A councillor at war with his own planning committee has been told he must spend thousands of pounds to replace the uPVC windows in his £800,000 home with wooden frames in a leafy area of Trafford. 

Cllr Phil Eckersley failed to get his colleagues on the borough’s planning and development management committee to go against officers’ recommendations to refuse his retrospective planning application for the renovations to his home.

It means that to get planning permission he must replace the ‘wood grain effect’ uPVC window frames in the Victorian home in Bowdon Conservation Area.

Planning officers were also critical following the removal of stone gateposts at the driveway of the Grange Road home, although Cllr Eckersley said they had been retained and would be put back following the completion of the alterations.

Other elements of Cllr Eckersley’s application such as the demolition of a garage and the building of a single-storey side extension, raised patio, enlarged rear lightwell and external alterations including rooflights were deemed acceptable.

The committee was told the house – along with other properties on the west side of Grange Road – was taken into the conservation area in 2016.

Head of planning and development Rebecca Coley told the committee: “On the demolition and repositioning of gateposts – officers consider this to be harmful. Officers consider the replacement of all timber windows with uPVC to require planning permission as they are not similar in appearance to the previous windows.”

She said the new windows had ‘impacted on the architectural significance of the heritage asset [the house]’ and ‘diminish its group value with the adjoining semi-detached property’.

“The use of uPVC fails to maintain the character of the dwelling in the conservation area and is contrary to policies in the conservation area management plan.”

Ms Coley said that one of the ‘prevailing characteristics’ of properties on Grange Road was partial hedging, with a small opening for vehicle access with stone posts.

She said it is considered that widening the driveway – as proposed by Cllr Eckersley – would be ‘out of keeping with the general character of the area’.

Speaking to the committee as a member of the public, Cllr Eckersley argued that his home was a ‘house that had not been touched in more than 60 years’.

“The property was falling into dereliction after years of neglect,” he said.

“We bought the property in June 2023, being the only interested party.

“We consulted a Trafford-approved architect and a conservation area specialist window company with 45 years of experience to ensure that we were making the right decisions on the renovations of the property.”

He said that the windows were not part of the original application and were added to it by the planning officer.

“When consulting with the conservation area window specialists, they confirmed that the windows at the front of the property were not original and that the existing windows were beyond repair due to the amount of rot,” he said.

“Taking this advice, we replaced the existing windows under permitted development to match the original property windows as closely as possible.”

He said they were of the original ‘sash design’ and the ‘same as all the other properties’ on Grange Road – a mixture of timber and uPVC.

Cllr Eckersley said the front driveway was widened so a skip could be put at the front of the property and that the hedge would be reinstated.

“The gateposts will be preserved and reinstated following construction,” he said.

“We have gone to great lengths to maintain and enhance the historic elements of the property.

“We bought this house to start a family and live a family life and transform a house in Trafford from being uninhabitable to being council tax paying family home.”

Responding, Cllr Balil Babar said he disagreed with the recommendation to refuse the application.

He said: “Yes, it is in the Bowdon Conservation area. The house is a non-designated heritage asset. The layout and frontage has not been changed.

“What we’ve heard is he’s going to give it a new life and it’s going to be a family home, so on balance I would go against the officers’ recommendation.

“A lot of the developments are not in dispute. Could there be a way out of this so he can do what needs to be done to be compliant with the policies as part of conditions?”

Ms Coley replied that Cllr Eckersley had been invited to make the necessary changes to get a recommendation for approval, ‘but he was not willing to do so’.

The committee agreed to refuse the planning application.