Woodley Couple’s Housing Extension Appeal Dismissed

A couple’s appeal to create more living space at their home in Woodley has been dismissed.

A couple’s appeal to add more living space to their semi‑detached home in Fawcett Crescent, Woodley, has been dismissed.

The owners had applied to add a two‑storey front, rear and side extension. It would have created space for an extended third bedroom with an ensuite and an office on the first floor, with a loft conversion potentially providing a fourth bedroom.

Refusing the application, a Wokingham Borough Council planning officer said: “By virtue of its excessive width, forward projection, and unsympathetic design, the proposed two storey front, side and rear extension would fails to respect the existing character and appearance of the dwelling and would unacceptably unbalance the symmetrical appearance of the semi-detached pair, which forms part of the established rhythm and coherence of the street.”

The couple appealed to the planning inspectorate. The husband argued the work would stay within the existing footprint and simply build upwards, saying: “The assertion that the extension would unbalance the symmetrical appearance of the semi-detached pair does not take into account the diversity of architectural styles present on Fawcett Crescent. From my property, I can observe multiple different house types, including bungalows with varied roofs, houses with side gables and hip roofs, properties with bay windows and normal windows, and front gable roofs. This inconsistency in style and form clearly indicates that the street does not have a uniform character that would be disrupted by the proposed extension. Consequently, the claim that the extension is 'unsympathetic' is inaccurate.”

The planning inspector sided with the council, noting that matching pairs of semi‑detached houses and bungalows give the street visual coherence. The inspector added: “Although the two-storey front and side extension would have the same width and forward projection as the existing single storey side garage, due to its substantial height and mass above, it would form an unacceptably dominant and conspicuous addition to the host dwelling.”

The appeal was dismissed last month and was noted at Woodley Town Council’s planning & community committee meeting on 6 January. Councillor Bill Soane (Conservative, Loddon South) said: “We had no objections to it, but obviously the borough weren't happy at all with it and refused it.”

You can view the refused application on Wokingham Borough Council’s portal using reference 250150, and the appeal on the planning inspectorate website using reference 3372012.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter