THE owner of a listed cottage has had to go back to the drawing board after Wychavon councillors ordered the removal of decking from the front of an Evesham home.

Councillors voted to refuse a retrospective application to retain a large area of wooden decking outside the timber-framed house on Brookside, off Pershore Road.

Plans for a 1.8 metre wall along the front of the garden and a single storey extension were also refused at the planning meeting last Thursday.

The owner of the house has just 21 days to remove feature and restore the garden to its former state.

The applicant's agent, Matthew Larner has said that a new design for the garden without decking would be submitted to Wychavon once it is removed. "The council did not like the landscaping scheme so I have redesigned it," he said.

The plans were originally refused because councillors agreed it was out of keeping in the historic residential area next to the River Isbourne.

Planning officer Lynn Bailey said: "The timber decking covers almost half of the front garden area raised to a maximum of approximately 80cm above ground level and includes a square feature of natural slate in the centre.

"The unauthorised decking introduces a feature inherently uncharacteristic to the traditional, timber-framed cottage, which the decking abuts.

"This, together with the footprint of the decking, is harmful to the historically open and rural setting of the listed building."