear/ side gardens available to both proposed dwellings would be a very generous size to the two bedroom properties they would serve, with both benefiting from the exceptional uninterrupted views towards Hopton Hill all along the western boundary. Traditional cottage dorma Windows are proposed for the first floor fenestrations, this detail would mirror other properties within the hamlet ( including Beckjay Farm and The Thatch ) whilst also allowing for a more traditional cottage design keeping the ridge height of the dwellings low thus being in keeping with the modest scale of the cottages and not creating an overbearing development on either the street scene or other neighbouring properties. External design details shall be of a high standard in both finish and application so as to enhance the street scene. Handmade red imperial restoration bricks shall be used for the construction of the outer skin with traditional lime mortar joints and arched headers above all fenestrations. Welsh slate is proposed for the roof covering together with traditional cast iron gutters / down pipes. Traditional timber joinery details for all windows , doors and dorma Windows to include cottage style Windows and doors , all in an attractive green finish. Traditional cobbled paving stones are proposed for the drive and pathway coverings, theses being permeable in nature would not contribute to surface water run off towards Beckjay Lane. The rear gardens of the semi detached cottages would have a straight dividing boundary running from the centre of the western elevation of the cottages to the western boundary of the site ( see block plans ). This divide would consist of a decorative panelled fence to provide a secure boundary together with the planting of English cheery laurel hedging creating both a highly effective and attractive divide. Similar hedging ( laurels )would also be implemented on the boundary between the proposed cottages and that of Little a Beckjay the the south and The Paigles to the North. This would result in private gardens to the users of both the proposed dwellings and the existing properties boarding the site. The provision of refuge and log storage is also provided to the side gable ends ( north and south elevation) of each property. A locally constructed self build dwelling built by a local builder ( picture date 2017) showing design details and finished ( external walls / roof coverings / joinery ) to be implemented on the proposed cottages. Neighbour Amenity - Any infill plot by its nature shall always have neighbouring properties within relatively close proximity of its own boundaries. Careful consideration of this during the design process has always been paramount so as not to be a detriment to neighbouring properties within the hamlet. Firstly the nature of the development proposed helps to mitigate against any suboptimal neighbour amenity issues. Two modest two bedroom cottages with a low ridge height were chosen over a larger detached dwelling with garaging despite consultation during pre application advice indicating a single larger detached dwelling would still be considered acceptable in an infill plot. A very important detail to be included from the initial design stages was to have no first floor fenestrations on either end gable ( north south elevations ). The inclusion of this detail immediately mitigated any possible over looking scenario to either Little Beckjay to the south or The Paigles to the north, protecting the privacy to both of these existing dwellings. As indicated previously the rectangular shape of Little Beckjays amenity land together with Litte Beckjay itself positioned on the southern end and the proposed development on the northern end results in a significant distance between the proposed site and that of the existing Little Beckjay. Indeed even once divided this distance is still similar / greater than the separation distances between other properties within the hamlet. The new divide between the proposed dwellings and Little Beckjay shall consist of a traditional post and rail fence together with English cherry laurels and three new indigenous trees that once matured will tie in with an established tree being retained on the Beckjay lane boundary and trees on the western boundary forming a continuous tree line ( see tree plan ). This measures will ensure total privacy between Little Beckjay and the proposed dwellings whilst also acting as an attractive screen of the dwellings when viewed from Beckjay Lane once the tree plantings mature, adding to the screen already provided by existing trees to be retained on the eastern boundary adjacent to Beckjay lane. To the north of the site is The Paigles, the existing boundary between The Paigles and the proposed dwellings is defined by an established hedge of mature trees which have recently been coppiced to provide a more effective boundary that together with established trees and bushes on The Paigles side of this boundary act as a screen between the two, since approved application ( 20/00124/FUL) the trees have been further coppiced from a height of approximately 6- 12 feet to around 4 feet in height, this was necessary due to the exceptionally wet winter/spring of 2020 which resulted in the freshly coppiced trees developing disease which threatened the trees with no new growth appearing. The further coppicing has resulted in all trees now producing new growth which in tern will promote a far more effective screen than what which was there previously.

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