One councillor said he’d never seen anything like it as they’d been “bombarded.”
Mount Wood Road, Prenton(Image: Google Maps)
A family has been told they don’t have to demolish their garage at the centre of a neighbourhood spat. Wirral councillors said they’d never seen an application like it as they were “bombarded” with information and claims were made of “cowboy builders.”
Michael Gould applied for partly retrospective planning permission to demolish his rear double garage replacing it with a new garage, garden room, as well as toilet, hobby room, and storage. A previous application for 16 Mountwood Road in Prenton, Wirral had been approved but after changes were made during the build, the new garage had to come back to Wirral Council for consideration.
The application went to the local authority’s planning committee on August 14 because of opposition from 15 people in the area, the Mountwood Conservation Society, as well as Prenton councillor Naomi Graham. The committee heard the garage was longer than initially approved but this was to the front, not the back.
Mr Gould said he moved with his wife and family into the house around 11 years ago but it had not seen significant investment for 30 years. He said they went about restoring the property making an effort to preserve its heritage.
When building the garage, he said their original contractor sadly passed away but the replacement “did not follow the plans exactly.” When council enforcement challenged the height, Mr Gould said they accepted the mistake, paused the work, and reduced the height of the building.
In response to a question from Cllr Paul Stuart, he said: “The cowboy builder we got in made a lot of mistakes.” He also said they had to take a lot of the garage down due to issues.
He said none of the windows overlooked neighbouring gardens and the garage would not be used independently from the house. He urged councillors to “bring this matter to a close and complete our home’s restoration in keeping with an area we are proud to be part of.”
One of the controversial issues at the heart of the application was the loss of four trees including two in a neighbour’s garden, likely believed to be as a result of the build. Councillors unanimously approved the application but with legal agreement signed in three months to plant five trees in the surrounding area and one to be planted at the property.
Councillors criticised the loss of the trees but chair Cllr Stuart Kelly said: “We are where we are and we have to make the best of it. Those trees are gone and they aren’t going to be resurrected.” He argued the changes to the garage’s front made a marginal difference.
However the plans faced strong opposition. Alex Williams representing them was unable to provide further evidence to support his objection as he didn’t submit it in time.
Cllr Stuart said they had been “inundated with email after email,” adding: “I have never had an application where we have been bombarded with so much information after the publication of a report. I just find from both sides, I find it completely inappropriate to be doing that.”
Those in opposition claimed they had the support of two experts on the matter. However it was confirmed to the committee they had never visited the property.
Mr Williams said there were obvious grounds to refuse the application as it had already caused harm, adding: “The increased scale alignment and poor design of the structure are intrusive we would say to the conservation area’s character.”
He suggested planning rules were being overridden by private interests and accused the development of causing “irreversible environmental harm.” He asked the council to take enforcement action.
Councillors also approved an application to build six homes on the former Jackson’s Furniture store in Seacombe. The plans were approved last year but were held up over a dispute over a council-owned alleyway, a situation that Cllr Kelly described “a lack of joined up thinking” as “absolutely disgraceful.”