By reason of the siting, design, form, mass, height, relationship to adjoining buildings and proposed raised garden levels, the proposed development would appear incongruous and damaging to the character and appearance of the Newtown Linford Conservation Area and the significance of the setting of the adjacent Grade II listed building at 57 Main Street. Furthermore, the loss of the ash tree fronting Grey Crescent shown to be removed to create the vehicular access to the site would destroy the continuous tree wall which is an important feature in the conservation area. Cumulatively, the proposal is considered to cause less than substantial harm to the character and appearance of these designated heritage assets and the visual amenity of the area which is not outweighed by any public benefit to offset that harm. The proposal is therefore, contrary to national policy expressed in the National Planning Policy Framework, adopted policies CS2 and CS14 of the Charnwood Local Plan 2011-2028 Core Strategy, saved policy EV/1 of the Borough of Charnwood Local Plan (2004), the Leading in Design Supplementary Planning Document and the Newtown Linford Village Design Statement. These policies advise that development within conservation areas is required to preserve or enhance the character and appearance of such areas.

Due to the limited space available around each dwelling, insufficient provision has been made for the storage of refuse and recycling bins. This would mean that these bins would likely be stored to the front of the property either in the car port areas or in the highway thereby causing a highway obstruction or reducing the space available for on-site vehicle parking, leading to vehicles being parked in the highway to the detriment of highway safety. Siting the bins to the front of the property would also cause less than substantial harm to the character and visual appearance of the Newtown Linford Conservation Area, with no public benefit to offset that harm. For these reasons the proposal would be contrary to policies CS2, CS14 and CS16 of the adopted Charnwood Local Plan 2011-2028 Core Strategy, saved policies EV/1 and TR/18 of the Borough of Charnwood Local Plan (2004), the Leading in Design Supplementary Planning Document and the Newtown Linford Village Design Statement. These policies advise that development should respect the character of the area having regard to layout, car parking and preserving or enhancing the character and appearance of Conservation Areas.

By reason of the design and position of the dwellings in close proximity to the neighbouring property at 57 Main Street, it would be an intrusive, overshadowing and over-dominant development, to the detriment of the residential amenities of the occupiers of that property. For this reason the proposal would be contrary to the intentions of policy CS2 of the adopted Charnwood Local Plan 2011 to 2028 Core Strategy, saved policy EV/1 of the Borough of Charnwood Local Plan (2004) and the Newtown Linford Village Design Statement. These policies seek to ensure that development respects the residential amenities of neighbouring properties and not detrimental in terms of overshadowing or over-dominance.