The applicant sought planning permission for a two-storey rear extension with porch and the installation of solar panels at Elm Cottage, Calcot Park, Calcot, Reading RG31 7RN. The application site sits within the grounds of Calcot Park Golf Club, a designed landscape surrounding the Grade II* Listed Calcot Court — parkland dating from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Elm Cottage itself is a two-storey dwelling in white render with clay roof tiles, set in a large, leafy plot. The surrounding context is characterised by spacious, individually designed detached properties in generous plots, with a strong rural and historic character. The site lies within 50 metres of East Lodge, a Grade II Listed Building dating from circa 1755, and the northern and eastern section of Greenwood Road falls within Reading Borough Council's Horncastle Conservation Area.
The trees on the application site are subject to a Group Tree Preservation Order (Ref 201/21/0046-A1). The West Berkshire Historic Landscape Characterisation identifies the site as displaying medium sensitivity, and the council's constraints listing designates it as presenting heritage interest.
Planning Voice prepared a detailed objection on three principal grounds: impact on heritage and conservation, impact on local character and appearance, and impact on neighbouring residential amenity.
The application site sits within the setting of both the Grade II* Listed Calcot Court and the Grade II Listed East Lodge. The proposed two-storey extension, by virtue of its scale, massing, and siting, would cause harm to the significance of these designated heritage assets and their setting — contrary to the strong protections in NPPF 2024 Chapter 16 and West Berkshire Core Strategy Policy CS19.
The designed landscape of Calcot Park provides the setting in which these listed buildings are understood and appreciated. Any substantial addition to a dwelling within this landscape must demonstrate that it preserves — and where possible enhances — that significance. The proposed extension failed this test. Its bulk and height would introduce a dominant modern form into a leafy, low-key residential setting that derives its character precisely from the restraint and simplicity of the existing built forms.
Policy CS14 of the West Berkshire Core Strategy requires new development to demonstrate high quality design that respects and enhances the character and appearance of the area. The surrounding properties are predominantly 1 or 2 storeys in height, cottage-style or contemporary, with pitched or hipped roofs set in substantial landscaped plots. The proposed extension, in terms of its scale and massing relative to the existing cottage and its setting, was inconsistent with the spacious, low-density character of the area.
We also raised the impact on the Group TPO trees on the site. The construction of a two-storey extension in proximity to protected trees carries risks of root damage during groundworks and long-term harm to the trees' health and amenity value — a consideration we argued required independent arboricultural assessment that had not been provided with the application.
The scale of the proposed two-storey rear extension, combined with the positioning of the porch element, raised concerns about the impact on neighbouring properties in terms of overbearing impact and loss of outlook. The application lacked adequate assessment of these effects on adjoining occupiers.
The applicant withdrew the application following the submission of Planning Voice's objection. The heritage setting constraints, combined with the tree preservation considerations, presented significant policy hurdles that the application as submitted could not overcome. No resubmission followed.
Extensions within the setting of listed buildings and historic designed landscapes face a higher bar than standard residential extensions. The NPPF requires that any harm to the significance of a designated heritage asset be clearly justified and minimised — and where harm cannot be avoided, outweighed by substantial public benefit. A rear extension to a private dwelling does not meet that test.
This case also illustrates the importance of raising tree preservation considerations alongside heritage grounds. Protected trees are a material planning consideration in their own right, and the failure to provide adequate arboricultural assessment can be decisive in weakening an application's prospects.
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