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Application No.: 20/01093/B Applicant: Mr Andrew Pennington Proposal: Widening of existing driveway and vehicular access Site Address: 45 Buttermere Drive Onchan Isle Of Man IM3 2EB Planning Officer: Mr Peiran Shen Photo Taken: 28.10.2020 Site Visit: 28.10.2020 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 22.11.2020 _________________________________________________________________
C : Conditions for approval
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.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. This application is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan and the Residential Design Guide.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the submitted documents, photos, location plan and site plan date stamped as having been received on 22nd September 2020. _______________________________________________________________
None _____________________________________________________________________________
1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of 45 Buttermere Drive, Onchan, a two-storey detached House in Lakeside on the west end of the Buttermere Drive. - 1.2 The front garden of the property is consists of a lawned area on two sides and paved driveway in the middle, approx. 8.2m wide, leading to the front entrance and the garage door. There is an existing dropped curb for the pavement in front of the garage.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed is the extension of the driveway as well the dropped curb for approx. 2.8m to the east. This will lead to the dropped kerb to cover 11m of the pavement and increasing the number of parking spaces on the driveway from three to four.
3.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 There is no previous application considered materially relevant to this application. - 3.2 Google Street View shows that the driveway was only in front of the driveway. Department aerial Photo from 2015 states that the driveway was extended to cover the front entrance but there is no planning application for this alteration.
4.0 PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 In terms of local policy, the site lies within an area designated as Predominantly Residential in the Onchan Local Plan 2000. - 4.2 In terms of strategic policy, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application: - 4.3 General Policy 2: "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:
4.4 Residential Design Guidance (July 2019) provides advice on the design of new houses and extensions to an existing property as well as how to assess the impact of such development on the living conditions of those in adjacent residential property. - 4.5 RDG 6 "The Wider Site" sets out some key considerations regarding boundary treatment, trees, the driveway, and front garden. - 4.6 RDG 6.3 "Driveways and Front Gardens" states that front gardens provide an important physical boundary between a dwelling and the public realm. While increased car ownership resulting in increased demand for car parking space, the creation of an off-street parking space normally requires the provision of new access, which can result in the loss of at least one on-street parking space. Proposals, which do not result in a net benefit, are unlikely to be supported.
4.8 RDG 6.3.4 states: "Proposals which result in the loss of more than 50% of the existing front lawned/landscaped garden will not normally be supported, to ensure the character of the streetscape is retained and avoid frontages of properties appearing as one large car parking area, detrimental to the appearance of the street scene and to the outlook of residents. It is important that the design of a driveway maintains a balance between hard and soft landscaping and contributes positively to the street scene. Proposals are unlikely to be supported where they do not meet the following guidelines:
vehicular and pedestrian access can help to break-up the appearance of the hardstanding whilst planting around the fringes of the driveway can also be used to good effect and may be used to help screen the vehicle); O if an opening is made in an existing wall, fence or other boundary feature, the ends should be made good with matching or sympathetic materials (i.e. pillars); O where possible, separate pedestrian access should be retained/provided (existing gates should normally be retained and any new gates should not open out over the highway); O any new gates, walls, fences or other boundary features should reflect the traditional style of the local area; O consideration should be given to a strip of grass or gravel placed in the centre of the hardstanding can hide leaked oil and maintain the look of a front garden; and O parking spaces should be avoided directly in front of any Primary Window as the resulting outlook can be undermined by the presence of parked cars."
5.1 Onchan Local Commissionaires does not oppose this application (20/10/2020). - 5.2 DoI Highway Services has not commented at the time of the report (18/11/2020).
6.1 The main concerns for this application are its principle, its impact on the character and landscape of the area. Principle of the Development
6.3 As the development is to increase parking spaces, the foundation of such development is the net increase of parking spaces for the street as a whole, as indicated in the RDG. This means after the development, the sum of the number of parking spaces created off-street and the number of parking space remaining on-street should be more than the number of existing parking space available on street. - 6.4 Buttermere Drive currently has on-street parking on both sides of the road. According to Manual for Manx Road 11.5.2, the length for a typical parking space is 6m. The proposal would result in approx. 11m of on-street parking length being lost, meaning the loss of two on-street parking space. The existing dropped curb is approx. 9.1m wide and reduced two on-street parking space. This means there is no additional loss of one street parking space. - 6.5 The proposal will create one parking space. The proposed parking space satisfies the recommendation in Manual for Manx Road. It is also to be noted that the additional parking space is for the enjoyment of 45 Buttermere Drive only. In summary, the proposal would create a net one-space increase to the number of parking spaces available on Buttermere Drive. This weighs in the applications favour. - 6.6 The next test is whether over 50% of the existing front lawned/landscaped garden will be lost. It is noted that the front of the garage is always paved on the street while there is a mix of grassed, paved and hollow for the rest of the front garden on the street. - 6.7 The size of the whole front garden, from the edge of the pavement to the front elevation of the house, is approx. 152.8m2. The area of the existing driveway is approx. 58.8m2. The area of the proposed driveway is approx. 24m2. The area of the proposed driveway as a whole is approx. 82.8m2. After the proposal, the driveway counts for approx. 54% of the entire front garden. The proposed area counts for approx. 25% of the existing grassed area. - 6.8 According to section 6.3.4 of the RDG, as the proposal will not result in the loss of less than 50% of the existing lawned/landscaped garden area. It is principally acceptable. Impact of the Development
6.9 RDG also states that for the replacement of front garden with parking space, there is a need to weight the benefit created to the applicant against the impact of the changed surface on the property and its surroundings. Such replacement should only be allowed when there is little negative impact, or the benefits overwhelm the negative impacts created as "front gardens provide an important physical boundary between a dwelling and the public realm". Street Scene and Character of the Area - 6.10 The most important consideration for such a proposal is whether it will shift the boundary of the public realm. If so, whether such a shift is acceptable or not? For 45Buttermere Drive, this transition is vague: road - pavement - driveway/lawn - dwelling. The road, the pavement, and the garden are all paved. There is no fence or hedge to separate the road from the property. The lawn helps to distinct the boundary from the public domain to private property. The driveway, on the other hand, blurs this boundary. - 6.11 The front boundary is approx. 19.4m wide. The existing driveway is approx. 8.2m wide and counts for approx. 42% of the front boundary. The proposed driveway is approx. 11m wide in total and counts for approx. 56% of the front boundary. Although this would furtherly blur the boundary, the remaining lawned area is still an important part of the boundary. Therefore, the visual impact is considered acceptable.
7.1 The proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan and Residential Design Guide. Therefore, it is recommended for an approval. - 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:
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 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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