Plans to knock down a home and build two have been submitted, with the applicant saying it will build on top of the existing building if it is blocked.

Three Rivers District Council has received a planning application for a pair of semi-detached houses in an area set back from Harthall Lane, Kings Langley, which contains several bungalows within large rural plots.

The scheme, added to the planning portal today, would see one of the existing properties knocked down to make way.

A previous proposal for one house at the same location was withdrawn in May after neighbours objected that it would harm the area’s “rural character”.

Extending the building one storey upwards had already been approved without needing a full planning application, last year, because adding an additional floor to existing buildings can be classified as permitted development.

Rough boundaries of the property, in Harthall Lane. (Image: Google Maps/Canva.) The applicant described the permitted development scheme as a “fallback”, saying that it “can and will be built if this application is refused”.

However, 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.

The proposal is currently pending council consideration.