Update - 12 February 2020
The appeal has been dismissed. See here for ruling.

This is an extremely important result because it safeguards the wooded scene along the length of Madeira Avenue.

Update - 21 September 2019
The refused planning application, ref. No. 18/05287/FULL1, for the erection of a detached two bedroom dwelling facing Madeira Avenue on land formerly the rear garden of 48 Farnaby Road, has been appealed. The grounds of appeal statement is available.

The appellant's summary and conclusion are as follows:

6.1. The appeal site is located on the west side of Madeira Avenue in Bromley. It comprises part of the rear garden on No. 48 Farnaby Road. In this section of the road, the Farnaby Road properties have large gardens which slope upwards towards Madeira Avenue. The gardens have fences or walls to Madeira Avenue.

6.2. The proposal is to construct a two-bedroom dwelling. The house will be built to a high standard in a contemporary style.

6.3. The proposal site is a sustainable small infill site. Both the NPPF and the Draft London Plan promote the role of small windfall sites in providing housing; especially where a site is within an existing settlement, is highly accessible by public transport and is close to shops and services. The proposal site has all these characteristics. The proposal will make a small but valuable contribution towards Bromley’s housing targets.

6.4. This part of the street is undeveloped and is an ideal location to raise density in accordance with the NPPF and London Plan. The opposite side of the street is built-up and includes three and four-storey properties. The gardens of the properties on Farnaby Road are exceptionally large, providing plenty of scope to accommodate new housing along this section of road. The areas of garden close to Madeira Avenue provide poor amenity areas because they are at a much higher level than the houses.

6.5. The street character will change in a gentle way; however high quality and attractiveness will be achieved by retaining frontage trees, having high quality architecture behind them and well-designed floorscape and landscape.

6.6. Close to the site, to the north, there is development on both sides of the road, including modern three-storey houses. Further to the south, where Madeira Avenue becomes Highland Road, there are two further modern infill houses on this side of the road, as well as the Bromley Reform Synagogue. There is clear precedent for infill development on this side of the road. The proposed modest two story house will fit into its surroundings.

6.7. The proposal will not have any adverse impacts on neighbours. The neighbouring garden will not be overlooked, due to the generous separation distance and the large amount of landscaping. In addition, the proposed house will be only one and a half stories in height at the rear with no windows above the ground floor.

6.8. The proposal complies with all national and local planning policies and the appellant respectfully requests that the Inspector allow the appeal.

Update - 9 February 2019
The planning application, ref. No. 18/05287/FULL1, for the erection of a detached two bedroom dwelling facing Madeira Avenue on land formerly the rear garden of 48 Farnaby Road, has been refused. The delegation report and decision are available.

Nearby owners/occupiers were notified of the application and representations were received. Many subject areas were repeated amongst commentators, which were summarised as follows:
  • Concerns that the proposal might set a precedent for more development of gardens along Madeira Avenue to the detriment of the area.
  • Property will not be in character for the area as there are currently no houses on this side of Madeira Avenue on this stretch.
  • Concerns raised about impact on increased parking congestion and traffic on the road.
  • Concerns regarding the loss of an important landscape of the road containing mature trees and shrubs.
  • Comparisons to other roads in the area are not relevant to this site.
  • Results in an overdevelopment on a constrained area.
  • Concerns regarding overlooking and loss of privacy to both Farnaby Road and Madeira Avenue to both the houses and the privacy of the existing rear gardens. Mitigation proposed is cursory.
  • If precedent is set, loss of privacy and overlooking would detrimentally increase further.
  • Concerns regarding loss of mature trees including an Oak.
  • Site is back gardens of properties in Farnaby Avenue. Development along this line will cause severe deterioration in the aesthetic nature of this area.
  • Commentary re further development of neighbour gardens is unwelcome from those owners.
  • Concerns regarding disruption of the construction process.
  • Building houses on that side of the road will begin to take away the appeal of the street and destroy its character.
  • Ruin view for those opposite. Cramped space would lower the value of my property.
  • Townhouses are not a precedent for further development of the opposite side of the road.
  • Concerns regarding drainage and further built form increasing run off on a steep site.
  • Comments re a ransom strip. Farnaby Road residents have subsequently fenced in this strip. This doesn't give them actual ownership.
  • Design style out of character with other properties.
  • An opportunistic development without regard to local residents building on green land.
  • Sunlight would be impacted to adjacent gardens.
  • Concerns regarding notification extent of the application.
  • Adds little in terms of providing any serious solution to the ongoing need for additional houses in the area.
  • Loss of trees will not help improve air quality.
  • Concerns regarding the impact on school places.
  • Similar to 2005 scheme. No reason to take a different view.
The Ravensbourne Valley Preservation Society commented that the development is an unacceptable garden land development, out of character with adjoining properties, that could be used to set a precedent for future development of this type which would adversely impact upon local character and existing street scenes. The proposed development would also give rise to an unacceptable degree of overlooking and loss of privacy, daylight and amenity to the occupiers of adjoining properties on Farnaby Road.

The delegation report concluded that the proposed development constitutes garden land development where there is an unacceptable impact upon the character, appearance and context of the area by reason of scale, design, siting and proximity to neighbouring garden curtilage and the surrounding development pattern and spatial layout of the area. If permitted this would establish an undesirable pattern for similar piecemeal infilling in the area, resulting in a retrograde lowering of the standards to which the area is at present developed and have a serious and adverse effect on the visual amenity of the streetscene.

Furthermore, the development by reason of its isolated siting and design and its relationship to adjacent property and buildings would not complement the scale, form and layout of buildings in the immediate area or be compatible with the character of the surrounding development. It would therefore fail to preserve or enhance the character of the residential area and represents an inappropriate and visually obtrusive development detrimental to the character and visual amenities of the locality.

Increased overlooking from a high level to neighbouring property boundaries would also have a serious and adverse effect on the privacy and amenity enjoyed by the occupants of neighbouring property.

Thus the application was refused for the following reasons:
  1. The proposed development constitutes garden land development where there is an unacceptable impact upon the character, appearance and context of the area by reason of scale, design, siting and proximity to neighbouring garden curtilage and the surrounding development pattern and spatial layout of the area. If permitted this would establish an undesirable pattern for similar piecemeal infilling in the area, resulting in a retrograde lowering of the standards to which the area is at present developed and have a serious and adverse effect on the visual amenity of the streetscene contrary to Policies 1, 3, 4, 8 and 37 of the Bromley Local Plan and Policies 3.4, 7.4 and 7.6 of the London Plan and the NPPF (2018).

  2. The proposed development by reason of its isolated siting and design and its relationship to adjacent property and buildings would not complement the scale, form and layout of buildings in the immediate area or be compatible with the character of the surrounding development. It would therefore fail to preserve or enhance the character of the residential area and represents an inappropriate and visually obtrusive development detrimental to the character and visual amenities of the locality contrary to Policies 4 and 37 of the Bromley Local Plan and Policies 3.5, 7.4 and 7.6 of the London Plan and the NPPF (2018).

  3. The proposed development by reason of increased overlooking from a high level to neighbouring property would have a serious and adverse effect on the privacy and amenity enjoyed by the occupants of neighbouring property contrary to Policies 4 and 37 of the Bromley Local Plan and Policy 7.6 of the London Plan.
Update - 7 February 2019
The planning application, ref. No. 18/05287/FULL1, for the erection of a detached two bedroom dwelling facing Madeira Avenue on land formerly the rear garden of 48 Farnaby Road, is pending decision.

A large number of objections have been received. For example, one neighbour writes:
  • Building this house will cause major disruption on our street for a significant amount of time. Our street is a quiet and narrow street. It is hard to see how the building of this house could be carried out without significantly disturbing residents for a long period of time.
  • We are lucky enough to have one of the most beautiful streets in the area. One side of the street contains no houses at all, only a set of very old trees, giving residents a view over the entire valley from their windows. It is also a quiet and very secluded street. Building houses on that side of the road will begin to take away the appeal of the street. Personally the main reason I bought my property was the view from our house to the valley.
  • Approving the erection of a single house along that side of the road will set a precedent for more houses to be built over time, eroding the beauty of our area. According to the plans, the applicant has even suggested two additional houses be built in the same place in the future.
  • Importantly, no notice about the planning application has been displayed anywhere on either Madeira Avenue or Farnaby Road. I have checked on both streets and am sure of this. I have only been lucky enough to learn about this proposed development through my neighbours. Many people are likely unaware that someone has applied for permission to build this house on our street.
  • The documents I have seen describe a parking area as part of the new house however it is unclear how many cars this will provide parking for. We currently have a large number of cars parking along the street as opposed to in driveways. Building a new house has the possibility of increasing the number of cars parked along Madeira Avenue.
Land rear of 48 Farnaby Road, Madeira Avenue, Bromley - 4 January 2019
Madeira Avenue elevation
A planning application, ref. No. 05/00116/FULL1, for a two/three storey detached three bedroom house with integral garage on land rear of 48 Farnaby Road, Madeira Avenue, Bromley was refused planning permission on 24 February 2005 for the following reasons:
  1. The proposed development would give rise to an unacceptable degree of overlooking and loss of privacy and amenity to the occupiers of Nos. 46-50 Farnaby Road contrary to Policy H.2 (ii) of the adopted Unitary Development Plan and Policy H6 of the second deposit draft Unitary Development Plan (September 2002).

  2. The proposal constitutes a cramped and unacceptable form of piecemeal development, detrimental to the amenities which the occupants of adjoining properties could reasonably expect to be able to continue to enjoy, by reason of overlooking and visual impact, contrary to Policy H.2 of the adopted Unitary Development Plan and Policy H6 of the second deposit draft Unitary Development Plan (September 2002).

  3. The proposal would have an unsatisfactory relationship with the host dwellings, out of character with the area and likely to lead to an undesirable retrograde lowering of the spatial standards of the area contrary to Policy H.2 of the adopted Unitary Development Plan and Policy H6 of the second deposit draft Unitary Development Plan (September 2002).
A new planning application, ref. No. 18/05287/FULL1, was made on 26 November 2018 for the erection of a detached two bedroom dwelling facing Madeira Avenue on land formerly the rear garden of 48 Farnaby Road. The following documents are available:
  • Acknowledgement Letter
  • Floor Plan
  • Roof Plan
  • Design and Access Statement
  • Floor Plan
  • Street Level Plan
  • First Floor Plan
  • Section
  • NEW and SIDE Elevations [sic]
  • NE and SW Elevations
  • Section
  • Concept Plan
  • Site Plan
  • The Location Plan
  • Application Form – without personal data
See for example the Design and Access Statement and the “NEW and SIDE Elevations” – actually NW and SE elevations.

The proposal is to construct a “modest” two bedroomed dwelling with a total floor area of 112 square metres with pedestrian and vehicular access from Madeira Avenue, Bromley. Parking for two cars is to be provided at the front of the site. The lower ground floor level uses the slope of the site to provide the main living/kitchen area with access to the south facing garden.

The standard consultation expiry date is Thursday 24 January 2019.