DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 20/00826/B Applicant: Mr Craig Astin Proposal: Alterations and erection of a first floor extension, decking and hardstanding Site Address: Highlands Pinfold Hill Laxey Isle Of Man IM4 7HW Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 19.11.2020 _________________________________________________________________

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. Prior to the creation of the decking hereby approved details of the appearance and materials of the privacy screen must be approved by the Department and prior to the use of the decked area as hereby approved, the approved privacy screen must be in place and retained as such thereafter.

Reason: to ensure the living conditions of those in "Dawn View" are not adversely affected by the proposed development.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposed works comply with General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 17th November 2020:

• o Drawing No. A/1012/1 (A)
• o Drawing No. A/1012/1 (B) _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of Highlands, Pinfold Hill, Laxey which is a single storey detached dwelling located to the western side of Pinfold Hill. - 1.2 Pinfold Hill is characterised by detached single and two storey houses sited on a steep incline with views out over the coast. The style of the properties in this area is architecturally varied. The properties along the east of Pinfold Hill, including the site, are accessible from the main road via steps leading to the front of the building, and accessed from the rear of Pinfold Lane where several properties have made parking spaces.

THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The current planning application seeks approval to essentially raise the existing roof by

• 1.8m to create additional living accommodation on a new first floor level. The proposed first floor level will be mainly rendered with windows on the east and west elevation to match the existing and cedar cladding to the front elevation on the first floor level. To the front elevation is a set of sliding doors and a Juliet balcony.
• 2.2 There is also the addition of floor area to the ground floor level by an additional porch measuring 2.3m by 2.7m which steps out from the front elevation.

2.3 To the rear garden is proposed a parking area adjacent to Pinfold Hill measuring 3.1m by 13.5m which will have a 1.2m high fence to the south and eastern elevation. There is also proposed a decking area which will be accessed via French doors from the first floor level. - 2.4 To the front garden there is proposed site levelling by up to 1m at the northern end to create a level garden area with a 34 degree repose before the ramp access to Pinfold Hill. There is also proposed a 1.2m high fence on top of the newly laid ground.

PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 There is one previous application on the on the site which is PA09/00507/B which was for "Alterations and erection of an extension" and was Permitted. During my site visit it could be seen that this work was completed. PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as Predominantly Residential on the Laxey and Lonan Local Plan 2005, Lonan Map. The Laxey and Lonan Local Plan 2005 has a policy which is relevant to this assessment, L/RES/PR/1, which states, "Residential development will generally only be approved within the study area in those areas designated as proposed and existing residential. In particular, in the case of Agneash no further dwellings will be approved although, as will be the case in areas zoned as residential, alterations and extensions to existing property may be accepted if such proposals are sympathetic to the character and appearance of both the building to be altered and the surrounding area in general."

4.2 Of specific relevance to the assessment of this application is General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 which states "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;

• n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."

4.3 Also of relevance is paragraph 8.12.1 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan which states, "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." - 4.4 The Residentil Design Guidance 2016 is also relevant in this application of which the parts which are relevant are below in the assessment of this application.

REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Highway Services have considered the application and Do not Oppose (28.07.20).

5.2 No comments have been received from Garff Commissioners at the time of writing this report. ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of the planning application are the potential impacts of the proposal on the character and appearance of Highlands and the wider street scene.

IMPACT OF APPEARANCE AND STREETSCENE

6.2 When looking at the general streetscene of Pinfold Hill there are vary architectural styles of which most properties are a bungalow, whether this is a dormer bungalow or split level, there are also a few properties which are two story's high.

6.3 Also due to the topography of Pinfold Hill the properties are situated at varying levels with the housing being stepped down south to North. This means that "Dawns View" situated to the South of the property is at a higher elevation to the application site and "Ard Beg" situated to the North of the site is at a lower elevation to the application site. - 6.4 With the above in mind the proposed works due to their nature will significantly change the appearance of the dwelling within the streetscene, whilst this is the case this isn't the first property within Pinfold Hill to do this alteration. PA19/00297/B was for raising the roof by 1.3m and added additional dormers. This alteration on "Ard Aalin" changed the overall streetscene from Pinfold Lane but not from Pinfold Hill due to the overall height of the property in relation to the road. - 6.5 The proposed alterations as such whilst noticeable from Pinfold Lane would be acceptable alterations within the overall streetscene and would comply with General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016. IMPACT ON NEIGHBOURS - 6.6 Whilst the impact of the appearance on the overall streetscene is accepted it is necessary to assess the possible impact on neighbouring amenities. The Residential Design Guidance 2019 gives advice in stating that the main issues which arise with neighbouring impact would be, "potential loss of light/overshadowing, potential overbearing impact upon outlook and potential overlooking resulting in a loss of privacy." - 6.7 The proposed work does not propose any overlooking aspect such as windows to the south or north elevation which means that the main potential property for overlooking would be "Baytrees" which is situated to the south east of the property. - 6.8 Generally with overlooking the main aspects is loss of privacy and the "20 metre guide" is used to ascertain whether there is potentially overlooking or not. The Residential design guide

• states the following, "The "20 metre guide" provides a useful way to identify where overlooking is likely to be a concern. It refers to the distance between elevations that contain windows serving habitable rooms that face each other - if this distance is over 20 metres, overlook is unlikely to be a concern. This distance can be relaxed where the design or orientation is such that privacy and amenity of a neighbouring property is not compromised. In dense urban areas where there is already a level of mutual overlooking a lesser standard may be acceptable. The required distance may need to be greater if there is a change in topography, which would result in an adverse effect on the privacy and amenity of a neighbouring property."
• 6.9 Currently at the moment part of the garden has a fence and half has mature hedging, the proposed plan has stated that a new 1.2m fence will be installed and whilst this would not create additional mitigation between the properties, "Baytrees" is situated further than 20m away from the application site and the main part which could be affected is at an angle to the property which would suggest that there would not be any perceived or actual overlooking.
• 6.10 Another aspect to assess when looking at the possibility of neighbouring amenity is the proposed decking to the rear of the property which is to be situated adjacent to the boundary with "Dawn View." The decking was originally to be situated against "Ard Beg" but discussions between the applicants and the property, alternative drawings were received to which the applicant stated during the officers site visit that they had spoken to the owners of "Dawn View" and they had no issues with the proposed decking.
• 6.11 Pinfold Lane is particular in how the properties are situated due to the over topography of the site the properties to the west have open plan gardens without any privacy and the gardens to the east of Pinfold Lane (where the application site is) generally have a better privacy aspect mainly due to the topography of the land and due to several properties having car parking or garages which blocks of most views into the properties rear gardens.
• 6.12 The proposed decking whilst at a high height, would be in line with the height of the already existing rear garden. There is also a long standing mature hedge between both "Highlands" and "Dawn View" which provides its own protection. To assist in reducing any possible perceived or actual overlooking a condition should be put down to request that details of mitigation between the properties in the form of 1.8m from the decking should be required prior to commencement.

CONCLUSION

7.1 For the above reasons the proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and therefore acceptable. 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 a Principal Planner in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 23.11.2020 Determining officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner

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