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Mr John Nisbet<br>9 Woodbourne villas, 40 Alexander Drive, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM2 3QG
In Reference to. Woodbourne House, Woodbourne Lane, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM2 3LJ
Dear Sir / Madam: With regards to the property (Woodbourne House). First I would like to say that the main reason for me buying this property was the building affords safe parking for my wife at the rear of our main house in Alexander drive when taking our young son from the car, as Alexander drive where we live at the villas next to the Woodbourne park is quite narrow and the cars speed there a lot of the time so is quite dangerous, there have also been a few wing mirrors lost and some vehicle accidents to parked cars here. At the time of buying this property I was in a good job in the Oil \& Gas industry, but due to the recent crash in the industry I now find myself in a less well paid job and would like to try and find some other means of income to help to subsidise our outgoings, and if possible keep Woodbourne House, otherwise I may need to put it on the market for sale, which going by the amount of time it sat unoccupied prior to me buying it may take some time for a sale. To try and avoid this I would like to utilise the first and ground floors. The building and land at the side is currently set up as light commercial use, I would like to retain the light commercial use for the land and the ground floor of the property, and put in for planning to change the use of the first floor from light commercial to residential use. The previous use of the building was a plumbers business on the ground floor and the outward bound kids club. The first floor was being used as an IT company from offices. The layout of the property on the ground and first floors would remain the same, as there are existing toilet and kitchen facilities in place with the room layouts being the best layout for the property. We would like to turn the first floor into an apartment, and the ground floor, some rooms for my wife to start up a photography business, she requires a studio. The remaining rooms would remain as they currently are for personal storage. It would then be put out for rental, but could also be used for family or my son when he becomes of age, as it is right outside our back gate.
The building at the time of purchase had been on the market for a considerable amount of time and was in a state of disrepair with multiple water leaks from the roof and windows causing a lot of damp to the interior and the plasterboard walls. I had the roof completely repaired with new wood where required and new
slates (many of them were beyond re-use and crumbling), the original slates that could be salvaged were re-used on the roof, new windows and doors were also installed. The interior plasterboard was also removed from the ceiling and walls to prevent the dampness from spreading. This revealed a lot of the old plasterwork on the actual stone walls had become damp and fallen down between the plasterboard and wall, this was all removed from the stonework and repointed and damp proofed. Any rotten wood was removed and replaced, and new plasterboard walls and ceilings put back with full insulation being installed (kingspan plus space blanket) more than required, it was also completely re-wired. This was done to the complete first floor of the property where a majority of the water damage had been done. A new oil fired boiler was installed along with upgraded central heating Single radiators replaced with doubles and some extra radiators installed, all fitted with thermostat temperature controls. My next plan is to re-do the ground floor with new plasterboard, insulation and re-wiring. Then do up the outside of the building, re-render and paint. Currently repainting would just be painting over a bit of a mess and not look good.
Woodbourne House is a detached property with some private garages at the rear of the building, Woodbourne lane to the side, the loop and unoccupied ground (as far as I know a future car park) to the front, and ground to the remaining side which is owned by myself. There is ample car parking space for up to $6 / 7$ cars on this ground and $2 / 3$ cars at the front of the property, it also has an inbuilt garage. It has access from both ends of Woodbourne lane and from around the loop.
Note: the building at the top end of Woodbourne lane at the opposite end of the loop was built about $3 / 4$ years ago and also has parking access from Woodbourne lane, the same as Woodbourne house.
The residential accommodation would comprise of a full kitchen / dining area, 2 bedrooms, a box room, a living room and a full bathroom, small hallway and private landing access to the main stairwell which is also part of the apartment so would be private, with a porch / door access at the bottom of the stairs .
The windows from the bedrooms look out across the adjoining gardens across the Woodbourne lane side of the property, and the living room looks out across the unoccupied land to the front across the loop, the building is completely detached from any neighbours, so has a pleasant outlook not looking out straight onto adjoining buildings.
The building is situated away from any main roads, and there are no industrial facilities in the vicinity so outside noise is very minimal, and there are no adjacent land / business users that would be impacted by the use of the first floor as an apartment. The building also benefits from being close to the centre of town, with shops and schools close by, and with the added bonus that if planning were granted it would be a fully dethatched apartment with no other neighbours, unlike many other apartments' who have neighbours on all sides or basement apartments, there would only be my wife's photography studio below which would probably be unoccupied for a lot of the time, and even when in use during the day would have little or no noise.
During the internal repairs and upgrades, I also planned ahead for the possibility of gaining residential planning permission, so during the new plaster boarding and plastering, the complete stairwell going from the ground to first floor was re-boarded with fire board to create a safe zone, plus every room was installed with a smoke/heat detector.
The calculated living space on the first floor is as follows:
Total living space: 96.26 m²
This floor area exceeds the required 87m² or more floor space for an apartment that would house 6 persons, this proposed design for the apartment would only be for 2 to 3 people. There would also be the addition of off road parking or private garage (not included in the livable floor space).
I hope that you look favorably on the planning application, as it would add a very desirable rental accommodation to the existing properties in Douglas, and would also give me a property that could be utilized as already mentioned, for family and for future, my son. Also the ground floor for a photography business for my wife, and the continued use for safe parking away from Alexander drive. If the application is declined then as things stand with the Oil & Gas industry and my current employment I would have to put the property up for sale which mean it may stand for some considerable time unoccupied the same as before I purchased it. Again, I hope you look favorably at this application.
Sincerely,
Mr John Nisbet
3
Sule Nisbet
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