Broadside for 'incongruous' Kingsbridge waterside home

'This is so far wide of the mark'

Plans for a ‘massive’ and ‘incongruous’ three-bedroom house looking out across the Kingsbridge estuary have been sunk.

The proposal for the house called Galleon’s Reach was scuppered after South Hams Council’s development management committee heard that it was inappropriate for its location.

The applicant, Mrs J Murray of Kingsbridge, wanted to demolish an existing bungalow in Embankment Road and replace it with a two-storey dwelling in the ‘New England’ style with timber cladding and pebbledash walls.

The front elevation would have included a porch with timber columns and full length glazing across the two storeys. To the rear, a covered veranda would have stretched along the length of the house, while a pitched roof garage extension was also proposed.

The New England style refers to buildings like those seen in the north-eastern United States, often featuring two-storey houses with rectangular shapes, sloped roofs, and symmetrical facades.

Council officers were concerned over the carbon impact of the planned home as well as its increased bulk and potential light pollution. They also pointed out that the area needs smaller homes rather than larger dwellings.

The council stipulates that developments must offset the carbon they create within 25 years, but the Galleon’s Reach application said it would take more than 87 years to do it.

Cllr Simon Rake (Lib Dem, Blackawton and Stoke Fleming) said: “We have carbon policies to change behaviour, and that’s what we should seek to do.”

And Cllr Jacqi Hodgson (Green, Dartington and Staverton) added: “This is so far wide of the mark we are aiming for. It doesn’t have enough merits to allow it to slip through.”

Councillors were also concerned about the size and design of the building.

Cllr Chris Oram (Lib Dem, Bickleigh and Cornwood) said: “I’m all for a property having its own distinct mark on a particular area, but this seems to sit entirely on its own without paying due homage to the community around it.”

The committee voted unanimously to sink the Galleon’s Reach plan.