Bike shed planning appeal lost as inspector rules wooden structure "harmful" to Grade II listed building

A homeowner who installed a wooden bike shed outside his one-bedroom property in a Grade II listed former workhouse will not be allowed to keep the "very modest" bicycle storage facility after the council and a planning inspector objected to the structure, claiming it would "lead to a harmful cumulative change to the listed building".

Barney Tierney told the Shropshire Star that he thought the bike shed would be a "great alternative option" as his one-bedroom home in the listed building in Ironbridge, near Telford, does not have a rear garden and "there isn't much space inside".

However, the council sent a letter of complaint regarding the structure and ultimately deemed he would need to apply for retrospective planning permission, an application later denied by Telford & Wrekin Council who said the wooden shed would "fail to preserve the setting of the listed building, due to its form, materials and prominent location which would not be outweighed by any public benefit".

Ironically, when the council first visited the site, Mr Tierney explained how the "council member believed the bike storage was in my back garden" and "they had walked past the bike storage without even noticing it".

"A good example of how little impact it has to the aesthetic of the property," he suggested, later appealing the decision on the grounds the shed has "no significant impact to any part of the original building".

"There is no demolition to any part of the building, there is no significant rebuilding and the bike storage does not attach in any way to the building," he said. "There are other properties in the area that have similar storage sheds in their garden, which have been accepted for planning permission.

"I have offered to paint the bike storage a desired colour and other sheds/outdoor storage are also made from timber and are also evident when entering the estate which have been granted planning permission."

> Shedgate: Victory for family as bike shed application approved

However, at appeal stage a planning inspector ruled with the council and judged the shed outside the Grade II listed Lincoln Grange, formerly part of the Madeley Union Workhouse which dates back to between 1871 and 1875, would "lead to a harmful cumulative change to the listed building".

"This central, protruding gable is a defining characteristic of this overall aspect of the complex of listed buildings as a whole," the inspector said. "As such this element provides a true focal point that helps link the symmetry of the complex together.

"Unfortunately, due to this, such a location is very sensitive to any changes that could affect this uniform and symmetrical appearance. In this case, although very modest in scale and size, the bicycle store is very visible and does introduce an unfortunate physical structure onto this principal elevation.

"As such, the symmetry is altered with a structure of much poorer quality materials that bears little architectural relationship to the special qualities of the building itself. Although I saw on my site visit that other properties did house more ancillary type shed structures within their respective curtilage, the introduction of one in this location is noticeably more visible and therefore potentially harmful.

"I consider the use of more active travel could be considered a public benefit in favour of this scheme, ultimately, the introduction of this structure would result in significant enough harm to cause greater cumulative harm that these benefits could not outweigh.

"As such, and on balance, the proposal before me would lead to a harmful cumulative change to the listed building."

This is not the first time a bike shed planning saga has been reported here on road.cc, one incident in Leicester in autumn 2021 getting so much attention it was dubbed 'Shedgate'.

Leicester City Council told the family involved that it would need to remove its homemade eco bike shed as it is not in keeping with the Victorian character of the street, something numerous people pointed out did not seem to be an issue with the on-street car parking that lines the road.

Following plenty of support for the family's case, the city's mayor even got involved to admit that planning officers had "got it wrong", before it was triumphantly announced that the bike shed could stay.