Planning Officer Report Recommendations

Planning Officer Report And Recommendations {{table:10204}}

Officer's Report

1. This application is recommended for consideration by the Planning Committee rather than under delegated powers at the request of the Development Control Manager due to the scale of the development next to a Registered Building.

Site

1. The site represents the curtilage of 'Woodlands', Alexander Drive, Douglas. 'Woodlands' is a substantial detached two and a half-storey dwelling in the Arts & Crafts style with red brick, black and white timbering and red tiled roof. It sits in a substantial site bounding Quarter Bridge Road to the North Western boundary, Alexander Drive to the Southern boundary and Woodlands Avenue to the eastern boundary. The site is heavily treed and contains former Coach Houses etc to the east and north eastern boundary. The existing house sits on a platform with the ground dropping away to Quarter Bridge Road.

Proposed Development

1. The application seeks approval for the erection of a detached garage and creation of additional vehicular access.

1. The garage will be 25m in length and 19.7m in width. The height of the garage will be 7.8m to the ridge. The garage will be faced in red engineered brick and stock facing brick. The roof will have natural slate. The south east elevation of the garage will have Tudor Boarding and rendered infill panels.

Planning Status And Relevant Policies:

1. As the property is a Registered Building (RB 190), the content of this application has been considered with particular regard to POLICY RB/5 ALTERATIONS AND EXTENSIONS and RB/3: GENERAL CRITERIA APPLIED IN CONSIDERING REGISTERED BUILDING APPLICATIONS as set out within Planning Policy Statement 1/01- Policy and Guidance Notes for the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man and Environment Policies 32 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan (20th June 2007).

1. Environment Policy 32 states: "Extensions of alterations to a Registered Building which would affect detrimentally its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest will not be permitted."

1. Planning Policy Statement 1/01 RB/3: General Criteria Applied in Considering Registered Building Applications

The issues that are generally relevant to the consideration of all registered building applications are:

• The importance of the building, its intrinsic architectural and historic interest and rarity, relative to the Island as a whole and within the local context;
• The particular physical features of the building (which may include its design, plan, materials or location) which justify its inclusion in the register; descriptions annexed to the entry in the register may draw attention to features of particular interest or value, but they are not exhaustive and other features of importance, (e.g. Interiors, murals, hidden fireplaces) may come to light after the building's entry in the register;
• The building's setting and its contribution to the local scene, which may be very important, e.g. Where it forms an element in a group, park, garden or other townscape or landscape, or where it shares particular architectural forms or details with other buildings nearby (including other registered buildings).

1. RB/5: Alterations and Extensions states that "In considering whether to grant planning approval for development which affects a registered building or its setting and in considering whether to grant registered building consent for any works, the Department shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses.

1. Registered Building consent is required for the building's alteration in any way which would affect its special architectural or historic character. There will be a general presumption against alteration or extension of registered buildings, except where a convincing case can be made, against the criteria set out in this section, for such proposals.

1. Applicants for registered building consent for alteration or extension to a registered building must be able to justify their proposals. They will be required to show why the works which would affect the character of the registered building are desirable or necessary and they should provide full information to enable the Department to assess the likely impact of their proposals on the special architectural or historic interest of the building and on its setting. Where registered buildings are the subject of successive applications for alteration or extension, consideration will also be given to the cumulative affect upon the building's special interest as a result of several minor works which may individually seem of little consequence."

Planning History

1. There are no recent applications considered relevant in the assessment and determination of this application.

Representations

1. The Department of Infrastructure do not oppose the application as it has no adverse traffic management, parking or road safety implications.

1. Douglas Borough Council does not object to the proposals.

1. Mr Corkish MBE MHK, Member for Tourism supports the application.

1. The occupier of Brook House, Quarter Bridge Road have objected to the application on the following grounds: 1) the plans do not show a further access to property onto the Quarterbridge Road; any traffic using this driveway would impact on their access, 2) plans are misleading, 3) the building is disproportionately large and its mass is overpowering, 4) overlooking and visual intrusion, 5) concerned about access to the collection of vehicles by the general public and the associated extra traffic and noise, 6) it is very unlikely that there will be an ongoing need for such a highly specialised use on the site and therefore concerned about what would happen to this massive structure.

1. The Chairman of the Isle of Man Section of the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club writes to support the application.

1. Mr Crookall of Ramsey Crookall & Co Ltd writes to support the application.

1. The occupier of 'Maughold', Alexander Drive writes in support of the application.

1. The occupier of Old School House, Rushen supports the application.

Building Conservation Officer'S Assessment

1. Substantial pre-application discussions have taken place with the applicant and his agents culminating in this application which is representative of those discussions.

1. For clarity, the Registration of Woodlands is defined in red on the mapping attached to the Registration documentations, as being the main house itself. Clearly, a major part of the consideration of this application is the impact these proposals will have on the setting of the Registered Building.

1. The proposed building is sited to the immediate west of the Registered dwelling on a level, lawned area surrounded by trees, understood to have been a former tennis court and/or Bowling Green. Those trees will, during the spring, summer and early autumn months at least, have the effect of providing screening for the proposed as seen from Quarter Bridge Road and Alexander Drive.

1. The proposed garage is intended to house up to 27 vintage Rolls-Royce motor cars over two floors accessed via two separate entrances. The entrance to the Ground Floor is accessed via a newly formed gateway on to Alexander Drive. The format of the gateway matches the other existing gateways to the property and is not necessarily contentious.

1. Both the individual size of the vehicles and the number of those vehicles, give rise to a building of substantial floor-plate and massing. That massing has been dealt with by utilising some of the forms and comparative roof pitches of the outbuildings in conjunction with a flat roofed central section. This is successful in minimising the potential impact of the building.

1. The Chairman to the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club informs us that the hill immediately adjacent to the lower gateway on to Alexander Drive was formerly the start of the first Isle of Man TT race in 1905 at which the Rolls Royce formerly raced and indeed won in 1906. This is significant in terms of justifying such a large building in close proximity to the Registered Building. Whilst it is not understood whether some of the cars to be housed on site are formerly race cars, there is nevertheless, some significant association between the cars and the house.

1. There is very little doubt that the addition of a building of this size and massing in such proximity to the Registered Building could detract from the Registered Building. However, that proposed draws on the architecture and materials of the former Coach House and outbuildings set to the north and eastern boundaries of the site. It was considered important that the architectural treatment of the proposed did not draw too heavily on the materials palette and architectural forms of the main house as this could lead to potential clash. The association with the outbuildings is intended to aid the observer in understanding that the building is subsidiary to the main dwelling.

1. The use of material palette drawn from the out-buildings, combined with the location and form of the building, results in an addition that whilst clearly large, is still considered to be subservient to the main, Registered dwelling. The association of the cars with the historic start of the TT Races is significant, as this gives credence to the desire to store so many cars, resulting in such a large building, on site when they could possibly be stored off site and brought to a smaller facility for display.

1. On balance, and being mindful of the issues set out above, it is recommended that the application be approved as it is considered to comply with policies RB/3 and RB/5 of Planning Policy Statement 1/01 and Environment Policies 32 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan (20th June 2007) and is therefore acceptable.

Planning Officer'S Assessment

1. This is a finely balanced case. The Conservation Officer's report above is a balanced assessment of the how the proposal could affect the setting of a Registered Building. The proposal is acceptable due to the historical connection to the historic start of the TT races. If there was no connection at all, this proposal would be unlikely to be acceptable as it could adversely affect the setting of a registered building.

1. There is concern about the long term impact of the development, i.e. the conversion of the garage to a dwellinghouse. This concern is well founded, as a proposal would lead to the subdivision of the site into two dwellings in much smaller grounds. It is not possible to consider the potential impacts of a development for which planning permission has not been sought, nevertheless it is appropriate to consider whether the proposal is likely to meet just a short term need, which the building may long out-live. This is difficult to assess as the genuineness of the intention plays some part as does the potential for acceptable alternative uses of the building. In this case, it is felt that there is a genuine desire for the building to be used in the long term for this purpose, and given the size of the host dwelling, there may be other ancillary uses that the building could be put to should the cars no longer be housed there.

1. In respect of the impact on Brook House, the application site is set to the south east of Brook House on the opposite side of Quarterbridge Road. There is substantial tree coverage running along the Quarterbridge Road boundary. The garage will be set back 15.5m from the boundary and approximately 34m away from the dwelling of Brook House, which also has substantial landscaping along its frontage. The garage will be set approximately 4.8m above the road level of Quarterbridge Road. It considered this proposal will not result in overlooking and nor will it be visual intrusive from Brook House.

1. In respect of the construction of a new vehicular access onto Alexander Drive, the Highways Division is content with the proposal. It is considered the proposal does not raise any issues about highway safety.

1. There have been concerns that the collection will be open to the general public. The applicant's agent has confirmed that the facility will not be open to the public.

Party Status:

1. The local authority is, by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, paragraph 6 (5) (d), considered an "interested person" and as such should be afforded party status.

1. The Department of Transport Highways and Traffic Division is now part of the Department of Infrastructure of which the planning authority is part. As such, the Highways and Traffic Division cannot be afforded party status in this instance.

1. Mr Corkish MBE MHK, Member for Tourism does not have sufficient interest in the application site and therefore should not be afforded party status.

1. The occupier of Brook House, Quarter Bridge Road are opposite the application site and have commented on planning matters, as such they should be afforded party status.

1. The Chairman of the Isle of Man Section of the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club does not have sufficient interest in the application site and therefore should not be afforded party status.

1. Mr Crookall of Ramsey Crookall & Co Ltd does not have sufficient interest in the application site and therefore should not be afforded party status.

1. The occupier of 'Maughold', Alexander Drive does not have sufficient interest in the application site and therefore should not be afforded party status.

1. The occupier of Old School House, Rushen does not have sufficient interest in the application site and therefore should not be afforded party status.

Post-Committee Report

Following consideration of the case officers report at the 13th October Planning Committee meeting, the Members resolved that planning permission be granted subject to conditions.

However, the following conditions were amended:

• Condition 3 – delete “and” from between “Authority;” and “thereafter”
• Condition 4 – insert “been” between “have” and “taken”
• Condition 5 – delete “shedule” and insert “schedule” as a replacement
• Condition 6 – delete “dehumidfers” and insert “dehumidifiers” as a replacement
• Condition 6 – delete “and” from between “Authority;” and “thereafter”

Recommendation

Recommended Decision: Permitted

Date of Recommendation: 04.10.2011

Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal

• : Notes attached to refusals

C 1. The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.

C 2. This permission relates to the erection of a detached garage and the creation of an additional vehicular access as shown in drawing numbers WL/11/192/1B, WL/11/192/2B, WL/11/192/3B, WL/11/192/4, WL/11/192/5B and WL/11/192/6B date stamped 15th July 2011.

C 3.

No development shall take place until samples of the facing and roofing materials have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Planning Authority; thereafter the development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved materials.

C 4.

No development or other operations shall be commenced on this site until adequate steps, which shall have been previously approved in writing by the Planning Authority, have been taken to safeguard against damage or injury during construction works all trees on the site, or those trees whose root structure may extend within the site. In particular no excavations, site works, trenches or channels shall be cut or pipes or services laid or any other works carried out in such a way as to cause damage or injury to the trees by interference with their root structure and no soil or waste shall be deposited on the land in such a position as to be likely to cause damage or injury to the trees.

C 5.

No development shall take place until a window schedule has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Planning Authority; and thereafter the development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.

C 6.

No development shall take place until details of the dehumidifiers and mechanical extract ventilation have been submitted to and approved by the Planning Authority; thereafter the development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details.

I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the Town and Country (Development Procedure) 2005

Decision Made : _funderel_ Committee Meeting Date : _3/10/11_

Signed : _I. Broehl_ Presenting Officer

Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason is required. Signing Officer to delete as appropriate

YES/NO