The local planning authority considers that, by reason of its unsympathetic design, scale and mass, the proposed three storey extension would be out of scale and character with the existing building, resulting in an over dominant and incongruous feature on both the appearance of the existing building and the character of the Loughborough Ashby Road Conservation Area. The provision of the large extension with a ridge height set higher than No.190 Ashby Road would overwhelm the existing building, resulting in the legibility of the site being lost. The introduction of the flat, shallow pitched and pyramidal roofs would be out of keeping with the existing design of No.190, to the determinant of the buildings appearance. Cumulatively, the impact of the proposal on the Heritage Asset is considered to result in a less than substantial harm, which is not outweighed by any public benefits of the scheme. The scheme would thereby be contrary to 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), the National Planning Policy Framework, the Leading in Design Supplementary Planning Document and the Loughborough Ashby Road Conservation Area Character Appraisal.

The layout of the proposal fails to make provision for additional off-street car parking to cater for the volume of parking demand likely to be generated from the development or improvements to the existing vehicular access. The lack of a turning facility within the site may also lead to vehicles reversing directly onto Ashby Road, which would be detrimental to highway safety. In this regard, the scheme would be contrary to policies CS2 of the Charnwood Local Plan 2011-2028 Core Strategy, and saved policy TR/18 of the Borough of Charnwood Local Plan (2004).