Kate Moss loses planning row over neighbour’s renovation regardless of complaints it may wreck consuming water and go away sewage overflowing of their Cotswold village
Kate Moss has lost a planning row over her neighbour’s renovation despite complaints that it could leave sewage overflowing in the quaint Cotswold village.
Other Little Farringdon locals also joined the model’s protest about the proposed works as they claimed it would cause sewage issues and worsen access to clean drinking water.
But, West Oxfordshire District Council has ignored their objections and given the neighbour the green light to add single and double rear extensions to the property’s main building.
The 90s supermodel hired expert Andrew Murphy, from Stansgate Planning Consultants, to write a letter of objection on her behalf.
It described the proposals as ‘harmful to the rural character of the area’ and said it would cause damage to the ‘existing landscape’.
Her complaint read: ‘Close proximity to boundary trees and hedging and therefore likely to harm the root structure of existing landscaping.
‘The scale and design of the proposed domestic building is harmful to the rural character of the area. The proposed building has a bathroom. The means of foul drainage is unclear.’
And after Kate argued their proposals for a single-storey garden room could be used as a granny flat, the plans were removed.
Kate Moss has lost a planning row with her neighbours who have had their renovation proposals approved
The resident’s plans for single and double rear extensions on the Cotswold home were approved despite concerns raised by locals it could spark an overflow of sewage
Drawings detailing the proposed plans at the property in the quaint village where the 90s supermodel lives
‘It is a significant distance (35m) from the host dwelling house and is therefore unlikely to be a building incidental to the dwelling house,’ she said.
The fashion icon gave up her city life in London for a quaint countryside life in her £2.5 million Cotswolds home, where residents have been in uproar over their water supply.
The historic houses rely on a ‘withy bed’ – a natural bed of reeds that drains into a river, a system that is rarely used nowadays. The properties don’t have individual sewage treatment plans.
An objecting resident raged: ‘The village discharges to a withy bed, and the environment agency has stated that the withy bed is no longer fit for purpose.
‘[It] has been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of surface water and foul water currently discharging into it from the village properties.
‘The current position is that the withy bed has been categorised by WODC as an illegal discharge, and there is a cease and desist option currently being discussed.
‘The existing infrastructure is not in place for the existing village and certainly not for any expansion.’
A couple in the village claimed that the water is ‘non-potable’, meaning it’s too dangerous for human consumption as it may contain harmful bacteria.
More planning drawings of the proposed extension. The supermodel had hired expert Andrew Murphy, from Stansgate Planning Consultants, to write a letter of objection on her behalf
But the planning officer’s delegated report dismissed their complaints, describing the size of the plans as ‘modest’ and that it would not have ‘an adverse impact’ on the locality
‘Currently, there is no water supply in the village other than a well which supplies the village with water, which is part of an old system,’ they complained.
‘The water is non-potable, and this has been confirmed by West Oxfordshire District Council and advised to all residents in writing.
‘The concern that anyone continuing to reside in the village would be drinking water with dangerous levels of bacteria.’
But the planning officer’s delegated report dismissed their complaints, describing the size of the plans as ‘modest’ and said it would not have ‘an adverse impact’ on the locality.
They also dismissed residents’ water concerns, saying that due to the ‘small scale’ of the extension, the impact ‘would be negligible’.
‘Some comments were also made regarding concerns over the design and scale of the extensions,’ the report read.
‘Officers have considered this, however, given the extension is still of a relatively modest scale and uses in-keeping form and matching materials, officers believe that the extension is of a harmonious nature to its surroundings and would not have an adverse impact on the character of the area.
‘Another concern has been raised regarding potable water supply and waste water impacts in the area, however officers consider that given the development is of small scale due to it adding an extension, and not even one new dwelling, that the impact of this would be negligible.’
