Raising the roof above Gocer and Grain 

A planning application to increase the housing stock by building a “glass box” on the roof of the existing property at the corner of Surrey Street and Upper Gloucester Road would cause considerable harm to the character of the conservation area according to the City Council’s Conservation Advisory Group. The existing building is part of a terrace of two storey houses built around 1830 which retain their attractive bow fronted bays. An application to build a much smaller dormer extension to a house directly opposite was described by officers when they refused it as “a visually intrusive, unsympathetic and dominant feature that would be harmful to the appearance of the host dwellinghouse, associated terrace and wider conservation area”, so unless the Council now casts aside all such heritage concerns, this application stands no chance of being granted. 

Raising the roof (again) 40 New Dorset St

While the site at 80 Buckingham Rd (corner of Upper Gloucester Road) has been unoccupied since March 2015 while waiting for some 24 flats to be built another application claims to be improving the housing stock. The proposal is to raise the roof of the mid-19th century cottage to match the height next door (on the right in the picture).  The cottage already receives a rating of 9.5 out of 10 from an online holiday letting site so it seems unnecessary to “improve” the accommodation any further.