An appealed planning application seeking to replace an existing Bellemonte Road house with four new dwellings and detached garages has been dismissed.

The house in question is located at 42 Bellemonte Road and has lain empty since its owner passed away some years ago.

The proposal, first submitted in December 2019, would have seen two two-storey houses positioned on Bellemonte Road, with two three-storey houses set back into the rising land behind.

"These will be brick built with stone detail arts and craft inspired properties," the application reads, adding that the "levels have been designed to ensure the existing houses behind the site retain the views down, without being obscured with new housing."

All of the properties would have had four bedrooms, three parking spaces in garages and driveways and "large rear gardens with patio areas and terraced lawned and planted areas."

In between the houses, there would have been a private driveway with turning areas for the occupants' vehicles.

The houses would also have featured rainwater butts for use on the garden, electric car charging points and, potentially, solar panels.

The original application was refused in March 2020 on the grounds that,"the excessive height and scale of the dwellings at the rear of the site, […] the extensive loss of trees and other vegetation and the unsympathetic design would result in an incongruous and over-dominant development which would fail to harmonise with the established character of the area or the streetscene."

Additional reasons – also voiced by Frodsham Town Council - included concerns over land stability, increased congestion on a 'dangerous' bend in the road, loss of light, trees and biodiversity, increased overlooking and insufficient separation between the dwellings and existing neighbouring properties.

The Cheshire West and Chester Council Planning Department officer report on the proposal also stated that the development would fail to provide an adequate proportion of affordable housing.

The application received 14 letters of objection, one of which read: "The development would be contrary to the Frodsham Town Design Statement which states that all new development should resist demolition and replacement of pre-20th century properties to retain the diverse character of Overton.

"The existing house on the site dating from the mid nineteenth century was originally accommodation for the Groom (stable person) for nearby Aubrey House. It has local significance as does the openness of the site in the local environment."

In their appeal, the applicant, Casnor Ltd, argued that the houses' height would not negatively impact any of the surrounding houses or their views.

"Our proposals do include for a natural buffer zone to be left on the land," they added. "This would encourage wildlife to the area, and leave a green space in the residential zone."

Having visited the site, the planning inspector conceded that the proposed development would only cause 'any significant detrimental effect' to the living conditions of the neighbours at 40 Bellemonte Road.

They also found in favour of the applicant with regards to drainage and land stability, but these factors were outweighed by perceived harm that would be caused to the 'character and appearance of the locality', as well as the impact on highway safety and biodiversity interests.

"Views of the site would contrast significantly with the character of surrounding development," they said. "The proposed layout offers little opportunity to retain or provide greening of the site. It would be dominated by the hard surfaces of the road, wide turning area and fencing to facilitate private amenity spaces."