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The site represents the curtilage of Lorne House, a large house situated between Bridge Road, Douglas Street, Brewery Wharf apartments and School Lane which abuts Victoria Road Primary School. The entrance to the site is from Douglas Street at its junction with School Lane where there are three properties which back onto the site - Lorne House Lodge, Stable Cottage and Coach House Cottage.
Lorne House sits in its own grounds with lawns, trees and flower beds to the south west, a tennis court to the west, lawns to the rear (north east) and a kitchen garden to the south east are fields on which sheep are sometimes grazed. There is presently a compound area when the tennis courts were previously, whilst works are undertaken around the site. At the entrance to the site there is the remains of a former piggery building which has recently been demolished due to fears over its stability - a structural report was commissioned in this respect.
Lorne House dates back in its original form, to 1826 and not surprisingly has historical importance - having accommodated the Lieutenant Governor in 1832. The house has been altered over time although retains its status and character as a landmark building in its own grounds although seen by relatively few due to the high stone wall which runs around the grounds. The house is visible from the upper levels of Castle Rushen.
The site lies within an area of Residential use within the grounds which are designated as Private Woodland on the Castletown Local Plan of 1991. The draft Town Plan of 2001 identifies the site as Woodland with a section to the north west of the house as Proposed Residential or Office development In Parkland. The draft Southern Area Plan which was published in January, 2011 identifies the site as Woodland with the area of Registered Trees defined and a scheduled Ancient Monument in the grounds also shown, a burial ground and possible assembly field at one time.
The site also lies within Castletown's Conservation Area. Lorne House is not Registered but is on the list of buildings worthy of investigation for such status.
Various applications have been submitted in respect of development at the site in recent times. The most relevant of this is:
Proposed previously under PA 10/1043 was retrospective approval for the erection of walling near to the entrance. The walling abutted How Yngren - the property immediately to the east. The section of wall to be rebuilt was 6.7m long and was to be generally 3.4m high built from concrete blockwork and finished in Manx stone to match the walling alongside.
This was refused at appeal for reasons that the inspector was "...concerned about the height of the wall, combined with its closeness to How Yngren..." which "...would have a very claustrophobic effect on the outlook from How Yngren, being only 1 metre away from ground and first floor windows, and would obstruct the incidence of daylight and westerly sunlight particularly to the ground floor. In these respects what is proposed would have a seriously adverse effect on residential amenity for existing or future occupiers of How Yngren". He adds "To be acceptable, a wall here would have to be significantly lower than a wall built to the existing and proposed height". He states that it is not for him to specify an acceptable height, other than indicating it would be materially different from what is proposed and as such would require a separate planning permission. The refusal was without prejudice to a wall which is "significantly lower than that here proposed".
What is now proposed is the erection of a wall in the same position as that shown previously but at a maximum height of 2m and stepping up to meet the existing, higher wall within Lorne House within 1.8m from the taller wall.
Highways and Traffic Division indicate that they do not oppose the application.
The proposal should be considered in respect of Environment Policy 35 which states:
"Within Conservation Areas, the Department will permit only development which would preserve or enhance the character of appearance of the area, and will ensure that the special features contributing to the character and quality are protected against inappropriate development".
In this case the works do not harm or significantly alter the character of Lorne House, nor its historical value and as such is considered acceptable. The section of wall is very small and does not have any public impact.
As the property is located within the Castletown Conservation Area designated in 1990, the content of this application has been considered with particular regard to Policy CA/2 SPECIAL PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS of Conservation Areas 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.
As commented on by the Planning Officer, Lorne House has been suggested for inclusion on the Protected Buildings Register in the draft Southern Area Plan, published on the 23rd October 2009.
These proposals seek to regularise works that have already commenced on site and amend them by reducing the height of the wall in places to respond to the reasons for refusal of the most recent application. The works are not overly visible from outside of the boundary walls and are not considered to be detrimental to the character of the Castletown Conservation Area as they are constructed in the locally sourced Limestone. In similar fashion to the other applications being considered on Lorne House, consideration should be given to the impact of these proposals on any archaeological interest. If this is found to be acceptable to Manx National Heritage, the proposals are acceptable.
It should be noted that the Planning Officer has discussed the latest proposal on the telephone with the owner of How Yngren who is aware of the application and they have not indicated any dissatisfaction with the proposal.
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.
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.
Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 16.09.2011 Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal C : Conditions for approval
N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal
C 1. This permission relates to the erection of walling as shown in drawings HYW-01 and HYW-100B both received on 15th August, 2011.
C 2. The works hereby approved must be undertaken in accordance with the approved plans prior to 23rd December, 2011.
Reason for refusal: the erection of walling has already been undertaken on site without the benefit of planning permission and these works were found to be detrimental to the amenities of those in How Yngren by the Minister as set out in the decision in respect of PA 10/1043. As such it is considered that these works should be regularised such that the amenities of those in How Yngren are restored within a reasonable time.
I confirm that this decision accords with the appropriate Government Circular delegating functions to Director of Planning and Building Control / Development Control Manager.
Decision Made : Permitted Date : 19 September 2011
Signed : Michael Gallagher Director of Planning and Building Control Delete as appropriate
Signed : Jennifer Chance Development Control Manager
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