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The purpose of this leaflet is not to go into detailed advice on how to plan extensions or new buildings. However, some simple principles can be considered before you seek advice from either the Conservation Officer or Development Control Officer on what is likely to appear acceptable.

Start by appraising the character and setting of your property. Stand back from your building and try to envisage the whole property with an extension added. If what you have in mind would appear out of character, either to the existing property or to the street as a whole then it is less likely to be approved. Remember you need to retain reasonable space around the dwelling and allow for retaining established trees.

Extensions and new buildings should use similar materials to the main building but it is not usually appropriate to pretend they are of the same age as the existing, ie using reclaimed old oak beams. Care is needed with the use of reclaimed bricks which can stand out as modern fake work because of all the soot, plaster or paint left on the surface. Reclaimed bricks can also have damaged edges giving rise to wide overpowering mortar joints. There are now many new stock bricks available which can give a reasonable match to traditional ones and which will age far better than damaged or defaced second hand bricks. Good clay tiles are also available.

Beware, the use of salvaged historic materials is seldom the best solution as this in itself can encourage the destruction of our heritage buildings.

Assess whether or not your proposal will adversely affect the visual integrity of the existing property, which must remain the dominant feature. This is achieved by making sure any extensions remain subservient to the original building and fully respect the existing mass, scale and architectural integrity of the building. It therefore follows that there is likely to be a limit to what could be deemed to be acceptable.

It is important that the proportions and details of the new windows (fenestration), doors and other woodwork are matched to the original elements. This will usually mean having these items purpose made to copy the precise details, especially for a listed building or a building in a conservation area. It is also important to follow the overall pattern of fenestration in terms of balance and symmetry of the original structure including the relationship of wall openings to wall areas.

Fully enclosed porches were virtually unknown before this century and large enclosed versions should be avoided where they could mask much of the front of the small cottage. Sometimes an internal lobby is a better solution to keep out the weather whilst retaining the external character of the house. Check out the style of porches of similar local properties as a guide but beware of copying the wrong one!

Care is needed to ensure these do not dominate a historic property. Glazed conservatories did not exist before around 1800 and are not normally appropriate for such old buildings. Whilst later larger houses can cope with a room-sized conservatory of traditional timber construction, a more modest lean-to is more suitable for smaller dwellings. PVCu is not a suitable material to add to a historic property and polycarbonate roofs are also unsympathetic.

Again, if a new building would stand out against the original property in terms of scale or the general setting it is probably not appropriate. New garages can often be difficult to accommodate next to a traditional cottage or house. Double width garages can be particularly difficult because of the height of the building, with a traditional pitched roof, often means the garage competes with the scale of the house. Single width garages of modest proportions are generally best even if it means you then need another smaller outbuilding for garden machinery and accessories. You should also consider the style of your garage doors keeping to a simple, vertical timber design and avoiding wide up and over examples.

The erection of walls, fences and gates is likely to affect the character, appearance and setting of an historic building. It is important to ensure the design, siting and choice of materials reflects the existing property and preserves its setting. The area surrounding historic properties is often as important as the buildings themselves. With this in mind avoid structures that may appear over dominant and out of character, always ensuring these features respect the existing layout, especially frontages of the property.
Further advice can be obtained from the Conservation & Design team at:

Conservation & Design
Planning Services
Seaclose Offices
Fairlee Road
NEWPORT
Isle of Wight
PO30 2QS

∋: 01983 823552

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.iwight.com/living_here/planning

List of useful addresses:

Please note, the Local Authority has further information available in the form of leaflets (available from Seaclose offices, Newport).

Leaflet: CON2