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Shedgate, the Manchester edition: Planning permission likely to be refused for bike shed – since it would create ‘visual clutter’

Resident says council planner’s response is “Ridiculous” and reflects “A real lack of joined-up thinking”

A Manchester resident who contacted the city council to ask whether she would need to apply for planning permission for a bike shed you was considering installing in her front garden has been told that she would need to do so, and that such an application would probably not be approved due to the visual clutter the shed would apparently create.

The council instead told Dr Julia Kasmire, who describes the situation as “ridiculous,” that she could erect the bike shed in her back garden – although the narrowness of the  alleyway leading to it means it would be impossible to get a bike through there, and there is no access to the garden from the residents’ car park.

Dr Kasmire told road.cc: “The council have not actually turned down my bike shed application as I did not file for planning permission. Applying for planning permission is not a trivial expense, especially considering I would also need to budget for constructing it (and purchasing the cycle).

“Instead, I started by contacting the council to ask whether a bike shelter in the front garden would require planning permission. Their guidance does not make it clear as a bike shelter is not very tall, not electrified, doesn't need a big foundation, etc.

“In my original request for more info I mentioned that the area is a new build development (approximately 10 years old) so there are no issues of listed buildings, I am not asking for the council to build or pay for any bike parking (even though I might be eligible for disability-related funding), I am very aware that I would need to make the shelter attractive as well as secure (and suggested that I would like to cover it with plants in a ‘living roof’ style construction) and that I have an increasing need for a mobility aid but that I would prefer to use an active travel for as long as possible.”

In response, an official from Manchester City Council’s planning department told her that planning permission had been granted for the development in 2008.

“As part of the layout of the properties, you will see that there is a fixed building line for the properties to the frontage and should anything sit forward of that building line it would require planning permission, as the regulations state that permission would be required for anything that sits closer to the highway than the original dwelling,” the planning officer confirmed. “That would be the case in this instance.

“Should you submit an application to erect a cycle store in that location, it is highly unlikely to be supported. The City Council as local planning authority would not want to see visual clutter within the front gardens, as these should be the setting for the building, and such structures would be highly visible within the street scene,” the planning officer added.

“Given that these properties have rear gardens, it would be expected that such structures would be included within the private amenity space of a rear garden and depending on the size of the proposed cycle store it may well not require planning permission.”

Manchester friont garden 01 (picture courtesy Dr J Kasmire)

Dr Kasmire told us that besides the issue of ‘visual clutter’, “The response also points out that I have a back garden. This is true. However, my back garden is not suitable as it is requires going through two gates, down a narrow ginnel, and through a sharp turn.

“The front or ‘street end’ of the ginnel is blocked by bins and the back is frequently blocked by cars as the interior of the block has designated residence parking.

“A strong and fit person might just about get a standard bike through by rolling it on the back wheel only. I would probably not be able to do that (or at least wouldn’t be able to for long). I also hoped to get a non-standard bike with three wheels, both for my own stability and as a way to avoid more car use on big shopping trips. There is no way a trike or cargo bike would get down that ginnel and into my garden.

“Despite the fact that my house was specifically designed and built to be accessible for wheelchairs (which I do not need to use right now), there is no allowance for disability access in the garden or interior resident parking area – no extra wide spaces, no ‘keep clear’ access space, etc.

“Even if I were to get a car instead of a bike when I am no longer able to walk, I would not always be able to go from the interior parking to my garden as cars are frequently parked too close together outside the gate that leads to the ginnel.

“To be clear, I have also tried to get the group that manages my block (e.g. maintains the interior parking area) to agree to letting me put a bike shelter in my designated parking space,” Dr Kasmire continued.

“They too seem reluctant as their rules say residents are not allowed to store anything in the parking spaces. While clearly a lie (residents store cars in the parking spaces), my efforts to point out the need for disability equality have gone unanswered.”

She added: “The whole thing is ridiculous in the circumstances – climate emergency, health crisis, disability access equality legislation. A real lack of joined-up thinking.”

Manchester fiont garden 03 (picture courtesy Dr J Kasmire)

Earlier this year, a bike shed in Leicester made national headlines after the city council ordered the householder who had installed it to dismantle it because it was out of keeping with the Victorian character of the area.

> Shedgate: Victory for family as bike shed application approved

The homeowner, Kavi Pujara, pointed out that other houses on the street had converted their front gardens into driveways, saying that having cars parked outside didn’t exactly reflect the Victorian character either.

He was eventually granted planning permission after the issue was reviewed following the intervention of the city’s mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby.

Manchester is one of the 10 metropolitan boroughs that together make up Greater Manchester, and writing on Twitter Dr Kasmire asked the latter’s mayor, Andy Burnham, if there was anything he could do to help.

> Councils criticised for sending out mixed messages over bike sheds

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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31 comments

Avatar
Born_peddling | 2 years ago
0 likes

Doubtful permission will be given as th council are pretty grim there.... Previous experience don't know where they're getting the visual clutter idea from your place is in a cul de sac with a green that's due to be developed on...... Thus hiding any view of the main road close by...... Again this is a council that removed a health centre, tore down its local library and baths so asking to put up a bike shed is a big ask. How about a collapsible cage set-up instead???

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Hirsute | 2 years ago
3 likes

Can someone put a crappy old caravan on the tarmaced front garden?

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HoarseMann | 2 years ago
4 likes

Just need a mega-basement for one of these...

https://www.wohr-parking.co.uk/products/wohr-bikesafe/

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OnTheRopes | 2 years ago
7 likes

Buy a rusty old transit van, tax it and leave it in your designated parking spot and keep the bikes in that.

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Sriracha replied to OnTheRopes | 2 years ago
7 likes

Buy a rusty 40 year old transit van - no need to tax or MOT it.

Any of these would enhance the look of the neighbourhood...
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/NC185DY6W4V9M3/70000000-abandoned-vans-ford-...

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pasley69 replied to OnTheRopes | 2 years ago
0 likes

Yes! or maybe buy a skip - lift bike into it and lock the lid - secure and water-proof.  One like this, you could just wheel the bike in.

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fskipfactory.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F07%2F2m3-Lockable-Skip-Bin-Yellow-Skip-Factory.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fskipfactory.com%2Fproducts%2Flockable-skips%2F&tbnid=jSXo3Dh9FHVI8M&vet=12ahUKEwjI8J2g283yAhWTDysKHVYlBWYQMygJegUIARCmAg..i&docid=F6rHnRdxiQhPTM&w=899&h=768&q=skip%20with%20lid&client=firefox-b-d&ved=2ahUKEwjI8J2g283yAhWTDysKHVYlBWYQMygJegUIARCmAg

If anyone objects to the nice colour, then get some red, white and blue paint and paint a Union Jack on each side. Can't complain then or they'd be unpatriotic- or worse anti-Brexit.

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hawkinspeter replied to pasley69 | 2 years ago
0 likes
Pasley69 wrote:

Yes! or maybe buy a skip - lift bike into it and lock the lid - secure and water-proof.  One like this, you could just wheel the bike in.

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fskipfactory.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F07%2F2m3-Lockable-Skip-Bin-Yellow-Skip-Factory.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fskipfactory.com%2Fproducts%2Flockable-skips%2F&tbnid=jSXo3Dh9FHVI8M&vet=12ahUKEwjI8J2g283yAhWTDysKHVYlBWYQMygJegUIARCmAg..i&docid=F6rHnRdxiQhPTM&w=899&h=768&q=skip%20with%20lid&client=firefox-b-d&ved=2ahUKEwjI8J2g283yAhWTDysKHVYlBWYQMygJegUIARCmAg

If anyone objects to the nice colour, then get some red, white and blue paint and paint a Union Jack on each side. Can't complain then or they'd be unpatriotic- or worse anti-Brexit.

Only saw one lockable skip on EBay but it didn't look suitable. They've got some old skips starting at £500 for a 2 yard one, so maybe getting one and making a suitable lid would be feasible.

Just checked and found out that you need a skip permit to keep one on the public road, so you'd be better off with an old vintage van that you could keep parked on the road indefinitely.

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EK Spinner | 2 years ago
5 likes

I suspect the biggest mistake hear was probably the asking in the first place

 

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quiff | 2 years ago
2 likes

Visual clutter? Can't look any worse than all those weeds, can it? It had genuinely never occurred to me that I might need planning permission for something like an Asgard.

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HarrogateSpa replied to quiff | 2 years ago
1 like

I believe that's buddleia - very good for butterflies.

But I agree about visual clutter - is it Hyacinth Bucket working in the planning dept?

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ktache replied to HarrogateSpa | 2 years ago
1 like

It is considered a weed by the people who look after the railways.

Destroys brickwork.

There was a programme on BBC4 many years ago and it was one of the weeds, about 4 I think, anothere one was the infamous Japanese Knotweed.

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quiff replied to ktache | 2 years ago
1 like

Thanks ktache. Happy outcome - everyone's right!

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brooksby replied to ktache | 2 years ago
3 likes

Its not as bad as the knotweed but it does spread and its very difficult to remove or kill. Bristol is filled with the stuff. If you dropped a nuke on the city, all that would be left would be cockroaches and buddleia 

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joe9090 replied to brooksby | 2 years ago
1 like

" If you dropped a nuke on the city"

I'm in

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quiff replied to HarrogateSpa | 2 years ago
0 likes

Oops, excuse ignorance. I've always assumed that's a weed, as it often seems to be abundant on railway embankments etc. Maybe I'm confusing it with something else.  

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ktache replied to quiff | 2 years ago
2 likes

I think the seeds are airborne and get carried along the track with the movements of the trains and the drafts they cause.

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OnYerBike replied to ktache | 2 years ago
1 like

Buddleia is all of the above - it's a non-native species and it does spread quite successfully by itself. But some people want it in their gardens (there are various ornamental varieties) and butterflies (and other insects) do like it!

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hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
2 likes

I'd be inclined to fit a strong ground/wall anchor and use that to lock up a bike. Then maybe use some kind of tarpaulin to cover the bike or possibly even a temporary (not temporary) wooden cover.

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quiff replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
1 like

I assume you meant a strong ground anchor  3

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hawkinspeter replied to quiff | 2 years ago
0 likes
quiff wrote:

I assume you meant a strong ground anchor  3

Okay, I edited it. You happy now?

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quiff replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
1 like

I quite enjoyed the image the original version conjured up.    

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hawkinspeter replied to quiff | 2 years ago
3 likes
quiff wrote:

I quite enjoyed the image the original version conjured up.    

Presumably something like this (or could have been a reference to javascript)

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quiff replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
1 like

Don't see how the council could object to that.

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Secret_squirrel replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
4 likes
hawkinspeter wrote:

Presumably something like this (or could have been a reference to javascript)

It just needs a big "W" in front to sum up the council, although I live in hope of sense prevailing once the negative publicity does it work. 

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Jem PT replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
1 like

Indeed, and if she built the 'walls' of her shed using railings, they would blend in perfectly with the railings to the front gardens. A simple tarp would prevent the worst of the rain... Oh, hang on this is 'up north'.

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pasley69 replied to hawkinspeter | 2 years ago
0 likes

I still reckon a rusty old skip with lockable lid is the way to go.  Bike is hidden and secure. Get some red, whit and blue paint and paint a Union Jack on each side. Anyone who objects is obviously unpatriotic.

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brooksby | 2 years ago
4 likes

Those photos of the front yards and fencing don't exactly make it look all open and airy - I'm not sure how a bike store or a genuine shed would make it look more cluttered...?

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Mungecrundle | 2 years ago
17 likes

If the assigned parking space is on private land and not subject to vehicles requiring "road tax", MOT and insurance then a cheap second hand van parked in her bay, maybe with the wheels taken off as a security measure and to get the load bed nearer the ground, might make an excellent cycle storage facility for less than the cost of a proper cycle shed.

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Captain Badger replied to Mungecrundle | 2 years ago
7 likes
Mungecrundle wrote:

If the assigned parking space is on private land and not subject to vehicles requiring "road tax", MOT and insurance then a cheap .......

ROAD TAX???? BURN HIM!

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Mungecrundle replied to Captain Badger | 2 years ago
8 likes

I shall say "wing mirror" to you sir and bid you "Good day!"

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