Planners tell family 'you can't extend house' (From Gazette & Herald)

Planners tell family 'you can't extend house'

A GROWING family in need of more living space was bitterly disappointed to be refused planning permission for an extension to their home.

They say they are unable to afford to move to a bigger house.

Life-long Ryedale residents Sebastian Betts and Claire Stellings live in a three-bedroomed semi-detached house in the village of Leavening, outside Malton, with three children Robert (10), Rosie (8) and Katie (5).

In a letter to the council, Mr Betts wrote: "We are in urgent need of a four-bedroomed affordable house. The only way we can achieve this is being allowed to extend the existing property."

At a meeting of Ryedale District Council planning committee on October 14, planning permission was refused for a two-storey extension to the rear of the house - even though there were no objections from neighbours.

Councillors were sympathetic to the situation but said they had to consider the effect on future neighbours, not just current ones, and felt that the plans created too much over-shadowing and loss of light for the adjoining house.

Coun Elizabeth Shields said: "They have got children of both genders so they are going to need space, I really do sympathise with this application and hope there is another way for the house to be modified for them."

However, Coun John Clark said that work on the house would simply exacerbate the wider problem. "We need to look at the broader effects. If you build an extension on a three-bedroomed house and make it a four- or five-bedroomed house then you are making it unaffordable for the next young family wishing to move into it.

"People submit applications for houses to make them better, but in planning we're not just talking about the here and now - it's about what's the right decision for the house in the next 50 years. We are going to end up with a housing market where the bottom rungs have been kicked out."

Speaking after the meeting, Ms Stellings said she was angry with the decision. "This application has not been made for financial gain whatsoever. We are not trying to increase the value of our house, we just need an affordable solution. We are happy in Leavening - the children are at school here and my partner and I both work nearby. We are local residents and do not want to have to move.

"At the moment, the girls share a room which we cannot even fit a double bed in, so they have bunk beds, which will be difficult as they get older. We won't have a spare bedroom if the plans go ahead, just a room each for the children.

"We simply want to make the house comfortable because we wish to stay here."

The conundrum of affordable housing in Ryedale continues to pose difficult questions for councillors, who insist it is a priority for them.

Coun Clark said: "We have to build more affordable housing at the bottom scale. This may mean we only build affordable housing. If we don't, it means that we let our community split, so that grandchildren move away from grandparents in order to find affordable places to live. Traffic will be increased as they to travel to see one another, and we will be left with an ageing community."

Ms Stellings has written to a number of councillors to express her anger at the decision, including her local councillor, Brian Cottam, the Ryedale District Council chairman.

Coun Cottam replied: "I, personally, am very concerned about the lack of affordable housing in the villages of my ward and I sincerely hope that, by negotiation, you can get a positive outcome."

The couple intend to appeal the decision.

Updated: 11:14 Wednesday, October 22, 2003