Planners granted permission for a homeowner to lower her property’s boundary wall on St Mellons Road, despite objections from neighbours who described it as a historic heritage feature
A homeowner has been granted permission to lower a boundary wall despite local residents arguing it holds “architecturally significant” value, Newport councillors have ruled.
The city council’s planning committee heard how Stefania Farmer wants to lower the height of the side wall at her property in Marshfield in order to improve sightlines from a newly installed driveway.
She is also seeking retrospective permission for the driveway at 21 St Mellons Road, the committee was told at a meeting on Wednesday, July 1. Make sure you never miss Wales’ biggest updates by getting our daily newsletter.
Local resident Cath Davis argued that reducing the wall’s height risked causing “permanent harm” to a “historic feature” that has stood for 150 years.
She described the wall as an “architecturally significant heritage feature that contributes greatly to the character and identity of this part of St Mellons Road”.
The committee was warned that lowering the wall may prove problematic, and that “once lost it is lost forever”.
Five neighbouring residents raised objections during a recent public consultation, while one of the ward’s elected representatives, Cllr Allan Screen, voiced concerns that the proposals risked “altering the fundamental character and nature of the surrounding area”.
He said creating a new access point to the property raised road safety concerns, adding that the council “needs to take a stronger stance” following a previous refusal of planning permission for a driveway on the site.
Case officer Adam Foote said that planners were “satisfied the reutilisation of a previous access is acceptable in principle”, and that lowering the wall “will in turn improve visibility” to and from the driveway.
“From our perspective, we have no tangible reason to refuse this application,” he told the committee.
Mr Foote also acknowledged that certain objections had raised questions over ownership of the wall, but confirmed the council had seen “no evidence to the contrary” that it belonged to the applicant.
The committee was told that the wall could be modified or demolished entirely without the need for planning permission — which was solely required for the proposed new driveway.
Cllr Mark Howells told fellow committee members “there would be nothing we could do to stop (the applicant) knocking that wall down”.
“While I have some sympathy, I think our hands are tied,” he added.
A majority of committee members voted to approve the planning application, subject to conditions.
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