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1 Bentsley Close St Albans Hertfordshire AL4 9PN

5/2024/2299(Minor) DwellingsRefused

Refused on 17 April 2025

Council decision: DC4 RefusalDelegated (officer decision)2 reasons for refusal

Approximate location: the centre of the postcode, not the exact property.

Proposal

Demolition of the existing dwelling with 1 no. replacement dwelling, including associated landscaping at 1 Bentsley Close St Albans Hertfordshire AL4 9PN

Received
27 December 2024
Decision level
Delegated (officer decision)
Ward
Marshalswick East & Jersey Farm
  1. Received27 Dec
  2. Validated30 Dec
  3. Consult.10 Mar
  4. Target10 Mar
  5. Decided17 Apr

Decided in 108 days

About this application

This is a planning application for demolition at 1 Bentsley Close St Albans Hertfordshire AL4 9PN. St Albans has handled 12,340 applications of this type. This one was decided in 83 days, 4 weeks longer than St Albans's typical decision time. There have been 4 other applications at this address. In the past year there have been 80 applications across Marshalswick East & Jersey Farm. We hold 2,081 applications in total for the AL4 postcode area.

Why it was refused

  1. The proposed development would not be acceptable in terms of its impact on local character and appearance as it would result in an unacceptable design that would have an appearance, bulk, massing and scale that is out of keeping with the street scene. The proposed development therefore does not accord with Policies 69 (General Design and Layout), and 70 (Design and Layout of New Housing) of the St Albans District Local Plan Review 1994, Policy D4 (Housing Development and Building Guidelines (Less than 10 Dwellings)) in the Sandridge Neighbourhood Plan, Design Advice Leaflet No.1 - Design and Layout of New Housing and the National Planning Policy Framework 2024.
  2. In the absence of an updated arboricultural report and plan reflecting the proposed site layout, insufficient information has been submitted for the Local Planning Authority to fully assess the impact of the proposed development on trees. The development is therefore contrary to Policy 74 of the St Albans District Local Plan Review and the National Planning Policy Framework, 2024.

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
AL4 9PN
Application type
(Minor) Dwellings
Scale / size
Medium
Parish
Sandridge

Planning application dates

Date validated
30 December 2024
Consultation expiry
10 March 2025
Consultation end
10 March 2025
Target decision date
10 March 2025
Application expires
23 February 2025

Applicant and agent

Applicant
Private applicant
Architect profile
ARACO DESIGN STUDIO ARCHITECTS LTD

Planning decision

Statutory period
70 days

Publicity

Last advertised
30 January 2025

Additional information

Planning Portal ID
PP-13646324
Documents
24

Site constraints

Checking the site
2/3
Council recordsAppealsFlood risk

Designations at the address point. Ones next to the site may also apply.

  • Flood zone 1: Low probability (rivers and sea)
Also checked, none recorded (24)

flood storage areas, conservation areas, listed buildings, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, green belt, scheduled monuments, World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site buffer zones, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, Heritage at Risk entries, nutrient neutrality catchments, national parks, National Landscapes, SSSIs, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites, ancient woodland, national nature reserves, local nature reserves, heritage coasts and brownfield registers.

A guide only, from official open data; it is not a planning search. Flood zones cover rivers and sea, not surface water.

Data © Crown copyright and others · sources and licences

Contains public sector information from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG and local planning authorities), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The Historic England GIS Data contained in this material was obtained on 2026-11-03. The most publicly available up to date Historic England GIS Data can be obtained from HistoricEngland.org.uk.

© Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved. Flood Map for Planning, Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Associated applications

  1. 2025
    24 Jan

    Demolition of the existing dwelling with 1 no. replacement dwelling, including associated landscaping at 1…

    This applicationRefusedApplication5/2024/2299
  2. 2025
    24 Jan

    Demolition of the existing dwelling with 1 no. replacement dwelling, including associated landscaping at 1…

    PendingApplicationFiled alongside5/2024/2300

Planning history at this site

5 other applications at this property, newest first.

  1. 2024
    27 Dec

    Repositioning of existing outbuilding to the rear of the garden and side extension of outbuilding at 1…

    DC3 Conditional PermissionHouseholder5/2024/2297
  2. 2024
    16 Sep

    Demolition of the existing dwelling with one replacement dwelling, including associated landscaping and a…

    Refused(Minor) Dwellings5/2024/1587
  3. 2023
    16 Jun

    Two storey side and rear extension, alterations to existing single storey roof including porch extension…

    ApprovedHouseholder5/2023/1276
  4. No date

    Discharge of Condition 5 (construction method statement) of planning permission 5/2024/1587

    ApprovedDischarge of conditions5/2025/1113
  5. No date

    Variation of Condition 2 (approved plans) to include solar panels and habitable accommodation in roof of…

    DC3 Conditional PermissionVariation of conditions (s73)5/2026/0911

Source: St Albans

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