A HOUSEHOLDER’S bid to extend his garden by including wasteland that currently belongs to his local council has been rejected. 

Adrian Neat applied for change of use planning permission so he could incorporate the ground the slopes upwards from his back garden in Trelech Close in Southville, Cwmbran towards a lane behind Ventnor Road in Old Cwmbran. 

It’s thought the land was one part of a now disused railway line and is covered in trees and bushes which Torfaen Borough Council planning officer Tom Braithwaite described as “a heavily landscaped corridor, populated with mature trees and other green infrastructure”. 

But Mr Braithwaite refused the application, which would have extended the garden by around 18 metres, as he said only around five metres is flat ground and it’s likely the extended garden, and a fence, would have an unacceptable visual impact. 

A condition could have protected the trees and bushes, and prevented future development, but Mr Braithwaite said garden furniture and other “domestic paraphernalia”, which cannot be controlled through the planning process, would likely be introduced over time.