DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 19/00536/B Applicant: Mr Gary Blackburn Proposal: Erection of replacement detached dwelling with attached garage, associated access road and landscaping Site Address: The Quadrant Phildraw Road Ballasalla Isle of Man IM9 3EG Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 01.07.2019 _________________________________________________________________

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. Prior to the commencement of works, details of the measures to be undertaken to protect all existing trees on site from damage during construction works, must be approved by the Department and the development must be undertaken in accordance with these details.

Reason: To ensure that the development accords with Planning Circular 8/89 and that it has an acceptable impact on the landscape.

• C 3. Prior to the commencement of any building work, details of the species of the trees to be planted must be approved by the Department and the planting scheme undertaken in accordance with those details thereafter.

Reason: To ensure that the development has an appropriate landscaped setting in accordance with Planning Circular 8/89.

• C 4. All planting, seeding or turfing comprised in the approved details of landscaping must be carried out in the first planting and seeding seasons following the completion of the development or the occupation of the dwelling, whichever is the sooner. Any trees or plants which within a period of five years from the completion of the development die, are removed,

or become seriously damaged or diseased must be replaced in the next planting season with others of a similar size and species.

Reason: The landscaping of the site is an integral part of the scheme and must be implemented as approved.

• C 5. Prior to the occupation of the dwelling, the garage, car parking and manoeuvring areas shall be provided and remain free from obstruction thereafter. Reason: In the interests of highway safety.
• C 6. Prior to any other construction in association with the development hereby approved, the proposed access shown in the approved drawings must be constructed and the visibility splays shall remain unobstructed at a height of 1.05m thereafter. Once this access is fully available to the dwelling hereby approved, the original access must be permanently blocked off as shown in drawing 020, with banking and hedging to match that to the south.

Reason: In the interests of highway safety and to ensure that the development is undertaken in accordance with the approved plans.

• C 7. Prior to the demolition of the existing building, a bat survey must be undertaken to determine whether there are any bats or roosts present. This survey must be approved by the Department. If evidence of bats are found the survey must be accompanied by a report which outlines appropriate mitigation including a timescale of the proposed works and the development must be undertaken in accordance with these approved details.

Reason: To ensure that the development accords with Environment Policy 4 and the Wildlife Act 1990.

• C 8. Prior to the occupation of the new dwelling hereby approved, the existing access shown in drawing 020 to be blocked up, must be closed with banking and hedging to match that to the south.

Reason: In the interests of highway safety and to ensure that the development is undertaken in accordance with the approved plans.

Plans/Drawings/Information:

This approval relates to drawings 010, 011, 012, 020, 100, 120, 121, 122 and 320 and the Design and Access Statement all date stamped and received 9th May 2019.

_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

It is recommended that the following party should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 6(4):

Manx National Heritage as they have not explained how the development would impact the lawful use of land owned or occupied by them and in relation to the relevant issues identified in paragraph 2C of the Policy, as is required by paragraph 2D of the Policy.

Officer’s Report THE SITE

1.1 The site is the residential curtilage of an existing dwelling, The Quadrant which is situated on the western side of Phildraw Road. A new access has been introduced to the property which also serves a new house which has been approved in detail along with the principle of either retaining The Quadrant, or replacing it with a new dwelling within the newly established residential curtilage. The property currently has its own access which is separate from the newly created one, located to the north of the new access. THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed is the replacement of The Quadrant with a new dwelling, situated further forward and closer to the highway, in line with the approved dwelling immediately to the south. Access will be through the new, shared access to the south of the existing driveway which is to be blocked off and grubbed up.

2.2 The new house will be two storey (the existing is single storey) with a steeply pitched roof which contains rooflights and internal accommodation. It contains elements of stonework and has the character of a modern dwelling. - 2.3 The proposed dwelling will 2m taller and a full two storeys in height, designed very formally with large, vertically proportioned windows and a first floor central balcony supported on eight rendered pillars and a pitched roof rising from behind a substantial parapet wall. The rear will be similar but with larger expanses of glazing including a first floor balcony with glazed balustrade and with a garden room built simply in glazing with slim support poles. The dwelling will have attached to it a three car garage. - 2.4 The dwelling is designed in accordance with Planning Circular 3/91 section 8 which looks at grander houses in their own grounds, of which there are many examples in the Manx landscape.

PLANNING POLICY

3.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Area Plan for the South adopted in 2013 as Proposed Low Density Housing in Parkland. As such, the development should follow the guidance in Planning Circular 8/89 which requires that such development comprises a dwelling sitting in its own grounds of at least one acre and where there a high quality of design and integral landscaping. The site is around 1.5 acres in area.

3.2 The Circular also suggests that existing trees and landscape features should be retained. - 3.3 As the development is consistent with the land use designation, the general standards of development set out General Policy 2 are applicable here as follows:

General Policy 2: 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 the development:

• (b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them;
• (c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape;

• (f) incorporates where possible existing topography and landscape features, particularly trees and sod banks and
• (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality".

3.4 The details of access have been provided previously and the blocking up of the existing access will result in improved visibility from and of vehicles emerging from the site.

3.5 Environment Policy 4 protects ecology and particularly protected species identified in the Wildlife Act 1990.

PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 The planning application which approved the entrance details was 17/00960/B which also included the details of the new house to the south. Before that, approval was granted for the principle of the erection of a detached dwelling to the south of The Quadrant, including the retention of the existing dwelling (16/00354/A): this included the details of the means of access which was carried through to the next detailed application. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Malew Parish Commissioners have no objection (29.05.19).

5.2 Highway Services have no objection subject to the imposition of the same conditions as were imposed on 17/00969/B. - 5.3 Manx National Heritage wish to highlight the potential for the existing building to accommodate bats particularly in a treed area which is suitable for a number of bat species. They request that a survey of the building for bats is undertaken before the building is demolished and suitable mitigation agreed if bats are found to be present (05.06.19).

ASSESSMENT

6.1 The issues in this case are whether the proposal complies with the requirements in Planning Circular 8/89 and also whether the development complies with the general standards of development set out in GP2.

6.2 The dwelling will sit in its own grounds of more than 1 acre so complies with this aspect of PC8/89. All existing trees on site are to be retained and enhanced through additional planting. The dwelling is well designed and formal which is appropriate to the setting and size of the site and different to that approved alongside to the south, adding to the interest of the streetscene which generally comprises a range of large houses which differ in terms of age, design, finish and character. - 6.3 The dwelling will have less impact on the newly approved dwelling to the south due to its location and orientation, with less opportunity for overlooking and inter-visibility. The dwelling will also have more private space to the rear. - 6.4 The conditions suggested by Highway Services and Manx National Heritage will be applied.

CONCLUSION

7.1 The proposal is considered to accord with the relevant Strategic and Area Plan policies and is supported. A condition should be attached which requires the protection of existing trees on site prior to the commencement of works. The house to the south had far fewer trees on this part of the site and as such, such a condition was not required there. 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.

8.3 The Department of Environment Food and Agriculture is responsible for the determination of planning applications. As a result, where officers within the Department make comments in a professional capacity they cannot 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 : 11.07.2019 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

Customer note

This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the file copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online services/customers and archive records.