- Decision
- dismissed, 10 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: Les Greenwood
- Authority
- Wirral (North West)
- Appeal reference
- 6012026
- Application reference
- APPH/26/00073
- Procedure
- householder
- Development
- Retrospective first-floor side extension above a PD ground-floor extension
- Site context
- green belt, settlement edge
- Green Belt
- Yes (grey belt not argued)
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- GB7(1)(b), GB6(2)
- Development plan policies
- Wirral Local Plan WS1, Householder Extensions SPD 2026
- Main issues
- disproportionate extension; openness; VSC
Summary
A retrospective first-floor side extension on a 1980s house at the fringe of Frankby. Together with other recent extensions it brought the cumulative increase to 73%, against a new SPD guide of 50%. It was dismissed as disproportionate under GB7(1)(b), with significant openness harm.
Issues and findings
- GB7(1)(b): FAIL. "the SPD says that increases of more than 50% of the floorspace of the original dwelling … will be considered disproportionate … the overall floorspace increase is about 73% … strongly suggesting that the scale of extensions here has become disproportionate" (DL ¶9-10).
- Openness: raising a low-profile PD extension to two storeys "makes this structure much taller and more prominent … significant harm is caused to the openness" (DL ¶13-14).
- Other considerations: good design and the house's proportion to its plot were neutral. Improved family accommodation weighed in favour but was insufficient (DL ¶16-17).
Planning balance
GB6(2). Substantial weight to inappropriateness plus significant openness harm; no VSC (DL ¶17).
What made the difference
A cumulative increase well over the local percentage guide, and the vertical increase over a PD ground floor.
Transferable points
- Local SPD percentage thresholds (here 50%) are used as a strong indicator of "disproportionate" under GB7(1)(b) (DL ¶9-10).
- Building upward over a PD extension increases visual openness harm even with no footprint increase (DL ¶13).
- Good design is neutral in the VSC balance (DL ¶16).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB7(1)(b) | fail | 73% cumulative increase over original house plus garage vs new SPD 50% guide; two-storey spread across plot width (DL 9-11) | |
| GB6(2) | harm | substantial | significant openness harm — raises a low PD extension to two storeys, prominent; design and family accommodation neutral/limited (DL 12-17) |
Key facts
- New Wirral Householder Extensions SPD (2026) sets 50% cumulative floorspace guide; proposal 73% (undisputed)
- Ground floor built under PD (LDC); first floor built without permission
- Parties consulted on both the 2026 Framework and new SPD
Sources
This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.