Plans to extend 120-year-old Burley cottage thrown out

PARISH councillors in Burley have welcomed the national park authority throwing out extension plans for a 120-year-old cottage which they warned could have opened the floodgates to major changes being made to traditional homes across the New Forest.

Members of the NPA's planning committee turned down the proposal to add a two-storey addition to the side of the building along with a large "modernistic" outbuilding in the back garden.

With strong opposition from Burley Parish Council, they rejected the advice of officers to give the scheme the go-ahead for Woodside, in Church Lane.

Robert Clarke, parish council vice-chair, told the A&T he was “delighted” by the news.

He added: “If given the go-ahead, it could then generally have allowed more substantial side extensions which could consequently, over time, undermine the well-known New Forest iconic image of the typical two-storey detached Foresters’ cottage."

The council also said that the outbuilding to be erected in the back garden was “badly out of keeping in design, massing and position”.

The cottage is in the Burley conservation area and identified as being of "as of local, vernacular or cultural interest", said a committee report.

The application by Ms Barron was to house a kitchen and utility room with a bedroom and en suite bathroom above.

There were two letters of objection from residents claiming the proposed changes would “affect the rural character of the cottage” and was “out of keeping”.

The committee report advised approval, saying: “Overall, it is considered that the proposed extensions would be appropriate to the rural appearance and rural character of the non-designated heritage asset and its symmetrical design, with a central front door and porch, and would not harm the significance of the heritage assets.”

But to the delight of the parish council NPA members voted against the application.