Plans to demolish a bungalow and build a large two-storey house have been withdrawn after fears it would damage the character of the area.

The part of Harthall Lane in Kings Langley where the property is situated contains several bungalows within large rural plots and is in the green belt.

When a planning application to demolish one of the buildings, Glenwood, was submitted in February, a neighbour objected that it would harm “the rural character of the locality”, privacy, and outlook by building upwards. They also raised concerns over parking.

This morning (May 15) a letter stating that the application had been withdrawn was sent to parish councils.

However, approval for extending the building one storey upwards had already been granted in 2023 without needing a full planning application, because adding an additional floor to existing buildings can be classified as permitted development.

The applicant described the permitted development scheme as a “fallback” in the withdrawn proposal and said it “can and will be built if this application is refused”.

Watford Observer: Rough boundaries of the property, in Harthall Lane.Rough boundaries of the property, in Harthall Lane. (Image: Google Maps/Canva.)

It argued that knocking down and starting from scratch would create a higher quality build and this contributed to the ‘very special circumstances’ required for building in the green belt.