Sheffield planning: Council refuse application for children's treehouse in family's front garden

Residents of a home on Lyndhurst Road in Nether Edge put forward the plans for a children’s treehouse in the front garden of their property on March 20.

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The structure would be that of every child’s dreams, with ladders leading to a small balcony area, then a 1.95 x 2.25 metre interior area complete with a blackboard and window.

Plans specified that the outbuilding would have no fixings to the tree and that the tree would require no cutting back.

Most of the structure would be made of wood, with small concrete pads on the floor for support, which applicants say would have ‘little or no effect’ on the tree’s roots.

Neighbours on the street did not submit any observations or comments, however the Sheffield Conservation Advisory Group did consult on the matter and recommended that the planning application be refused.

In their objection, they wrote: “This application should be refused as, being an invasion into the green landscape of the Nether Edge Conservation Area and setting a precedent for possible future applications for the front gardens of neighbouring properties, it neither preserves nor enhances the Conservation Area.

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“It is considered that the introduction of this structure, albeit partly screened by boundary trees (though only to any significant degree in the months when the trees are in leaf) would introduce an anomalous and deleterious addition to the street scene.

“This would be detrimental to the character of the street scene and to the character of the wider Conservation Area.”

On May 14, Sheffield City Council officially rejected the application, echoing many of the conservation group’s points.

In their refusal, they said: “The Local Planning Authority considers that the proposed treehouse would, by reason of its scale, design and siting, create a prominent and incongruous feature that would be out of keeping with the street scene and the character of the Nether Edge Conservation Area.

“Despite the Local Planning Authority wishing to work with the applicant in a positive and proactive manner, based on seeking solutions to problems arising in relation to dealing with a planning application, this application was submitted without the applicant having entered into pre-application discussions about the planning policy and guidance that applies to the proposal and has shown disregard for those policy requirements.”

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