Highways Comment

Planning Application Response

Email: [email protected] Officer: MB

Date of Response: 05/10/18 Date of Application: 14/09/18 Application Reference: 18/00948/B Location: Sound of the Falls, 5 Hamilton Terrace, Lower Foxdale, IM4 3BB Description: Creation of new vehicular access to provide off-street parking area within front garden of property Highway Comments: There is a 2m wide service lane directly adjacent to the site frontage which provides access to other premises and is served by dropped kerbs at its junction with the public highway. There is currently no site parking at the dwelling. The site frontage is at least 4m wide and 7.2m in length. The ‘Manual for Manx Roads’ design guide specifies that a driveway space should be at least 2.5m wide and 5.5m in length, and a 0.9m wide pedestrian path should be maintained between the public highway and the dwelling front door. It would therefore only be possible to park 1 car on the site and not 2 cars as proposed by the applicant. Highway support could not be afforded to the proposal if future site parking could encroach onto the adjacent service lane, if the existing boundary wall was removed in the future, as it could adversely affect or obstruct access to other premises in the vicinity. Highways therefore request that some form of site boundary treatment is permanently retained along the side of the property adjacent to the service lane which could be secured via a planning condition. An extended vehicular crossing with dropped kerbs would be required to facilitate suitable and legal access to the proposed site parking area.

A S109a application letter is required for the extended vehicular crossing. The applicant is Mr Stephen Jackson at the above address.

The use of crushed stone material for the proposed parking area would be unacceptable as it would be highly likely to be illegally transferred onto the adjacent public highway which would be detrimental to highway safety. The applicant is requested to propose alternative suitably hard surfaced material on the site to prevent this (i.e. tarmac or paving). A planning condition could secure this.

A suitably scaled site plan is required to show the highway visibility splays that would be achievable from the proposed vehicular access in both directions. It is noted that the highway visibility would probably be similar to the existing service lane, but the visibility in the opposite direction (i.e. away from the service lane for vehicles exiting the site) needs to be established to ensure that it would be adequate and safe.

Highway Services request that the application is deferred to allow the applicant to consider the above. Recommendation: DEFER

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF