Design Statement

David Baxter Ltd

Legal and Architectural Drawing Work

Design Statement

Project: Retrospective application for the extension to the driveway of 22 Close Cubbon, Peel, IM5 1NS Project no: J25020 Date: 31st May 2025

1.0 The Site and Surrounding Area ......................................................................................... 3

Photograph 1 Site aerial photograph taken in 2023 .................................................................................... 3
Photograph 2 Existing original fence on Derby Road ................................................................................... 4
Photograph 3 Existing original fence and stone wall on Close Cubbon ....................................................... 4
Photograph 4 Close Cubbon estate aerial photograph taken in 2023 ......................................................... 5

2.0 The Completed Works and Proposed Alterations ............................................................. 5

Photograph 5 As built fence and driveway looking down Close Cubbon .................................................... 6
Photograph 6 As built driveway entrance .................................................................................................... 6

3.0 Submission Documents .................................................................................................... 7

1.0 The Site and Surrounding Area
1.1 The proposed site is 22 Close Cubbon, Peel. The site is a corner plot connected to 3 roads. Photograph 1 shows the site take from an aerial photo in September 2023. This has been overlaid with the Island basemap, with the property’s extents marked in red.
1.2 The original boundary was a mixture of high timber fences, dwarf stone retaining walls, and high bushes, which can be seen in photographs 1,2 & 3 below.

Photograph 1 Site aerial photograph taken in 2023

An aerial site plan showing property 12 on Cubbons Close with red boundary lines highlighting the front garden area proposed for conversion.

Aerial site plan showing property boundaries outlined in red along Derby Drive.

Photograph 2 Existing original fence on Derby Road

Photograph 3 Existing original fence and stone wall on Close Cubbon

A street-level photograph showing a wooden fence and hedging along a residential property boundary with parked cars visible on the adjacent road.

A photograph showing the side elevation of a residential property featuring a garage door and a wooden fence in the foreground.

A street-level photograph showing a paved driveway leading to a garage and a low brick wall topped with a wooden fence along the roadside.

1.3 Close Cubbon estate contains 22 houses, of which 4 properties have completely replaced their front gardens with hardstanding, and 2 others have expanded their hardstanding to over 65% of the front area, as can be seen in Photograph 4 below.

Photograph 4 Close Cubbon estate aerial photograph taken in 2023

2.0 The Completed Works and Proposed Alterations
2.1 Mr & Mrs Baxter are big car enthusiasts and collect cars as a hobby. These are not scrap vehicles creating an eyesore. The cars are all maintained and regularly used. The cars are not for sale, nor rent, and no profit is made from the vehicle storage. This is not a commercial venture of any kind.
2.2 At Mr & Mrs Baxter’s previous home, they kept their cars on the lawn. However this gave the impression that the cars were abandoned and caused a significant visual eyesore for the area. As you would expect, having grass under the vehicles caused them to rust, so they knew they needed a new solution. Prior to undertaking the works, the clients looked for a commercial location to house their collection. Unfortunately, they were unable to afford the rental cost so, rather than storing their 14+ cars on the public highway, they looked to create additional parking at their home, screened from the neighbours to reduce the visual impact. Initially, they consulted the online Planning Interactive House to see if they required Planning Approval, and believed that it confirmed that they did not. They then contacted various groundwork contractors to undertake the works, who confirmed to them, that Planning Approval was not required. After this they proceeded to converted their garden. This was an honest mistake on their part, rather than a malicious act but the owner, as they were mislead by the contractors.

2.3 The works undertaken were the removal of the approximately 1.8m+ tall bushes around the perimeter of the garden and to replace them with a gravel French drain to prevent water flowing from the site on to the public highway. Inside of that, a new blockwork retaining wall was built to allow for the slope of the ground level to be reduced and the creation of the reinforced concrete slabs to form the new surface. This surface was set to a gentle fall off the site to the French drain. The driveway was then screened from the road by a new lollipop timber fence matching that of the adjacent property, set at a height of 1.6m above the new ground level to ensure the cars were hidden from external view. The ground level was raised adjacent to the pavement edge by varying amounts up to 0.75m and can be seen as the horizontal timbers at the base off the fence and results in a maximum height of fence of 2.35m.

Photograph 5 As built fence and driveway looking down Close Cubbon

Photograph 6 As built driveway entrance

A panoramic photograph of a residential street showing detached houses, a wooden fence, and cars parked on the road and in driveways.

A panoramic photograph showing a row of residential houses with pitched roofs under a clear blue sky, likely depicting the street context for the application.

2.4 The works have not altered the access, nor pavement, and the removal of the hedge has improved the visibility splay from 7.0m to 11.5m looking left when exiting the driveway forward. The visibility splay could be improved further by removing more of the fence, but it was felt that this was a reasonable compromise between visibility and screening on such a low traffic cul-de-sac.
2.5 To further improve the site, the client is proposing that they install a channel drain across the front of the drive that was not present originally and run this to the French drain to further reduce any runoff of surface water on to the public highway. The proposed channel drain would be an ‘ACO Raindrain Driveway Channel Drain’ or similar domestic drain system suitable for vehicle loading. This could be installed within 4 months of approval, subject to the availability of a suitably approved contractor.
2.6 The new timber fence was intended to be in keeping with the existing high hit-and-miss timber fence that runs around the remaining curtilage (see photograph 3) and the owners are also looking to replace the existing fence with a lollipop fence to match the new fencing and that of the adjacent property, set at the same height as the existing fence. This would create a homogeneous look to the site using soft, natural materials.
2.7 It is felt that the new parking area, whilst large and stark, is in keeping with the estate as house No.’s 1,
8, 13 and 15 all having completely concrete hardstanding to the front of their properties and No.’s 12 and 14 having about 65% of their front as concrete, and will ensure their collection of vehicles are kept off the public highway.

3.0 Submission Documents

• Planning application form.
• Design statement.
• Location plan, drawing 01.
• Original site plan, drawing 02.
• As built site plan, drawing 03.

Design Statement

Design Statement

Design Statement

Contents

3.0 Submission Documents

Source & Provenance