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Application No.: 16/00586/A Applicant: Mr David Hathersich-Jones Proposal: Approval in principle for the erection of a detached dwelling Site Address: Land adjacent to Fasque Andreas Road Ramsey Isle of Man Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken: 13.11.2018 Site Visit: 13.11.2018 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Refused Date of Recommendation: 01.04.2019 _________________________________________________________________ Reasons for Refusal R : Reasons for Refusal O : Notes attached to reasons - R 1. The proposal would result in an additional property using an access which will not provide adequate visibility for drivers emerging from the site. Whilst the visibility will be better than what existed previously, it is not fully in accordance with highway safety standards and is not sufficient to justify a further dwelling using this access. The proposal therefore fails to accord with General Policy 2h and 2i of the Strategic Plan. - R 2. The proposed dwelling, by virtue of vehicles and pedestrians passing Fasque to access the new dwelling's access and parking area, together with any vehicular manoeuvring, will result in a diminution of the privacy and general amenity for the occupants of the existing property. Whilst it is proposed to screen this activity by fencing, this in itself will restrict outlook and light to Fasque, to the detriment of the persons occupying that property.
_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons
It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following property should be given Interested Person Status as they are 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):
St. Bridget's, as they satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status (July 2018). _____________________________________________________________________________
1.1 The site is part of the residential curtilage of Fasque, a detached dwelling which sits on the eastern side of the A9 highway which leads north out of Ramsey towards Andreas. Fasque had until recently, two entrances in front of it and a sizeable side garden to the south of the dwelling. Works are currently being undertaken to the property and the whole of the frontage has been removed. To the south of the site sits another detached dwelling, St. Bridget's and to the north is a further dwelling, Trincomalee. On the western side of the road is a dwelling, Mount Pleasant, with a further dwelling, The Croit, behind it and to the south of this is Thackeray House. St. Bridget's is a two storey house set in substantial grounds and whose rear elevation looks partly over the southern side garden of the application site. - 1.2 The speed of traffic past the site is restricted to 30mph: a derestricted sign appears around 43m to the north of the application site. THE PROPOSAL
2.1 Proposed is the principle of the erection of a new dwelling in the southern side garden of Fasque with all matters reserved for subsequent consideration. The planning application form indicates that the proposal will involve alteration or the creation of a new access, details of which have been provided, most recently in the form of a site plan and photographs which purport to demonstrate that sufficient visibility is available (120m towards Ramsey and 125m to the north). The applicant notes that access serving the properties on the other side of the road cannot achieve satisfactory visibility without encroaching on land owned by others. - 2.2 Further information has been provided in respect of how the privacy of those in Fasque will be maintained, with an illustration of walling and tree screening in front of the third bedroom window past which vehicles will be driven to get to and from the new dwelling. The applicant considers that the walling and planting will provide a welcome noise and visual buffer which also looks attractive. They suggest that vehicles passing Fasque will be travelling slowly. They describe 1.8m high fencing between the two properties, up to 2m away from the bedroom windows of Fasque and that the principal view and outlook from the property is to the rear where trees have been removed. - 2.3 The plans illustrate that the dwelling will be one and a half storeys with 526 sq m of site, 320 sq m of garden and the dwelling having a footprint of 105 sq m. - 2.4 The applicant describes the existing access as poor and the proposed revision would be better although part of the 45m visibility splay is over neighbours' land but they consider this a small compromise over the overall significant improvement. - 2.5 They have looked at other properties in the area and have found that many properties in the area sit in smaller amounts of plots. - 2.6 They explain that the applicant has recently had permission to remove all of the trees on the application site: these are leylandii and considered to have no purpose or value. The majority of these have been removed and in their view this has vastly improved the appearance of the site. Some trees have been retained and it is proposed to plant more in certain parts of the site to make it more aesthetically pleasing. They consider that the outlook from the new property would be pleasant especially at the rear overlooking fields behind the site. - 2.7 They explain that the dwelling is nearly 20m away from St. Bridget's and 10m from the mutual boundary and its design as a bungalow has limited impact from the height of the new building. There is a garage between St. Bridget's and the proposed dwelling which will reduce its impact along with the position of proposed windows which will reduce the possibility of overlooking. They consider that there would not be any additional noise from the proposed
development. They note that close boarded timber fencing is situated along the boundary up to a height of between 1.8m and 2m.
3.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Ramsey Local Plan of 1989 as Predominantly Residential. As such, there is a presumption in favour of residential development provided that the development accords with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan 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:
3.2 The Ramsey Local Plan contains a policy which is considered relevant: R/E/P3 Backland Development and Development in Grounds of Houses
7.20 There shall be a general presumption against backland development and development within the grounds of large houses on those sites which are well landscaped with ample tree coverage.
3.3 This echoes the provisions of the Strategic Plan, Environment Policy 42 which states:
Environment Policy 42: New development in existing settlements must be designed to take account of the particular character and identity, in terms of buildings and landscape features of the immediate locality. Inappropriate backland development, and the removal of open or green spaces which contribute to the visual amenity and sense of place of a particular area will not be permitted. Those open or green spaces which are to be preserved will be identified in Area Plans.
"Backland development(2)" (which is development on the land at the back of properties) may also be acceptable in some circumstances, but only if satisfactory access can be achieved and if there is sufficient space to provide adequate amenity for both new and existing adjoining dwellings.
"Tandem development (3)" (consisting of one house immediately behind another, and sharing the same access) is generally unacceptable because of the difficulties of access to the house at the back, and the disturbance and lack of privacy suffered by the house in front.
4.1 The site has been the subject of a previous application, 03/01404/A for a dwelling on this same site, which was refused at appeal for the reason that, even as proposed to be improved, the access would provide sightlines for drivers of vehicles emerging from the site which are well below the normal standard expected from a property onto the Andreas Road: whilst the changes would be welcome from the point of view of those in Fasque, they are not sufficient to serve an additional dwelling and the traffic that would generate. The inspector considered that the site was not a double plot and due to the limited frontage and general configuration of the
proposed building site this results in a doubling up of the use of the existing driveway which would bring vehicular traffic movement generated by the proposed dwelling across the front of the existing dwelling and he could not see how this would be anything other than unacceptable for the occupants of Fasque in terms of their privacy and amenity. He also expressed concern at the amount of amenity space available for the occupants of the new dwelling and did not consider that unacceptable in itself but concluded that that would bring noise and disturbance closer to St. Bridget's with a corresponding impact on the occupants of that property.
4.2 The application was refused for three reasons:
REPRESENTATIONS
5.1 Ramsey Town Commissioners have no objection to the application (20.06.16).
5.2 Highway Services advise that they have requested a drawing which shows the visibility from a point 2.4m back on the site and request a deferral pending this information (13.06.16). Further to the submission of additional information, Highway Services object to the application, stating that visibility of 43m from a point 2.4m back into the site are required within land owned by the applicant or on public highway with nothing above 1m in height within the visibility splay areas and this is not available, noting also that the photographs do not accurately show the visibility that would be available to someone in a vehicle emerging from the site. The required visibility is not achievable: that which is achievable is 2.4m by 12.5m to the left and 13m to the right. Even allowing a greater offset from the edge of carriageway, the splays would be 15m and 18m respectively to the left and right. If the application is approved they recommend a condition which requires that two parking spaces are provided along with sufficient manoeuvring space to allow vehicles to turn and enter and leave the site in a forward gear. (29.03.19).
5.3 The owners of St. Bridget's write in opposition to the application on 06.12.16, stating that the development would have a significantly deleterious effect on the residential amenity of their property including the levels of noise that would be created and an infringement on their privacy. They consider that the traffic using Andreas Road travels at speed and there is not enough room to create a safe means of access to the site. They also suggest that there would be a detrimental impact on the existing trees within the site and within St. Bridget's. - 5.4 An identical letter is received from this address on 12.12.16 and a further e-mail sent on 14.02.17 asking for the current state of the application. - 5.5 The occupants of St. Bridget's write in again on 05.11.18 reiterating their objection and requesting interested person status. ASSESSMENT
6.1 The principle of residential development in this area is not objectionable due to the land use designation of the site. It remains to be considered whether the proposal satisfies all of the requirements of General Policy 2, in particular, the requirement for a safe access and for the development to be visually acceptable in the streetscene and for the development not to have an adverse impact on the living conditions of those in adjacent property including Fasque. Whilst the backland and tandem development policies referred to above generally refer to development behind an existing dwelling, the implications are similar for development alongside an existing dwelling where there could be disturbance and lack of privacy suffered by the house alongside where traffic passes in front of it. Highway safety
6.2 The drawings submitted show visibility splays which are partially across land which is not in the applicant's ownership. Furthermore, the part to the south which is not owned by the applicant has trees and hedging on it, which obscure visibility for those emerging from the site, to the point that there is only around 15m to the inside of the nearside carriageway and over 60m to the far side. To the north, visibility is impaired by hedging and a large tree such that visibility is limited to only a little past the northern boundary of the site with a significant blind spot of the nearside carriageway to the north of that to Grest House.
6.3 There is clearly substandard visibility available for users of the site and whilst there would be a significant improvement from the proposed access above what previously existed, the increase in use of the access from the introduction of a further dwelling here would cancel out any benefit to the point that the access is unsafe. Visual impact - 6.4 There is unlikely to be a significant visual impact from a public perspective due to the existing tree and vegetation screen along the main road, which is associated with and in the control of St. Bridget's. Whilst the property would be visible from Bride Road, what would be seen would fit in with the existing view of Fasque and the property to the north. The necessity to introduce 1.8m high fencing forward of the property is not likely to have a positive impact on the appearance of the property. Impact on living conditions - 6.5 Both St. Bridget's and Fasque would be affected by the introduction of a dwelling here. It was considered in the previous application that both properties would be adversely affected and it is interesting to note that that application was for a bungalow whereas the current application is for a dormer bungalow which will be taller. Despite the previous conclusion that there would be an adverse impact on the enjoyment of St. Bridget's, there is little evidence that the building itself would adversely impact on the living conditions of those in the adjacent properties. The present concern is more the impact on Fasque through the passing of vehicles and people very close to its boundaries and windows. This position has not changed from the previous refusal and the impact on Fasque is proposed to be dealt with by the introduction of 1.8m high fencing in front of its front and side windows. This will alleviate any impact of overlooking but will bring new impacts of obstruction of light and outlook for those in these rooms. Whilst bedrooms are not principal rooms, it is clear that the outlook and light to and from these rooms will be affected and the need to erect fencing to prevent inter-visibility suggests that the development is unneighbourly and the solution contrived. - 6.6 Whilst the property could result in increased noise and activity nearer to the boundary of St. Bridget's, there is currently no restriction on how close users of the garden of Fasque can come to this boundary and as such, it is not accepted that the proposed dwelling would exacerbate this impact. CONCLUSION
7.1 It is not considered that the proposal overcomes the previous reasons for refusal in respect of access and highway safety and the impact on the living conditions of those in Fasque and as such the application is recommended for refusal. 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:
8.2 The decision maker must determine:
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 : Refused Date : 03.04.2019 Determining officer
Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management
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