14 Cage Pond Road Shenley Radlett Hertfordshire WD7 9BZ

1. 1.The replacement boundary treatment, by virtue of its excessive height, prominent design, white-rendered materials, and incongruous relationship with the prevailing character of front boundary treatments within the Shenley Conservation Area, fails to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the area. The development results in less than substantial harm to the significance of the Conservation Area, to which insufficient public benefits have been demonstrated. The proposal is therefore contrary to Section 72 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and Paragraphs 210(c), 213, 215 and 219 of the National Planning Policy Framework (2024).
2. 2.The works conflict with the intent and requirements of the Council's Article 4(2) Direction for Cage Pond Road, which seeks to prevent harmful alterations to frontages in this sensitive location. The development undermines the objectives of the Direction and fails to safeguard local character, contrary to the aims of Policies SADM3, SADM29 and SADM30 of the Site Allocations and Development Management Policies Plan 2016, Policies CS14 & CS22 of the Hertsmere Core Strategy 2013, Sections 12 & 16 of the NPPF and the Conservation Area Character Appraisal.
3. 3.The replacement boundary treatment, by reason of its height, bulk, form and the use of white-rendered piers, solid fencing and iron gate, results in a visually dominant and discordant feature that fails to respond to the modest, verdant and semi-rural character of the street scene. The development does not respect the established low-level boundary treatments that contribute positively to the appearance of the locality and instead introduces an overly hard and urbanising frontage that appears incongruous and out of scale with the dwelling and its setting. The proposal therefore fails to achieve high- quality design and does not reinforce local character, contrary to Policies CS14 and CS22 of the Hertsmere Core Strategy (2013), Policies SADM3, SADM29 and SADM30 of the Site Allocations and Development Management Policies Plan (2016), and the guidance within the Hertsmere Planning and Design Guide (SPD), which collectively require development to respect local distinctiveness, be visually subordinate, and integrate sensitively with its surroundings.

From the council's decision notice.

Postcode

WD7 9BZ

Parish

Shenley Parish Council

Date validated

29 August 2025

Applicant

Private applicant

Case officer

Katrina Morrow