A daughter has spoken of her delight after she won her fight against an extension that would have blocked the 'magical' view from her late mother's house. Margaret Gayton, 82, had lived in her home in Long Acre, Bingham for 60 years before receiving news her view of the town's St Mary & All Saints Church could be obstructed by a neighbour's extension.
A letter informed her a two-storey addition was planned at a property in Cherry Street, which would block her cherished view of the church, thought to be the oldest building in Bingham. According to her daughter, this led to the pensioner becoming increasingly stressed and visibly unhappy.
Angela Jackson, 57, who lives in Carlton, said the building would ruin the "beautiful" view and deeply worried her late mother, who has since died. "The house is one the oldest in Bingham, they are called Porchester Villas and they were built in 1882. And our family lived at both 75 and 77 for over one hundred years," Ms Jackson said.
"The view has always been unobstructed, the house that is there now was built in the 1970s but it ended perfectly so it didn't obstruct the beautiful view of the church.
"A couple moved in three or four months ago and then suddenly in May, Mum got a letter from planning about the extension would block that beautiful view completely. It's so magical, it is probably one of the best views in Bingham of St Mary church - you can see it from the garden and the rooms.
"Mum got this letter and immediately was very stressed out, and all the neighbours decided to object and help mum. Mum was born in that house and wanted to stay living in that house forever, she suddenly started to change and you could tell she was very stressed that this view was going to go - and even talked about moving which was sad."
The plans had been recommended for approval at Rushcliffe Borough Council's planning meeting on August 11, where councillors had the final say. Prior to the planning committee meeting, Ms Jackson said: "My sister Carol, myself, and my son Sam now co-own the house, and on our mum's behalf we are going to fight for it."
"Of course the planning officers have said it is okay to replace that beautiful view with a brick wall. They have about 50m in front of their home, you'll never see a drive as long as that.
"If you could put it there and there would be no problem. And we wouldn't be losing this view forever."
Six neighbours objected to the proposal during the planning process. A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "We understand how they felt about it all.
"They felt it contributed to that stress. She was really upset about how it was all done.
"We objected as well because it would extend the brick wall that's already there. It was more about the design for us though as we can't see the church now."
During the Rushcliffe Borough Council planning committee, despite a council planning officer concluding "there is no right to a view" and recommending the extension be approved, six councillors voted against the plans and five voted in favour. Ms Jackson, after the committee had made their verdict, added: "I'm so happy for mum. We definitely weren't expecting it [to be rejected].
"It has come as a great relief and our late mum would be so happy. The conservation, heritage and history of Bingham is so important and that beautiful outlook of St Mary can still be enjoyed." Nottinghamshire Live attempted to contact the residents of the Cherry Street property for comment.
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