HOU8 p181 This policy is supported and considered sound

Any extension should not move a property into a higher Council Tax band. A scan through the property pages of the local newspaper highlights the need for more houses valued at under £500k in rural communities in particular.

HOU9 p182 This policy is supported and considered sound

Smarden is a fine example of where too many replacement buildings have been of a completely different nature to the existing building. Modest, medium priced cottages have been extended or rebuilt to provide huge houses which are only affordable to a few. The buildings are out of proportion in many cases and have prevented local people from downsizing or moving up from local needs accommodation. The balance must be redressed. I believe that replacement dwellings should be in the same Council Tax

CPRE does not object to this policy. The following text, however, should be inserted at Paragraph 5.82: "The Council will impose a condition or require a planning obligation to ensure the Annex remains ancillary to the main house"

SPC are concerned about the size and scale of extensions and believe it is important that adequate controls are put onto this element of planning. It does appear over the last few years that houses are bought by people with a view to extending and making them considerably bigger. This is resulting in a dearth of smaller affordable homes within the Parishes which are critical in order to encourage young families and local people to remain within villages.

The following policies were specifically supported by the Town Council

HOU9 is somewhat vague. The interpretation commentary infers the permission/need for the annexe can only ever be temporary. It is not explicit within the policy wording; it must be. In reality how would any such temporary permission be policed and enforced. I believe that when considering application for annexe it must be accepted that it would be a permanent feature and apply stricter criteria, including removal of any further permitted development rights. Additionally, the policy needs to be s