A couple who applied to expand their 'small' home which was once a railway station shop in Diggle with a conservatory have been refused planning permission.

Hawthorn Cottage in Diggle sits surrounded by the Saddleworth countryside and has been operating as a home since at least 2014 when the railway shop closed.

Planning documents reveal the premises has transformed in the last decade, going from a single-storey structure no bigger than a garage to a home with a two-storey extension to the rear.

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Now, the married couple who live in the home have sought further planning permission to build a conservatory with folding doors on the lower floor.

This would include an extension to the existing single-storey block at the back of the house into their domestic garden.

The plans, submitted to Oldham Council in November 2021, show the current layout of the home is made up of a study and bedroom on the lower floor and a second bedroom, bathroom and kitchen on the upper floor.

The applicants outlined how the conservatory would be made of brick walls, UPVC windows and a slate and glass roof and would include an elevation to its south east side and various alterations.

The proposal comes as a similar plan in 2018 for an extension was refused by Oldham Council and dismissed on appeal due to planning officers deeming it an "inappropriate development" on green belt land.

A planning officer at the time wrote that the home was "notably small" and that it was "incapable of conversion to a dwelling without some form of extension".

Planning rules stipulate extensions to existing buildings and homes in green belt land must not exceed the size of the original building.

However, as the officer deemed the shop had already been "extensively extended" from "the size of a standard single residential garage" to a home, further extensions would need "very special circumstances" to justify it.

The new application has also been refused by Oldham Council on similar grounds.

The planning inspector said both the extended garden plan and conservatory pose a risk to the "urbanised appearance" of the area, particularly as the home had been designed in keeping with the character of the street.

They wrote: "The proposal fails to protect the green belt from the encroachment of urban sprawl, nor does it preserve or maintain the open aspect of the agricultural land."

As the conservatory would be "double the size" of the original building, notwithstanding the existing extensions which have already been permitted, the officer recommended the application be refused.

The officer concluded that the addition would be "disproportionate" and "harmful".

As a result, Oldham Council refused the application on December 6 this year.

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