Decking built without planning permission in the back garden of a property might have to be ripped out. Council officers said the work is out of keeping with the conservation area and too large.
An area planning committee on Thursday is also being told that if the decking was to remain in place, it would contribute to “an unacceptable degree of noise, activity and overlooking and be overbearing to properties immediately neighbouring it.”
Planning officers say in their report that many of the nearby buildings are listed as Grade 1 or 2, including the church. It is also close to the grave of an early fossil collector, Mary Anning in the nearby St Michael’s Church cemetery in Doreset.
Councillors will be told that the decking was built without planning permission and, including a balustrade, stands 2.8m high, 3m wide and 3m long with the void underneath being used for storage. Lyme Regis town council says the decking “has a clear impact on the two neighbouring properties…and potentially the peace of the cemetery and local footpath.”
Recommending refusing the retrospective application planning officer will tell councillors: “There would be no public benefit to outweigh the harm identified.”
