The proposed balcony and boundary wall would substantially alter the property's appearance so that it would significantly differ from its original design and the context of the surrounding street scene. These changes would result in a dwelling and boundary treatment which would be out of character with the surrounding area in terms of its appearance, scale and design. It is considered that this would create an incongruous feature within the street scene at this prominent location near to the junction of Loughborough Road and Firfield Avenue that would be visually harmful. As a result, the proposal would fail to accord with policy CS2 of the Charnwood Local Plan (2011-2028) Core Strategy and saved Policies EV/1 and H/17 of the Borough of Charnwood Local Plan which seek to ensure that new development remains is of good quality design and in context with the surrounding area. The proposal is also considered to be development of poor design that fails to improve the character and quality of the area and should therefore be refused in accordance with paragraph 130 of the National Planning Policy Framework (2019) and the National Design Guide (2019) and The Charnwood Design SPD (2020). The space between the highway and proposed gate does not amount to 5m, and vehicles accessing the property cannot wait for the gate to open in a manner which is safe for passing traffic. This directly contradicts the requirements set out in the LCC Design Guide and is unacceptable in the context of paragraphs 108 and 109 of the NPPF and saved policy TR/18.

The proposal would introduce a gated vehicle access to the dwelling which joins the highway of a classified A road. This is undesirable in highway safety terms as it would lead to additional manoeuvring within the highway at the detriment of road safety. Therefore, it is the opinion of the local planning authority that the proposal would be contrary to the provisions of the adopted Borough of Charnwood Local Plan and Paragraphs 110 and 111 of the National Planning Policy Framework.