Officer Report

Application No.: 17/01057/B Applicant: Brian Richard Matthew Proposal: Creation of block paved off street parking area for two vehicles Site Address: 5 Murrays Lake Drive Mount Murray Douglas Isle Of Man IM4 2GZ Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley Photo Taken: 14.11.2017 Site Visit: 14.11.2017 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 21.11.2017 _________________________________________________________________

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.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

The development hereby approved relates to Drawings 5MLD.001, 5MLD.002, 5MLD.003 and 5MLD.004, all date-stamped as having been received 6th October 2017.

_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

None. _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE - 1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of 5 Murray Lake Drive, which is an almost rectangular parcel of land containing a semi-detached two-storey dwelling.

1.2 The dwelling, the northern of the pair, is set back from the road, with a lawned garden bifurcated by a pedestrian footpath sited between the road and the dwelling. Along this road, a number of the dwellings have off-road parking formed by an area of rectangular hardstanding (albeit it appears some of these are communal), while retaining some grass between these areas and the dwelling. Others, like the application site, have no off-road parking. It is to be remembered that the road is not adopted highway in this estate.

2.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICATION - 2.1 Full planning approval is sought for the creation of an off-road parking area. This would measure 6.5m in width and 6.0m in length, and would retain a narrow strip (roughly 0.5m) of griselinia hedging on the currently lawned garden either side. - 2.2 The applicant explains that no changes in levels are proposed. The parking area will be laid with block paviours, and the drop-kerb lain fully across the 6.5m-width, with pin kerbs finishing the other three sides. The area would provide parking for two private vehicles associated with the application site.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 Neither the site itself nor the neighbouring dwellings have been the subject of any previous applications considered relevant to the assessment of this proposal. The other offroad parking areas do not seem to benefit from planning approval, although some of those areas may have been set out when the estate itself was laid out.

4.0 PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 As such, the application falls to be assessed against parts (b), (c), (g), (h) and (i) of General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Highway Services of the DoI have not commented at the time of writing (18 days after the end of the consultation period). - 5.2 Santon Commissioners offered no objection to the application on 13th October 2017.

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 There was initially some concern about the creation of off-road parking and how this might prevent the Department from resisting future such applications, which, collectively, would result in the loss of significant swathes of front gardens and have the unfortunate effect of replacing much of the grassed gardens with car parking. However, it is clear from the context of the area that there are already several such areas in existence and that which is proposed here is of an appropriate size for the use intended (that is, it is not unnecessarily large). It is particularly noted that the front gardens of the dwellings here are quite long, meaning that development such as that proposed will not remove the entirety of the front garden.

7.0 CONCLUSION - 7.1 Accordingly, this application is considered acceptable in the context of the relevant planning policies and also being mindful of possible future development proposals.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 Article 6(4), the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• (a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• (b) 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;

• (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material
• (d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and
• (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

8.2 The decision maker must determine:

• o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than the Department of Infrastructure Highway Services Division) are material, and
• o whether there are other persons to those listed in Article 6(4) who should be given Interested Person Status.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Head of Development Management in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 23.11.2017 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

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