Large clifftop house refused over concerns about safety

​The construction of an eight-metre-high building on the coast at Hunmanby Gap, near Filey, has been blocked over the impact it would have on neighbours and a lack of information.

​An existing three-bed bungalow dating from the 1960s/70s would have been demolished and replaced with a five-bed dwelling featuring a first-floor balcony at 41, Gap Road.

​However, the council’s harbour and coastal engineers said that “land stability should be a significant consideration in the assessment of this application”

Proposed Front Elevation. 41 Gap Road, Hunmanby, Filey. Applicant.

​The council’s engineer was anecdotally informed that “prior to the construction of the original properties in the 1970s, the area had experienced some degree of land instability, the effects of which can apparently still be observed during winter months when vegetation cover is reduced”.

​Yorkshire Water objected to the scheme as “buildings will be sited near the public water supply infrastructure located within the site, and this could seriously jeopardise Yorkshire Water’s ability to maintain the public water network and is not acceptable”.

​Three objections were made by members of the public who were concerned that “the size of the property would be overwhelming for the size of the plot” and would lead to a “loss of privacy” from overlooking.

​Another objector added: “The proposed design would be out of character with the surrounding dwellings”.

​However, no concerns or objections were raised by the Highway Authority or the council’s ecologist.

​Planners said that the proposed development would appear “top-heavy and dominated by a large roof slope in materials that are relatively atypical within the street; this would be further exacerbated by being much taller and larger scale than the adjacent row of bungalows”.

​They added that “the proposed development by virtue of its design, scale, mass, and materials would be unduly prominent within the street scene and together with the closure of the gap between the neighbouring dwelling would appear shoehorned into the site and detrimental to visual amenity and character of the street scene”.

​Officers noted that the large nature of the building would be “overbearing to the occupants” of neighbouring properties.

​They concluded that insufficient information had been submitted to assess the impact of the proposed development on the adjacent slope of Reighton Gill.

​North Yorkshire Council rejected the application on Tuesday, August 25.