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Plan to turn old 'eyesore' bookies into home turned down
Plan to turn old 'eyesore' bookies into home turned down
The bookmaker's is said to be 'falling into a state of disrepair' in a coastal Welsh town known for its architecture
The former betting shop in Aberaeron
(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)
An appeal against the rejection of plans to transform an "eyesore" 1960s flat-roof betting shop into a home in a Ceredigion coastal town renowned for its Georgian architecture has been dismissed.
In an application turned down last August Dafydd Phillips, of nearby Ffosyffin, sought approval from Ceredigion planners to transform the former Wright Bookmakers in Castle Lane, Aberaeron, into a one-bedroom property involving the removal of a flat roof and adding a first-floor extension. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here .
The bookmaker's, housed in a 1965 building within the town's conservation area behind the Prince of Wales pub, shut its doors in 2018 and was described as "falling into a state of disrepair".
A supporting statement via agent Morgan & Flynn Architectural Services argued the existing building is "not providing a sympathetic approach in appearance to the setting of the conservation area and therefore means that it provides little evidential value", claiming it "actually creates an eyesore that is not sympathetic to its surroundings".
An officer report, advising rejection, stated: "Whilst [the planning authority] agrees that the loss of the existing building would not be particularly impactful on the conservation area as a whole due to the building being a relatively recent addition to Aberaeron and having little architectural merit given its context the design for the proposed dwelling is not deemed acceptable."
The council also noted that affordable housing policy required a commuted sum equivalent to 10% of the open market value but no such agreement had been secured when the application was submitted.
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The proposal was turned down due to "inappropriate design that fails to positively contribute to the context of its location and surroundings due to the sensitivity of its setting within a conservation area and close proximity to numerous listed buildings" and the absence of a formal section 106 legal agreement.
After the rejection developers submitted an appeal to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW).
An inspector's report, compiled after a site visit in July, concluded the proposed development "would double the height of the building, raising it above the predominantly single-storey rear lane buildings and boundaries, and substantially increasing its prominence".
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The report said that "would unacceptably alter the significance of the dwellings' historically taller form and harm the experience and understanding of the historical hierarchy between the dwellings and the more subservient lane structures".
Regarding affordable housing contributions the report stated: "Although the appellant indicated a willingness to make an appropriate contribution to meet Policy S05 requirements no mechanism was provided to secure such a contribution at the application stage," and a pledge to provide a contribution in support of the appeal did not convince the inspector that it "would secure the necessary contribution to affordable housing".
