A GARDEN will have to be removed from a property in St Mary Bourne after a planning application was refused by Basingstoke and Deane Borough.
A change of use application was submitted on Thursday, April 11 to convert agricultural land in Stoke Road to a 'private amenity space' for residents at The Chapel.
The retrospective application asked the council if it could keep the 300 square metre garden, which includes timber fences, hedges and broadleaf trees in addition to lawn areas and gravel paths.
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However, the application received a mixed response from residents, who raised concerns that the plans could 'harm the natural beauty' of the area.
In objection, resident Michael Lanning said the proposal would be an 'unacceptable domesticated encroachment into the open countryside' that could 'harm the rural character and scenic quality of the landscape'.
Another, Sarah Cooney, added that the plans would 'take away from the special architectural and historic interest of the area.'
The 19th-century chapel was converted into a house in 2021, located adjacent to two Grade II listed cottages.
The building also sits in the conservation area of St Mary Bourne and Stoke, designated by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council in 1985 in recognition of the location's architectural and historic interest.
St Mary Bourne's recognition as a conservation area means that planning officers must pay 'particular attention' to the scale, height, form, and materials of proposals.
The application states that the garden is 'of an appropriate scale and layout' with 'native species appropriate to local landscape character' to 'enhance the setting and significance of the Chapel'.
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It continues: "The garden maintains and enhances the existing landscape context of the village.
"Any limited changes to heritage settings and the surrounding Conservation Area, which result from the garden, would not be adverse in nature and would therefore result in no harm to their significance."
During a development control committee meeting on October 9, the committee chose to refuse the application.
Enforcement action will also be taken, meaning that the applicants will have four months to remove the fence and reinstate the land to its previous condition.
Officers said the proposals would 'erode the rural character and setting of the St Mary Bourne Conservation Area thereby resulting in harm to the significance of this heritage asset'.
They added: "In addition, the proposals would impact on the wider settings of the listed buildings, thereby harming their significance."
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