Homeowner wins 18-month fight to erect clock tower on garage
The home is on the site of the former St John's Hospital
A Wiltshire homeowner has won an 18-month planning battle to erect a clock tower on the garage of his home.
The resident of Cavell Court in Trowbridge applied in summer 2024 for permission to build a side extension, balcony, and garage clock tower.
The three-storey modern home is on the site of the former St John’s Hospital.
Work started in 2020 without planning permission – and Wiltshire Council launched enforcement action.
The homeowner sought permission to retain the single-storey timber-clad extension, which filled the gap between the house and the garage, and to erect a balcony and a clock tower.
Wiltshire Council planners said the extension development was “not considered so harmful in terms of its design and impact on the street scene as to warrant a refusal reason,” but were less forgiving of the clock tower.
“Due to its prominent position on the roof of the garage and size and bulk, it is considered the proposed clock tower would dwarf the small single garage and appear awkward in the modern development, forming an incongruous addition that would harm the local street scene,” they said.
They added that the proposed balcony would “result in an unacceptable level of harm to neighbour amenity in terms of overlooking and loss of privacy.”
For that reason, the council refused planning permission for the whole lot.
But the homeowner appealed, telling the Planning Inspectorate the dimensions of the clock tower were “not dissimilar to the dimensions of a domestic chimney.”
“We suggest the introduction of an architecturally pleasing clock would provide a welcome departure from the array of satellite dishes and technical paraphernalia around the estate,” they said.
“Perhaps it could become a welcome feature in the immediate area.”
This week, a Planning Inspector sided with the homeowner, granting planning permission for all the works – including the balcony and the clock tower.
“The clock tower would represent a minor architectural feature intended to personalise the property.
“Given its modest scale and context, it would neither overwhelm the garage nor appear out of place within this modern development, where some degree of personalisation is already evident,” he said.