Officer Report

Application No.: 18/00944/B Applicant: Stephanie Lawther Proposal: Erection of extension to rear of property Site Address: Reina Malvern Road Douglas Isle of Man IM2 5AP Planning Officer: Mr Nick Salt Photo Taken: 20.09.2018 Site Visit: 20.09.2018 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 10.10.2018 _________________________________________________________________

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 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

Plans/Drawings/Information:

This permission relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped as received on 5th September 2018:

• o PTA 202-02 - Proposed Alterations and extensions
• o PTA 202-01 - Existing Plans - section and elevation, Site and Location plan
• o PTA 202-03 - Proposed elevations and Typical section _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

NONE _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 SITE - 1.1 The application site is the curtilage of a detached two-storey dwelling on Malvern Road, Douglas. The application relates to the property 'Reina' on Malvern Road. The road is a

• street characterised by terraced properties on the northern side forming part of the Selbourne Drive Conservation Area, and a mix of styles on the southern side. The site forms part of a triangle of detached dwellings situated in-between Malvern Road, Stoney Road and Bray Hill.
• 1.2 The properties on the southern side of Malvern Road, including Reina, are set slightly back and below the level of the road. There is also significant hedging and tree cover between the north-facing elevations and the roadside. There is no prevailing architectural style on this side of the road, with a mix of heights, form, finish and roof design present - none of the properties are of any significant architectural value.
• 1.3 Reina is somewhat unique in that is separated from the neighbouring property of 'Barnwood' by just 2.5 metres on the south eastern side. Barnwood features a steeply pitched roof and a conservatory to the rear, with overlook into the rear garden of Reina. Reina itself has a painted cream render finish with some red brick detailing, and a brown tiled roof (The case officer noted that on visiting the site on 20th September 2018, the render had partly been removed exposing the brickwork.) The front of the house features a total of 9 small windows and the rear two, with a set of patio doors and a dormer window.
• 1.4 At present, the rear of the house features an a living area on the ground floor which projects 2.1 metres from the main rear elevation, above which is a less extended bedroom area with dormer window. The rear and north west side of the property is bounded by tall dense hedging.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The proposal on this site is an extension to the rear of the property, furthering the projected part of the house described in 1.4. The extension would add an additional 3 metres of length to the rear of the building, to only the ground floor. The proposed extension would sit around 4.2 metres above ground level, which will involve it being built up to the level of the current flooring in the house. - 2.2 The extension would feature 2 new windows at the rear elevation measuring 0.7x1.3 metres each, and a triple patio door (2.1 metres across) to the south west elevation opening onto a new area of decking over 1 metre above ground level (thus falling outside of permitted development) and steps leading into the rear garden of the property. The extension would feature a new flat roof of fibre glass/gel coat finish, and all new windows would be of white uPVC framing. The exterior finish of the new walls would be of sand cement render to match in with the existing walls on the main building. - 2.3 On the south east elevation, facing Barnwood, the proposal plans to block up two existing door openings and to alter the size of two window apertures by swapping them around.

3.0 PLANNING POLICY - 3.1 The site is designated as 'Predominantly Residential' under the Douglas Local Plan Order 1998, (Map 3, North). - 3.2 In terms of general planning guidelines, it is important to consider General Policy 2 (GP2) of the same Strategic Plan; "Development which is in accordance with the land-use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted, provided that the development:

• b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them;
• c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality."

3.3 Paragraph 8.12.1 (Extensions to Dwellings in built up areas or sites designated for residential use) of the Strategic Plan also states that; "As a general policy, in built up areas not controlled by Conservation Area or Registered Building policies, there will be a general presumption in favour of extensions to existing property where such extensions would not have an adverse impact on either adjacent property or the surrounding area in general."

4.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 There is no planning history for this site.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Highway Services has stated that there is No Highways Interest in the application. - 5.2 Douglas Corporation have no objections (08.10.18).

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 There are two prominent issues to be considered in this proposal. Firstly, the impact the proposed development may have on the character and appearance of both the building and the surrounding area. Secondly, any potential impact on neighbour amenity, the this case particularly the amenity of residents of Barnwood due to its close proximity to the proposed extension. - 6.2 Given the site's close proximity to the Selbourne Drive Conservation Area, it is useful to examine any potential negative impact on this area which may result from development nearby. In this instance, the proposal is sited behind Reina and therefore not highly visible from within the Conservation Area, or to vehicles and pedestrians using Malvern Road or Bray Hill. - 6.3 The single storey construction of the extension would ensure it is secondary to the main building, thus respecting its scale and form in compliance with GP2 (b). This, combined with the existing hedging to the side and rear of the site, would prevent the extension from becoming a noticeable visual addition to the area. Furthermore, given that the extension would constitute an increase in an already existing extension from the main elevation, its impact is reduced. There is no indication in the proposal that either the rear extension or the relocation and building up of apertures on the south east side would harm the intrinsic character of the area. - 6.4 Given the 2.5 metre gap between the gable walls of Reina and Barnwood, any proposed extension or alteration must ensure that no resulting overlooking or overbearing would occur. It was noted on the case officer's site visit on 20th September 2018, that there is substantial screening from trees and hedging to the rear and north west elevations. At the south east side of the dwelling, facing Barnwood, there is no vegetation screening, with only a wooden fence bounding the two properties. That being said, Barnwood itself features a single storey raised conservatory which extends further back into the rear garden than that of Reina at present. On the whole, any unacceptable increase in overlooking is unlikely over and above that which would already be present if the hedging and trees were not present. Any extension at Reina would therefore be unlikely to cause overlooking or overshadowing, and certainly not enough to warrant a refusal on these grounds.

7.0 CONCLUSION - 7.1 In summary, the proposed development does not pose a risk to the character of the area, would not result in a loss of neighbour amenity and therefore complies with the relevant policies set out in the Strategic Plan. For this reason, the proposal is acceptable.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 Article 6(4), the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• (a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• (b) The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested;
• (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material
• (d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and
• (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

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 in Article 6(4) who should be given Interested Person Status.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Director of Planning and Building Control in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 15.10.2018 Determining officer Signed : J CHANCE Jennifer Chance Director of Planning and Building Control

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