Bungalow-into-house plan

COUNCILLORS at Warrington are to make a second attempt to resolve a planning dispute over proposals to convert a bungalow into a house by raising the level of the roof by almost five feet and adding rooms in the roof space.
A neighbour says the scheme in Whitbarrow Road, Lymm, would amount to a “massive increase” – and Lymm Parish Council and Cllr Sheila Woodyatt have also objected on the grounds of overdevelopment of the site.
The borough council’s planning committee has already looked at the proposal once but decided to visit the site before reaching a decision.
The application by Liam Sammon is for a first floor extension to provided two extra bedrooms on a new first floor, a terrace and a Juliette balcony.
It would result in the roof being raised by almost five feet.
The plan was originally submitted last year but was withdrawn and reduced in scale following concern from neighbours and officers.
But officers are now recommending the scheme for approval. They say the bungalow is not of significant architectural value and the changes are acceptable It will not be significantly larger and will preserve the character and appearance of the Lymm Central Conservation Area.
One neighbour says the new, five bedroomed house will have no synergy with the traditional buildings in the road.
“The new design perpetuates indiscriminate architecture which blights parts of Lymm and was allowed in the past – it is totally out of keeping with the character of the surrounding conservation area,” he says.