The submitted scheme fails to provide adequate details regarding the overall design and appearance of the proposed replacement windows. An assessment of the visual impact of the proposed replacement windows on the street scene, and the character and appearance of the designated heritage assets, that of the adopted Sileby Conservation Area, and, opposite to the application site, the setting of the Church of St. Mary, a Grade II* Listed Building cannot therefore be undertaken. In design terms, the development thereby fails to comply with the aims of the National Planning Policy Framework, policies CS2 and CS14 of the Charnwood Local Plan 2011-2028 Core Strategy, saved policies EV/1 of the Borough of Charnwood Local Plan 2004, and the adopted Leading in Design Supplementary Document.

Furthermore, the local planning authority is of the opinion that the existing timber windows in the building are integral to its appearance and to the contribution the building makes to the special interest of the adopted Sileby Conservation Area. The replacement of these timber windows with poorly designed UPVC units, would, by virtue of the crude design, use of material and inappropriateness to the building's traditional detail, be a visually harmful and incongruous addition to the building, which would unacceptably alter the appearance of the building. This would result in less than substantial harm to the significance of the designated heritage asset, that of the adopted Sileby Conservation Area, along with having a detrimental impact upon the setting of a Grade II* Listed Building. There are no identified public benefits to the proposal which outweigh this identified harm. It is, therefore, contrary to the intentions of Policies CS2 and CS14 of the Charnwood Local Plan 2011-2028 Core Strategy, policy EV/1 of the Borough of Charnwood Local Plan, the provisions of the National Planning Policy Framework and the adopted Supplementary Planning Document, Leading in Design.