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For
Ballavartyn Equestrian Centre, Ballavartyn House, Ballavartyn Road, Newtown, Santon, Isle of Man, IM4 1HT
For
Mr Ken Blaymire
December 2011
Kay Associates Ltd Chartered Architects
1.0 Introduction 2.0 Relevant Planning History 3.0 Architect's Design Statement - Demolition of Existing Dwelling and Erection of Replacement Dwelling \& Creation of Link to New Vehicular Access \& Road 4.0 Architect's Design Statement - Conversion of Existing Barns into Self-Catering Tourist Accommodation Units \& Creation of Link to New Vehicular Access \& Road 5.0 Architect's Design Statement - Conversion of Existing Outbuilding into Self-Catering Tourist Accommodation Units \& Creation of Link to New Vehicular Access \& Road 6.0 Economic, Sporting, Community \& PR Development Benefits 7.0 Transport Statement 8.0 Appendices
1 This design statement covers the three separate applications being made which together encompass the re-development of the existing Ballavartyn House at Newtown, Santon, loM, to form a high quality equestrian centre. The applications include the demolition of the existing house and its replacement with a new dwelling, the conversion of the existing Manx Stone Barns into self catering tourist accommodation and the conversion of another outbuilding into self catering tourist accommodation. These applications are a the second phase of the overall development of the site, the first phase of whic, the erection of an equestrian facility including an international standard riding arena, stabling for 97 horses, horse walking and ménage facilities, the creation of a horse exercise track, and the creation of a new vehicular access to the main A5 road was approved under PA10/01672/B in February 2011, and which has commenced on site.
1 The existing Ballavartyn House property consists of an existing farmhouse property which was the subject of substantial alterations in the late 1960's and early 1970's, and which consequently has lost much/all of its original detail. This building is generally two-storey in nature with a mix of later pitched roof and flat roofed single-storey extensions.
2 To the North of the Existing house is a collection of out-buildings consisting of a traditional two-storey stone barn with attached single-storey brick building, a separate stone built former cart shed currently used as stabling, and a single-storey agricultural shed which is also used for stabling.
3 The existing out-buildings are currently utilised for a mix of agricultural/equestrian purposes, including stabling, tack rooms, feed stores, workshops and cart \& buggy storage. The existing house is a residential property. There are currently areas of hard standing surrounding the property providing parking for a number of vehicles.
1 The total area of land ownership within which the applications are sited covers approximately 173,971.26 square metres ( 17.4 Hectares) ( 43 Acres) and is bounded in Blue on the individual application drawings. Each individual application further identifies the area of the application site by a Red line boundary, the individual areas of which are identified in the Architect's Design Statement for each application.
2 A topographical survey has been carried out on the site, and is included in the package of application drawings. From this survey it can be seen that the existing site ranges in level from approximately 102.90 metres at its NorthWestern boundary, rising to a level of 112 metres at its peak adjacent to Cronk-Froy, before falling to around 93 m at a position 100 m North of the existing House, rising from this point to around 99 m at the existing house location before falling again to a level of 87 m around 100 m South of the existing house. The land continues to fall as it travels further South from this point, but this area was not surveyed as it is unaffected by the applications.
3 The site as a whole is situated in the Newtown area of Santon, sharing a boundary at the North-West portion of the land with the main A5 road between Castletown and Douglas, and running South-East from this point for almost 1 Kilometre.
4 Vehicular access to the existing site is currently via Ballavartyn Lane, a small lane running from the A5 close to the former Methodist Chapel and past a small number of properties to the entrance of the existing Ballavartyn House and its out-buildings, which are approx. 200 m from this entry point. This access is extremely difficult to negotiate as a general lack of off-road parking at these properties means that cars and small commercial vehicles are regularly parked along this lane, making access even for cars difficult as a result of the restricted width of this lane. However, a new vehicular access to the site as a whole was approved in February 2011 under PA10/01672/B, which is currently under construction (due for completion March 2011), from which it is proposed the three current applications will take their access.
.1 The vehicular access for all three applications will be via the new access road approved under PA10/01672/B. This road is currently under construction and is due for completion in March 2011, when the construction of the arena and stables will also commence. The vehicular access for the three applications take the form of a new single carriageway lane which runs down the side of the existing outbuilding to join the new access road approved under PA10/01672/B at the point where the access road turns into the equestrian centre. This new access was determined following discussions with Ms Hazel Fletcher and Mr Kevin Almond of the Dept. of Infrastructure - Highways Division.
2 As the proposals are split into three separate applications, following discussions with Mr Steven Stanley, the Planning Officer, it was decided that the new vehicular access to the access road approved under PA10/01672/B should be replicated within each individual application, in order to ensure that should individual applications be successful that a valid form of access was also approved with each application. It should be noted that the design of the new access lane is the same in all three applications.
1 The application sites have been the subject of few planning applications, and none within the recent past. The only application recorded on any of the application sites is PA92/00946/B which sought permission for a single storey extension to the existing Ballavartyn House dwelling which was approved and executed. No other applications are recorded at the Dept. of Infrastructure Planning Department, though it is thought that the existing dwelling was substantially altered in the 1960's or early 1970's.
1 The application site currently houses the existing Ballavartyn House property which consists of an existing farmhouse property which was the subject of substantial alterations in the late 1960's and early 1970's, and which consequently has lost much/all of its original detail, and which is judged to be of poor quality/form. This building is generally two-storey in nature with a mix of later pitched roof and flat roofed single-storey extensions. Photographs of the existing property are included in Appendix A of this document.
2 The total floor area of the existing dwelling measured externally is 267 square metres.
1 The site is not covered by any local plan, therefore the 1982 Development Plan Order is the determining document in terms of land use. The site is identified as being within an area with a general designation of High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Significance, although it should be noted that it is situated at the very Western edge of this designation.
2 The main policy within the Strategic Plan which is relevant to the proposals is General Policy 3, and more specifically section (d) of this policy, which allows development to be permitted outside of land zoned for development under certain conditions. Section (d) of general Policy 3 states; (d) The replacement of existing rural dwellings; (Housing Policies 12, 13 and 14);
Therefore replacement dwellings in the countryside should be subject to Housing Policies 12, 13 and 14. Housing Policy 12 states that replacement of an existing dwelling in the countryside will generally be permitted unless it has lost its residential status by abandonment or is of architectural or historic interest. As the existing building remains in residential use it has not lost its residential status, and as the existing building is not of any architectural or historic interest, then the proposals comply with Housing Policy 12.
Housing Policy 13 relates to rural dwellings which have lost their residential status, which is not the case with the application site and therefore housing Policy 13 does not apply in this case.
Where a replacement dwelling is permitted, it must not be substantially different to the existing in terms of siting and size, unless changes of siting or size would result in an overall environmental improvement; the new building should therefore generally be sited on the footprint of the existing, and should have a floor area which is not more than greater than that of the original building (floor areas should be measured externally and should not include attic space or outbuildings). Generally, the design of the new building should be in accordance with Policies 2-7 of the present Planning Circular 3/91, (which will be revised and issued as a Planning Policy Statement).
The proposals are sited partially on the footprint of the existing dwelling and partially to the South-East, the replacement dwelling being situated to form a courtyard area between it and the existing stone barns which are situated to the North-West, and forming a grouping of buildings within the countryside. Whilst the proposals are over larger than the existing building, measuring approx. , the proposals which are traditional in nature, form and material, have been specifically designed to break down their mass and to sit comfortably within the landscape, the mix of materials being employed to reduce the mass of elements of the building to replicate the existing Manx stone barns present.
The proposals are designed substantially in accordance with Policies 2-7 of Planning Circular 3/91. However, as these policies relate to a dwelling with typically a floor area of around 110 Sq.m, any replacement dwelling which is significantly larger than this size can become visually at variance to the thrust of Policies 2-7. Planning Circular 3/91 makes reference in Policy 8 to larger dwellings in the countryside stating: 'The more fashionable features of the 19th Century found in the isolated larger house, form a visual image which is established and familiar in the Manx countryside. These features, given sensitive and restrained application, could, with advantage, be used in certain circumstances today. They should however, be limited to the larger house standing in its own grounds'.
The proposed replacement dwelling follows this pattern as a grander farmhouse, which read together with the grouping of agricultural buildings which surround it, and sitting within a landscape of 43 acres, with landscaped garden areas around it, represents a sensitive development of quality within the countryside.
It should be noted that HP14 does not say that replacement dwellings in the countryside should only be designed in accordance with Policies 2-7, it actually says that 'Generally, the design of the new building should be in accordance with Policies 2-7 of the present Planning Circular 3/91, (which will be revised and issued as a Planning Policy Statement).' Accordingly, the occasional departure towards Policy 8 of Planning Circular must be considered to be acceptable, otherwise the policy would have read 'should only be designed in acc...' which it doesn't. It should also be noted that Planning Circular 3/91 is also due for revision as is acknowledged in the wording of the Strategic Plan 2007 Housing Policy 14.
1 During the design process, the applicants architect has carried out consultations with;
Mr Steven Stanley - Dept. Of Infrastructure - Planning Officer, Mr Anthony Holmes - Dept. of Infrastructure - Planning Officer, Ms Hazel Fletcher - Dept. Of Infrastructure - Highways Design Engineer. Mr Kevin Almond - Dept. Of Infrastructure - Highways Design Engineer. Mr Ian Wade - Dept. of Infrastructure - Drainage Engineer, Mr John Kneen - Dept. of Infrastructure - Drainage Engineer, Mr John Kelly - loM Fire \& Rescue Service,
The advice given within these pre-application consultations has been incorporated into the drawings and information which form the basis of this application.
1 The replacement dwelling is designed to provide the type and scope of accommodation required by the applicant. The property is situated partially on and partially off the footprint of the dwelling it replaces, taking advantage of the natural slope in the ground level to the South to accommodate a basement swimming pool which is therefore substantially invisible.
2 The main residential accommodation is contained within a two-storey section of the building which follows a traditional form, having a symmetrical SouthWest facing elevation with two storey height splay fronted bay windows to each side of the central feature entrance door with window over. This is complemented by capped gables with working fireplaces and chimneys to both gable walls. The roof is a pitched roof in a natural slate finish, whilst the walls are a self coloured render finish. Feature render details and corbelling is present to provide a quality of detail to the property. To the end gables and rear of the property, the level of detail is reduced to follow a more traditional pattern as identified in Policies 2-7 of Planning Circular 3/91, and as would be normal within a grander house in the countryside.
3 To the North-East elevation of the dwelling is a two-storey pitched roof offshot which houses part of the residential accommodation. This again follows traditional forms of Policies 2-7 of Planning Circular 3/91 with a capped gable and a chimney. The materials and finishes of this off-shot match those of the main section of the building. Between this and the main body of the house is a single-storey orangery/garden room which is designed to a higher standard of detail, again reflecting a higher quality dwelling in the countryside.
4 To the North side of the dwelling is an attached garage with guest suite accommodation above within the attic space. This element is attached to the main dwelling but is finished in Manx stone, and is smaller in height, reflecting the scale of a traditional barn structure. The windows to the guest suite are a mix of dormer windows facing into the grouping of buildings, and conservation type 'Velux' sky-lights to the outer facing elevation, giving the impression of this being a converted barn, and reducing the mass of the dwelling as a whole. Manx stone walls have been employed between the side gable of the main dwelling and the garage to enclose a courtyard with gates to provide vehicular access from the new access lane adjacent.
Whilst the replacement dwelling is larger than the existing, the footprint of the proposal has been kept to a minimum for a larger dwelling in the countryside, avoiding the frequent sprawl that occurs with the introduction of swimming pool and leisure facilities, as a result of the use of the topography of the site to accommodate this within the basement. This, coupled to the change in materials for the different elements of the dwelling, has in the applicant's opinion significantly reduced the potential impact on the surrounding area, and has resulted in a building which is in keeping with its surroundings.
The location of the site of the replacement dwelling, which is invisible from any major road within the area, and which is several hundred metres from the nearest residential building, results in a very low impact of development on the surrounding countryside.
Solar Panels - Solar panels are to be mounted on the South facing slope of the off-shot roof of the dwelling to provide hot water heating. This will provide the majority of the hot water heating requirements for the dwelling for the year, minimising the need for fossil fuels. However, these panels have been positioned sensitively to avoid any significant visual impact.
Ground Source Heat Pump - A ground source heat pump is to be used as the boiler system for space heating for the dwelling, a system which utilises ground 'slinkies' buried within trenches to generate heat via an electrical compressor system. This form of heat production is extremely efficient, developing 4.5 Kw of heat output for each 1 Kw of electricity used in powering the system. The ground source heat pump is to be linked to an under-floor heating system which provides space heating at significantly lower input temperatures than traditional boiler and radiator systems, typically using less than half the energy to produce the same internal temperature.
Rainwater Harvesting - It is proposed that the rainwater run-off from the roofs and from hard-standings will be discharged to a 'K largester' rainwater harvesting tank which will be situated below ground. This tank, together with its filtration system, will utilise the rainwater and after filtering will pump it back into the dwelling as 'Grey Water' for use in the flushing of W.C.'s, clothes washing etc. The rainwater storage tank will also have an over-flow discharge to a soak-away to deal with excess water in times of storm conditions. As the storage capacity available from this and the other application roofs is large, it is proposed that this water storage will also be connected to a pumped hydrant system, allowing for fire fighting water supplies should they be required.
Foul Water Bio-Disc - In order to deal with the foul water drainage from the dwelling it is proposed to utilise a 'K largester Bio-Disc' which is essentially an individual packaged sewage treatment plant which takes domestic effluent, and after treating it, produces a cleaned effluent which can safely be discharged to a tail drain soak-away or in some circumstances to a water course. The bio-disc will be sized to suit the maximum effluent output from the dwelling, together with that of the adjacent tourist units.
.5 The need to provide adequate space for the inclusion of these technologies, including separation distances between the dwelling and the bio-disc, the dwelling and the water storage tank and associated soak-away, and between each of these items from each other has necessitated the location of these devises in the land adjacent to the dwelling which has been clearly denoted on the application drawings.
.1 From the new access road approved under PA10/01672/B, a new access lane is proposed which provides a vehicular link from the new entrance to the replacement dwelling. The new access lane included within this application is sized to provide adequate vehicular access to the replacement dwelling and adjacent tourist accommodation, and takes the form of a single carriageway width with passing places along its route. This access lane follows the line of the adjacent Manx sod hedge in order to minimise any visual impact.
. 1 The replacement dwelling has been designed generally to accord with Policies 2-7 of Planning Circular 3/91, but with a higher quality South-West elevation. The replacement dwelling responds to the site, taking advantage of the natural contours to reduce the footprint of the dwelling, whilst the variation in height and materials of the main building and the garage, coupled to the positioning of the dwelling on the site in relation to the existing barns sets the proposals firmly within the surrounding landscape in a traditional farm grouping.
1 The application site currently houses an existing two-storey barn constructed from Manx stone walls with a pitched roof finished in natural slate. The barn has been subject to some minor alterations, but retains much of its original form and detail. This barn also has a smaller single-storey brick built barn to its South-Western end, which also has a pitched roof finished in natural slate. The barns are situated to the North-West of the existing Ballavartyn House property and are currently utilised for general storage associated with the existing equestrian facilities. The total floor area of the existing barns measured externally is 265 square metres.
2 A structural survey of the stone barn has been carried out by messrs Curtins Consulting Engineers and their structural report is included in the application package, whilst photographs of the existing barns are included in Appendix B of this document.
3 Located between the existing barns and the existing house is a single storey former cart shed which is currently in use as stables. This building is constructed from Manx stone with a pitched roof finished in natural slate. This building has a floor area of 49 square metres. Photographs of this building are also included in Appendix B of this document.
. 1 The site is not covered by any local plan, therefore the 1982 Development Plan Order is the determining document in terms of land use. The site is identified as being within an area with a general designation of High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Significance, although it should be noted that it is situated at the very Western edge of this designation.
2 The main policies within the Strategic Plan which are relevant to the proposals are General Policy 3 - Section (b) which allows the conversion of redundant rural buildings and Environment Policy 16 which states; 'The use of existing rural buildings for new purposes such as tourist, or small-scale industrial/commercial use may be permitted where: a) It is demonstrated that the building is no longer required for its original purpose and where the building is substantially intact and structurally capable of renovation; b) The reuse of the building will result in the preservation of fabric which is of historic, architectural, or social interest or is otherwise of visual attraction; c) It is demonstrated that the building could accommodate the new use without requiring extension or adverse change to appearance or character; d) There would not be unacceptable implications in terms of traffic generation; e) Conversion does not lead to dispersal of activity on such a scale as to prejudice the vitality and viability of existing town and village services; and f) The use of existing buildings involves significant levels of redevelopment to accommodate the new use, the benefits secured by the proposal in terms of impact on the environment and the rural economy shall outweigh the continued impact of retaining the existing buildings on site.
Proposals to convert rural buildings to residential accommodation will be considered along with the advice given at Section 8.10 of this document'
As the application proposals are to convert the existing barns into self contained residential units for tourist use, then the guidance of Section 8.10 of the IoM Strategic Plan 2007 is relevant in this case. Section 8.10 sets out the relevant policy for the conversion of rural buildings into dwellings via Housing Policy 11 which states; 'Housing Policy 11: Conversion of existing rural buildings into dwellings may be permitted, but only where: (a) Redundancy for the original use can be established; (b) The building is substantially intact and structurally capable of renovation; (c) The building is of architectural, historic, or social interest; (d) The building is large enough to form a satisfactory dwelling, either as it stands or with modest, subordinate extension which does not affect adversely the character or interest of the building;
(e) Residential use would not be incompatible with adjoining established uses or, where appropriate, land use zonings on the area plan; and (f) The building is or can be provided with satisfactory services without unreasonable public expenditure.
Taking the requirements of HP11 above, the existing barns were originally constructed for agricultural purposes. The existing property is now a private residence with the 43 acres used for equestrian purposes. The barns are therefore redundant for their original purpose.
The main two-storey barn which is original has been surveyed by Messrs Curtins Consulting Engineers Ltd and their structural survey is included within the application package. This identifies that whilst the existing structure has some repair issues, that the building is suitable for and capable of conversion. The single storey barns have not been surveyed as the brick built section is newer and is visually in good condition, whilst the single storey stone former cart shed is not proposed to be for residential use, but to be used as garaging for the residential tourist units.
From the application proposals it can be seen that the existing barns are sufficiently large to form satisfactory dwellings, particularly for tourist use without the need for any form of extension, and also can be carried out whilst not only maintaining the character or interest of the buildings, but restoring the character which had previously been lost in some less sensitive alterations in the past.
The adjoining established use is a residential dwelling, with which the application proposals fully accord. In addition, as the adjacent dwelling is to be replaced, and will be in the same ownership and control, then the potential for any harm is eradicated.
As the existing site is provided with services it is not envisaged that any such issues will be raised as a result of the application proposals. In addition, as there is a new vehicular access being proposed from the main A5 through to the application site, then the ability to provide improved services to the site exists at no cost to the public purse.
As demonstrated above, the proposals accord with items a) to f) of Housing Policy 11, and therefore the applicant believes the application proposals to be acceptable under current policy.
During the design process, the applicants architect has carried out consultations with;
Mr Steven Stanley - Dept. Of Infrastructure - Planning Officer, Mr Anthony Holmes - Dept. of Infrastructure - Planning Officer, Ms Hazel Fletcher - Dept. Of Infrastructure - Highways Design Engineer. Mr Kevin Almond - Dept. Of Infrastructure - Highways Design Engineer. Mr Ian Wade - Dept. of Infrastructure - Drainage Engineer, Mr John Kneen - Dept. of Infrastructure - Drainage Engineer, Mr John Kelly - IoM Fire \& Rescue Service,
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