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Application No.: 16/00998/A Applicant: Mr Edwin Davies OBE Proposal: Approval in principle for the erection of a detached dwelling with garaging Site Address: Field 432538 Ballavoddan Farm Phildraw Road Ballasalla Isle Of Man Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley Photo Taken: 11.10.2016 Site Visit: 11.10.2016 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation
1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE - 1.1 The application site is a parcel of land measuring roughly 1.55 acres within the much wider ownership associated with Fildraw Mansion House, which is bounded to the west by Phildraw Road and to the east by St. Mark's Road, with the whole lying north of Ballasalla. The land within the ownership of the applicant extends even further west beyond Fildraw Road itself. - 1.2 The land in question is referred to as being on Ballavoddan Farm, although it was clear from the site visit that the land is perhaps more appropriately described as a private parkland or garden. Views into the site from the highway are fairly limited, largely due to the existence of a stone and render barn sitting prominently at the border: also true is that the access to the site, north of this barn, is not particularly wide while there is also a wall running between the site and highway. - 1.3 There are scattered dwellings in large grounds in the immediate area, though further to the south the density of the built environment increases notably.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Approval in Principle is sought for the erection of a dwelling along with a garage on the site. All matters are reserved. The application is substantiated with a Planning Statement, and this sets out that the existing barn would be demolished to provide for a safe highway access. (This demolition could actually not be undertaken without the benefit of a planning approval: the barn is attached to the aforementioned wall, which in turn seems to be attached to other walls and thereafter to dwellings further south: as such, the barn's demolition would comprise 'development' such as would not be the case were it detached as set out at Part 2, Section 6(e) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.) - 2.2 Although all matters are reserved, there is a Drawing showing an indicative siting for the dwelling and also the location of a new vehicular access.
3.0 THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN - 3.1 The site is zoned in the Area Plan for the South as "Proposed Low Density Housing in Parkland". This refers to a designation in the 1982 Development Plan and a commensurate definition provided in Planning Circular 8/89, which sets out that dwellings as approved on such land should be large and set in their own landscaped grounds of at least one acre.
3.2 This site, and additional land on both sides of Phildraw Road, was so zoned in 1982 Plan and subsequently the Southern Area Plan.
4.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 The zoning has led to some relatively recent successful applications for development of this type in the area - two plots to the north of Thrang End and three further plots on the fields to the west of the road. However, this particular site has not been the subject of such an application until now - and nor are the previous two applications on the site (both for a new highway access, only one of which was approved) considered to be of material relevance here.
"The proposal is to construct a new dwelling with a new access onto the highway on Phildraw Road. Visibility of 2m x 36m is to be provided in line with a similar requirement at an adjacent site; in reality visibility will be greater than this due to the road layout and the lack of footways causing vehicles to be driven closer to the centre of the road.
"Highway Services does not oppose this application subject to the following condition:
"1. Prior to any construction the access shown on drawing to be approved by the planning authority shall be constructed and the visibility splays shall remain unobstructed at a height of 1.05m thereafter.
"Reason: In the interest of highway safety."
5.2 The Arboricultural Officer within the Department has noted that the high value trees (in terms of visual amenity) are to the north of the site, while the removal of a large number of early / young trees would need to be removed should the site be developed. His view is that the loss of coverage across the site would be a "cause for concern". He goes on to request a condition in any future reserved matters application that seeks for:
5.3 Malew Commissioners offered no objection to the application on 08.09.2016.
6.1 As the site is zoned for development such as that proposed, and the application seeks approval for no details at this stage, there does not seem to be anything particularly controversial about the proposal. The loss of the stone barn is a trifle unfortunate but it is not subject to any special controls or protection and nor is it a particularly handsome or important building that indicates it should be retained. The only other element of the proposal that might be considered unfortunate - loss of some of the younger trees within the site - has been found acceptable by the Arboricultural Officer. There does not seem to be sufficient reason to take a different view. The site is larger than would normally be expected for a Low Density Dwelling in Parkland, and accordingly a robust landscape and management scheme could reasonably be drawn up in future. - 6.2 The application is therefore recommended for approval.
7.1 The condition requested by the Arboricultural Officer is logical and recommended accordingly. In this case it is considered appropriate that the Reason for the Condition includes reference to the British Standards: this would allow some freedom for the tree constraints to be addressed in a manner that, though perhaps not complying with the relevant British Standards to the letter, would still find favour with the Arboricultural Officer. While it is likely the two would overlap in any case, this element of flexibility may be helpful at the Reserved Matters stage. - 7.2 A condition requiring a landscaping scheme would also be necessary, in line with Circular 8/89.
8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, the following persons are automatically interested persons:
The development hereby approved shall be begun either before the expiration of four years from the date of this approval or before the expiration of two years from the date of approval of the last of the reserved matters.
Reason: To comply with article 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013.
Reason: To comply with the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure)(No2) Order 2013.
Reason: To ensure the provision of an appropriately treed setting to the dwelling hereby approved in line with BS5837:2012 (sections 4, 5 & 6) and BS8545:2014.
The development hereby approved relates to Drawing 1, Drawing 2 and Drawing 16T5025-01, all date-stamped as having been received 19th August 2016.
I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Senior Planning Officer in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.
Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett Senior Planning Officer
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