Householder loses bid to keep 'incongruous' porch
A HOMEOWNER who was ordered to demolish a porch she built on her terraced house, has lost her appeal to keep it.
Mary Edwards built the extension on to her home in Grosvenor Street, Derby, to help with "energy efficiency".
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The 'incongruous' porch.
But despite neighbours writing letters of support, she was refused permission for the porch by Derby City Council. It decided the brick addition was too "incongruous" on the terraced street and that it "disturbed the street scene".
This meant she would have to take the porch down, so Mrs Edwards appealed against the decision. But a Government planning inspector has now rejected her appeal, saying the porch had an "adverse effect" on the street.
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The planning officer wrote in the report: "While some dwellings nearby have a small canopy over their front door, this is the only porch in this terrace and so it appears visually dominant in the street scene.
"Although a small part of the front yard remains, because of the bulky design of the porch and its overall scale, mass and prominence it has a an adverse effect on the character and appearance of the surrounding area."
Despite the inspector's decision, Mrs Edwards said she would look into what she could do next to try to keep the porch. She said: "We are unable to afford the substantial cost of demolishing the porch and putting right the front wall and garden area of our property.
"There is also an issue of discrimination; apart from the fact that there are properties close by with some sort of porch, there are many similar terraced properties with porches in the Normanton area.
"No-one from the council has made any attempt to contact us to discuss the situation and tell us if the porch could be altered to compare more to those in Normanton. This we would willingly undertake at our own cost."
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