06/01/11 – 12/01/11
Appeal, MFC
MATTHEW BELL BSc Architectural Studies
As MFC was refused planning permission and after speaking with the architects here at Modece, I have gone about making a plan of action of how to get a building erected within this year. My course of action is Appeal original design Re-submission of dumbed down design Build original design to lower height under Permitted Development
The Appeal: Being my first experience of an Appeal, I went all out on research to make sure I understood exactly what I was trying to achieve. There are a lot of documentation online, both in general forums and on government and local council sites. I scavenged through policies to back up my arguments and find reasons why the refusal was unfair. After studying the refusal reason and getting further details from the planning officer who had dealt with it, the argument was narrowed down to a couple of points. The proposal is too high too large not subservient enough to host dwelling I decided the best way to fight this was to prove my points visually. The original elevations do not do the building justice in terms of its reaction to context, so I produced a series of diagrams and perspectives to prove that the building was in fact well suited to its context and subservient to the host dwelling.
Thoughts on the Appeal Process:
I have found the appeal process quite enjoyable. It gives an opportunity to argue the case for your proposal much like we would do in a crit at uni, albeit in a word processed form. I can see how having to gain planning permission helps protect 3rd party interests and the heritage of the site however I do also question the extent of their control over design issues. In Suffolk, as described by the architects in our office, we have a couple of the most strict and least visionary planning departments you could imagine. There seems to be a large amount of personal and subjective reasoning’s backed up loosely by general policies like CN01 and CR01. It is odd to think that someone with relatively little training can decide the fate of parts of your career on a whim. The planning officer dealing with my proposal did seem to judge the building fairly from the documents provided, and did give a comprehensive reason as to why he refused planning. But I question his ability to understand the design architecturally as a building looks very different in 3d than an elevation, from which judgement was given. My appeal basically revolves around describing the project to a general member of the public, showing in basic steps how it fulfils all criteria. Should this not be a skill of a planning officer? In the future I will complete the planning proposal in much greater depth and spend more time in proving the building’s appropriateness to its site, as you cannot guarantee it will be understood from architectural drawings.