Officer Report

Application No.: 17/00478/B Applicant: Mr Peter Morrisson Proposal: Blocking up of existing garage doorway Site Address: Carnane 9 Marathon Avenue Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 4JA Case Officer : Mr Steve Butler Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE - 1.1 The site is an existing terraced residential property to the North-West of Marathon Avenue. The properties have front gardens and on-street parking. To the rear is a lane giving vehicular access to the properties. The application site has a garage to the rear: the dimensions of the garage are 4.4m by 2.2m.

2.0 PROPOSAL - 2.1 It is proposed to block up the existing garage door to create a solid wall. The wall will be completed with pebble dash to match the rest of the house. The garage would be used as a shed/store room through which a new water main will run (as the old lead main is being replaced). The application form indicates that the garage is "far too small to accommodate a modern car".

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 No relevant applications have been identified.

4.0 DEVELOPMENT PLAN POLICIES - 4.1 The site is zoned as Predominantly Residential within the Douglas Local Plan (1998). It is not within a Conservation Area. - 4.2 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan (2016) General Policy 2 indicates that 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 it meets various detail criteria, which include:

• "(g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality"; and
• "(h) provides satisfactory amenity standards in itself, including where appropriate safe and convenient access for all highway users, together with adequate parking, servicing and manoeuvring space".

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Douglas Borough Council have indicated that they have no objections (12/05/17) - 5.2 DOI Highways stated, "The proposal is to change a garage door to a wall rendering it unusable as a garage. The application form states that the garage is too small for a modern car however there are no details of the size of the garage. The applicant is requested to provide the internal dimensions of the garage on a drawing to an appropriate scale. Highway Services requests that the application is deferred to allow the applicant to provide the required information".

5.3 The applicant provided additional information as requested and DOI were consulted, confirming on the 31/07/17 that they do not oppose the development.

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 Although it is unfortunate to lose potential parking spaces associated with dwellings in areas within limited parking, in light of the advice from highways it is considered acceptable in this instance. - 6.2 Although the application is not accompanied by detailed plans showing the finish, given the small scale of the proposal it is considered that the description within the application form is sufficient. However, a condition is proposed to ensure the finish matches the existing. - 6.3 It is considered unlikely that the workshop would be used for commercial purposes, given its size and location, and a condition could be attached to prevent this. However, if such a use went beyond an ancillary residential use a separate planning application would be required in any case and so a condition is not felt to be necessary.

7.0 RECOMMENDATION - 7.1 That the application be approved.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• o The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested;
• o Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material;
• o Highway Services of the Department of Infrastructure, and
• o The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 03.08.2017 Conditions and Notes for Approval: C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

• 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 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

• C 2. All work of making good shall be finished to match exactly the existing building fabric in respect of type, size, colour, bond, pointing, coursing, jointing, profile and texture. Reason: In the interests of the character and appearance of the site and surrounding area.

The development hereby approved relates to the details date stamped as having been received on the 28th April 2017.

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.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 04.08.2017 Determining officer

Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett Senior Planning Officer

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