DEC Officer Report

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No.: 23/01157/B Applicant: Mr & Mrs Brian & Julie Faragher Proposal: Alteration of existing garage to provide ancillary accommodation Site Address: Croft House Church Road Santon Isle Of Man IM4 1EZ Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 09.11.2023

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

• C 1. The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice.

Reason: To comply with Article 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

• C 2. The habitable accommodation within the proposed extension hereby permitted shall remain ancillary to the host dwelling "Croft House" and shall not be used as a self-contained independent residential unit.

Reason: In the interests of sustainable development and to safeguard the countryside for its own sake.

• C 3. The use of the extension above the garage here by approved shall only be used in accordance with the internal layout shown on plan 1650.3 received on 4th October 2023.

Reason: To ensure proper control of the development and to avoid any future undesirable fragmentation of the curtilage.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.

The proposed alterations to the existing garage are deemed to be acceptable with conditions regarding the ancillary use, as the proposal is deemed to be of an appropriate form, mass and design, which would not be a detriment to the character of the wider locality and as such complies with Spatial Policy 5, General Policy 2 & 3 and Environment Policy 1 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 4th October 2023;

• o Drawing No. 1650.1
• o Drawing No. 1650.2 Rev 1
• o Drawing No. 1650.3 _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status

Additional Persons None _____________________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is within the curtilage of Croft House, Church Road, Santon which is a detached dwelling and associated field No's. 514357 & 514358 situated to the East of Church Road, approximately 100m to the South of the junction with the Old Castletown Road. - 1.2 Aside from the main dwellinghouse in the north-western corner, the site further include a detached 3-bay garage and ancillary outbuilding/implement store; both of which are sited to the east of the dwelling adjacent to the site's northern boundary. - 1.3 Dense mature trees effectively enclose the entirety of the site around its perimeter, with grassed agricultural fields bounding the site to the north, north-east and west. The abovementioned field included within the application site are noted as falling outside of the dwelling's established curtilage, being segregated from the main dwelling and it's curtilage by the access driveway. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current application seeks approval for the erection of a first floor extension over the existing 3 bay car garage, which is to include raising the roof by approximately 1.5m to facilitate ancillary living accommodation to first floor level. - 2.2 The proposal would include the installation of three dormers to the South Western elevation, a window and velux rooflight to the North East elevation, a Juliet balcony to the Western elevation and a door with stair access to the Eastern elevation. PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 The host dwelling has been extended on multiple occasions through the previous grant of various planning permissions, the latest of which modest ground-floor extensions permitted under PA14/00784/B. The most recent application relating to the wider site however was for the erection of the implement shed (PA15/01134/B) and approved in 2016. - 3.2 Turning towards the garage itself, planning was sought for the original structure under PA07/01739/B, which was followed by the latest application PA23/00076/B for the "Erection of first floor extension above existing garage to provide ancillary accommodation" which was approved with the following relevant conditions;

• Condition 2 - The habitable accommodation within the proposed extension hereby permitted shall remain ancillary to the host dwelling "Croft House" and shall not be used as a selfcontained independent residential unit. Reason: In the interests of sustainable development and to safeguard the countryside for its own sake.

• Condition 3 - The use of the extension above the garage here by approved shall only be used in accordance with the internal layout shown on plan 1650.2 received on 26 January 2023 and retained in perpetuity. Reason: To ensure proper control of the development and to avoid any future undesirable fragmentation of the curtilage.

PLANNING POLICY

4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "Not for Development" on the Area Plan for the East. The property is not within a Conservation Area or a Flood Risk Zone. Strategic Policy

• 2 Priority for new development to identified towns and villages
• 3 To respect the character of our towns and villages 5 Design and visual impact

Spatial Policy 5 Development in the countryside only in accordance with General Policy 3

General Policy

• 2 General Development Considerations
• 3 Exceptions to development in the countryside

Environment Policy 1 Protection of the countryside

Transport Policy

• 4 Highways safety 7 Parking

4.2 Given the nature of the residential property and the land designation paragraph 8.12.1 and

• General Policy 2 from the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 are most relevant to its assessment which set out the general standards towards acceptable development.

4.3 The recently released Residential Design Guidance 2021 is also a material consideration particularly those parts in respect of good neighbourliness and overlooking.

REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 The following representations can be found in full online, below is a short summery;

5.2 Highway Services have considered the proposal and state, "- After reviewing this Application, Highway Services HDC finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking providing the proposals remain ancillary to the existing dwelling." (13.10.23) - 5.3 No comments have been received from Santon Commissioners at the time of writing this report.

PREAMBLE

6.1 It should be noted that the proposal within this scheme was approved under PA23/00706/B, of which the only alteration within this application is the installation of three dormers to the front elevation and the reduction in the size of the Juliet balcony to the Western elevation.

6.2 As such, it is only the reduction in the Juliet balcony and the three dormers which are assessed in this application.

• ASSESSMENT
• 7.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are as follows:

• - Principle of development (SP5, GP3, EP1)
• - Design and visual impact (STP5, GP2)
• - Impact upon neighbouring amenity (GP2, g)

- 7.2 PRINCIPLE

• 7.2.1 The site is not designated for development, nor does it meet the expectation criteria in

General Policy 3. However Housing Policy 15 and 16 and their supporting text clearly allow for provisions for residential extensions in the countryside where they would not detract from the countryside.

• 7.2.2 There is a worry that proposals such as this, which is for ancillary accommodation, can be tantamount to a dwelling within the countryside. Whilst this is the case, it is noted that the proposal does not increase the overall footprint from the previously approved application. The nature and size of the proposed accommodation is relatively modest and such that, on balance, it would evident remain ancillary to that of the host dwellinghouse as opposed to being tantamount to the creation of a separate unit of accommodation. In particular, the 3-bay garage underneath would remain as per its consented purpose, the use of which for the parking of domestic vehicle was secured by condition attached to the 2007 permission. Likewise, the use of the accommodation as a separate independent unit of accommodation in its own right would require a further planning permission, as would the use of the accommodation for tourist purposes.
• 7.2.3 Given the above assessment and noting the use of the proposed accommodation to remain ancillary to the host dwelling of Croft House, which can be suitably further controlled through condition, the principle of development is considered to be acceptable.

- 7.3 DESIGN AND VISUAL IMPACT

• 7.3.1 When looking at the design of the proposal, the main base of the structure has already been assessed under PA23/00706/B, with this in mind, it can be seen that the proposed dormers are modest in sizing and do not create and overbearing appearance. The proposed Juliet balcony is acceptable and is not deemed to have an impact upon the structure.
• 7.3.2 As such the proposal is deemed to be acceptable from a design and visual impact perspective, including upon the wider landscape, in compliance with General Policy 2 (b) & (c), and Environment Policies 1 and 2 of the Strategic Plan.

- 7.4 NEIGHBOURING AMENITY

• 7.4.1 The location of the existing garage is sited a sufficient distance from the closest neighbouring property of The Vicarage to the south (circa. 80m), that the proposals would pose no material impact upon the amenities of the nearest property. CONCLUSION
• 8.1 The proposed alterations to the existing garage are deemed to be acceptable with conditions regarding the ancillary use, as the proposal is deemed to be of an appropriate form, mass and design, which would not be a detriment to the character of the wider locality and as such complies with Spatial Policy 5, General Policy 2 & 3 and Environment Policy 1 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

INTERESTED PERSON STATUS

8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• (a) the applicant (including an agent acting on their behalf);
• (b) any Government Department that has made written representations that the Department considers material;

• (c) the Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure;
• (d) Manx National Heritage where it has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (e) Manx Utilities where it has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (f) the local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated; and
• (g) a local authority adjoining the authority referred to in paragraph (f) where that adjoining authority has made written representations that the Department considers material.

8.2 The decision maker must determine:

• o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than the Department of Infrastructure Highway Services Division) are material; and
• o whether there are other persons to those listed above who should be given Interested Person Status

I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Head of Development Management in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 14.11.2023 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

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