BLAGROVE: An office block at the Windmill Hill Business Park is set to be given a facelift.

St Martins Property Investments Ltd, which owns the Electron building, has been given permission to extensively refurbish and remodel the modern two-storey unit.

The company wants to make much more use of glass and light to make it more attractive.

The application by St Martins says: ”The main entrance screen is currently recessed within the facade and sits hidden behind large overgrown planters and landscaping.

“It is proposed to remove and rationalise the landscaping and extend the reception area to provide an entrance on the building line to improve its visibility from both pavement and site car park viewpoints. A new drum entrance door provides a focal point to the facade increasing the welcome to the building.

“The existing building is dominated by blue frames and roof edges that are proposed to be repainted as a dark grey to provide a cleaner and more subtle appearance to modernise the overall aesthetic of the premises.

“The corner of the building when viewed on approach is proposed to be replaced with a full height glazed element to balance the main entrance view and provide the prominence to the approach that the scale of building requires."

LIDEN: A proposal by Jane Titchener to buy 50 square metres of open space next to her home in 10 Conway Road from the council and use it as part of her garden has been turned down by planners.

The council’s decision notice says: “Currently it is well maintained grassed area and next to a public footpath within a large public open space in the estate linking other properties in the area and the other side of Dorcan Way.

"It is anticipated that some sort of enclosure will be required for the area to be integrated into the domestic use, in a form of fencing or walls which would abut the public footpath.”

That possibility is deemed to be “at odds with the more open areas around the houses nearby to public footways and highways, thereby eroding the spacious quality of the surroundings. It is also considered that proposal would diminish the experience of using both the path and the public open space, set wider negative precedent for ‘open space grabbing’."

OLD TOWN: A plan to install two dormer windows at the rear of 90 The Mall in Old Town has been approved.

But R Lepore’s proposal to put two dormers at the back of 112 Okus Road in Old Town has not been given the certificate of legal development needed because of the size of the windows and the size of the house. Mr Lepore’s plans will require a formal planning permission.

The size of the extension proposal by Mr A Zuberi at the back and side on the first floor of 49 Belsay, Toothill, has also caused his plans to be rejected.

Planners said: “In terms of its scale, height, positioning and design it represents a dominant and inharmonious addition to the property and would harm the character and appearance of the host dwelling and the streetscene. Further, the proposal will be overbearing and adversely affect the amenity of No 48.”

Extensions: Applications for extensions to houses, or outbuildings or conversion of lofts and outbuildings to habitable rooms have been made for 13 Myrtle Green, Pinehurst and 18 Wheeler Avenue Stratton St Margaret.

Such applications have been approved for: 8 John Herring Crescent, Stratton St Margaret, 6 Figsbury Close, Taw Hill; 2 Rainer Close, Stratton St Margaret; 36 Seacole Crescent , Old Town; 2 Mallard Close, Covingham; 49 Dowland Close, Redhouse; 6 Kelmscott Road, Penhill; 586 Queens Drive; 139 Ermin Street, Stratton St Margaret; 34 Dowland Close, Redhouse; 24 Tryon Close, Liden; 43 Windsor Road, Lawn and 32 Cricklade Road.