Laburnum Road in Epsom is situated within the Church Street Conservation Area of Epsom which centres around the Parish Church of St Martin of Tours with its 1450 tower marking the original site of Epsom Village. Along Church Street are a number of 17th and 18th Century houses built during Epsom's Spa periods, when the present High Street became the centre of Epsom as a Spa town.
The Conservation Area is noted for it’s considerable number of Grade II and II* Listed Buildings spanning the known periods of Epsom’s history. The variety of outstanding architectural styles of 17th to 19th Century and of garden settings to the large Listed Buildings in Church Street are amongst the special features contributing to the Conservation Area. Noteworthy architectural features include:
- the decorative timber modillioned caves of No. 18 Church Street and those found in Laburnum Road
- the door cases of Ebbisham House and The Cedars and the wrought iron gate of Ebbisham House
- fine old tile or later slate roofs: some houses have parapets which completely hide the roofs behind e.g. Stone House
- quality brickwork in a variety of traditional bonds, often with contrasting dressings
- sash windows including tall and elegant examples of the mid to late Georgian period and others of the early to mid Victorian era
The Borough Council’s key Conservation policies seek to conserve and enhance the built heritage of the Borough and the design of new development is to make a positive contribution. The key policies are:
Local Plan POLICY BE1
New development will be required to be of a design which makes a positive contribution to the quality of the built environment.
Local Plan POLICY BE3
Within a Conservation Area, proposals for new buildings and extensions or alterations to existing buildings will be required to be designed in a manner sympathetic to the scale, siting, form and materials of adjacent buildings, and to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the area in general.
Local Plan POLICY BE4
Planning permission will only be granted for development affecting the setting of a Conservation Area, or affecting views into or out of the area, provided that it:
(i) Is designed to respect the character appearance and setting of the Conservation Area;
(ii) Does not involve damage to or loss of open areas, gardens, vegetation, walls or other structures which contribute to the character, appearance and setting of the Conservation Area; and
(iii) Retains important views into and out of the Conservation Area.
This medium-sized semi-detached family house in Laburnum Road is typical of its period and in the style of other properties in the road and local area. The building footprint is currently 76.0sq.m and it sits on a plot of 297.4sq.m while the proposed extension will increase the footprint to 83.9sq.m. Accommodation is currently arranged over three floors, typical of such Victorian properties, and comprises entrance hall, living room, dining room, kitchen and utility room on the ground floor with three bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor. The only extension to the original building is a single-storey flat-roofed side return to the rear of the property.
The Planning Application being submitted is for the demolition of the existing side return extension and clearing and levelling of the immediate area followed by the construction of a new single-storey side return. The current layout of the original building in the immediate area is to be altered in response to this. The opening from the existing living room through to the kitchen is to be blocked up and a new, much wider opening created in the flank wall opening the kitchen up and so creating a breakfast area within the new extension. Towards the rear, the new extension will accommodate a WC and beyond that a small utility area. The extension’s roof is to be glazed with rooflights to maximise natural lighting which will be particularly important where it permeates the existing living room as the original glazed double doors will now be internalised.
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