A car dealership has had plans for a new showroom refused by Havering Council, which said it would be "unacceptably dominant" and "visually intrusive".

Imperials Hornchurch, in Butts Green Road, Emerson Park, submitted plans to demolish a building on its site to make way for a car showroom and office space.

But Havering Council refused the plans last Friday (October 13), labelling them inappropriate.

"The proposed development would [...] appear as an unacceptably dominant and visually intrusive feature in the streetscene harmful to the surrounding area," read the council's reasons for refusal.

The development is contrary to Policy 26 of the Local Plan 2021 which seeks high quality design, it added.

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A three-storey office with a ground floor car showroom was proposed to replace the existing structure, branded a "low-quality" site in a planning document from the agent.

"The proposal seeks to redevelop and optimise a low-quality brownfield site with the delivery of a new high-quality modern commercial building," read a supporting statement from agent SPD Studio.

Havering Council received the plans on July 12 this year, validated on August 18, and rejected on October 13.

The application, P1103.23, was also criticised for having "insufficient information" regarding access to and from the car showroom on the ground floor.

"In the absence of such information, there is concern the proposal would have an adverse impact upon the safe condition of the road users as well as the traffic flow in this section of the highways," the council added.

Notification of the intended refusal and the reasons for that were given to the applicant's agent last Thursday (October 12).

The applicant has the chance to appeal the decision.

If planning permission is later granted on appeal, the proposal would be liable for the Mayor of London's Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

The CIL payable would be £3,600 based on the information supplied with the application, the council said.

Its inappropriate sitting, height, bulk, mass and external appearance were some of the reasons given for the current application's refusal by the council.