Officer Report

Application No.: 25/90561/B Applicant: Mr Graham Thomas Proposal: Replacement of garage door with door and window Site Address: Upper Mill Ballanass Road Lower Foxdale Isle Of Man IM4 3BE Planning Officer: Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 23.07.2025 _________________________________________________________________

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 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.

It is considered that there is no demonstrable harm arising from the proposal and, in view of the provisions of Housing Policy 15 & 16 and General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, the application is therefore recommended for approval.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 18th June 2025;

• o Location Plan
• o Site Plan
• o Existing Floor Plans
• o Proposed Floor Plans _________________________________________________________________

Right to Appeal None

Officer’s Report

THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is within the residential curtilage of Upper Mill, Lower Foxdale which is a three storey dwelling situated to the East of Ballanass Road. Due to the topography of the site, the property appears as two storey from the main Ballanass Road and three storey from the Eastern garden of the property. - 1.2 The property is situated slightly lower than the main Ballanass Road and currently had a parking apron situated to the Western side of the plot adjacent to the main Ballanass Road. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for the removal of the existing garage doors and the installation of a new door and window. All materials are to match the existing dwelling. PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 The previous applications on the site are not relevant in the assessment of this application. PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "Not for Development, Area of High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Significance and an Area of Private Woodland or Parkland," on the 1982 Development Map, South Map. The site is not within a Conservation Area but is within a Surface Water - Low Likelihood Flood Risk Area.

4.2 The key policies for this application are Housing Policy 15 due to the traditional elements of the property, which states (in full), "The extension or alteration of existing traditionally styled properties in the countryside will normally only be approved where these respect the proportion, form and appearance of the existing property. Only exceptionally will permission be granted for extensions which measure more than 50% of the existing building in terms of floor space (measured externally)" and Housing Policy 16 due to the non-traditional parts of the property, which states (in full), "The extension of non-traditional dwellings or those of poor or inappropriate form will not generally be permitted where this would increase the impact of the building as viewed by the public." - 4.3 There are a number of other relevant policies specific to this application, Strategic Policy 5 which seeks that new development should make a positive contribution to the environment of the Island, General Policy 2 sets out general development control standards in connection with the Residential Design Guidance, General Policy 3 states that development will not be permitted outside of those areas which are zoned for development on the appropriate Area Plan other than a number of stated exceptions, which do not include the extension of existing dwellings and Environment Policy 1 seeks to prevent development which would adversely affect the side other than in exceptional circumstances. - 4.4 Other material considerations for this application is the Residential Design Guidance (2021) which, although focused on dwellings within settlements, does offer advice in relation to the impact on neighbours and also Planning Policy Statement 3/91 which provides guidance on the design of residential development in the countryside.

REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 The following representations can be found in full online, below is a short summary;

5.2 No comments have been received from Malew Parish Commissioners at the time of this report.

5.3 DEFA Forestry have considered the application and state, "There are registered trees on site but they are not impacted and it would appear that the likely construction would have little impact upon the retained trees given its nature." (23.06.25)

ASSESSMENT

6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are:

• - principle of development (GP3, EP1 and HP15);
• - character and appearance (GP2, HP15, EP1)
• - Impact upon neighbouring amenity (GP2)
• - other matters

- 6.2 PRINCIPLE

• 6.2.1 The sites is not designated for development, nor does it meet the expectation criteria in General Policy 3. However, Housing Policy 15 and 16, with their supporting text clearly allow for residential alterations and extensions in the countryside where they would not detract from the countryside which, in the case of the extension of traditional/ non traditional dwellings where they would not have a substantial increase in terms of floor area (over 50%) nor where the proposed works would increase the impact of the dwelling as viewed by the public.
• 6.2.2 Whilst the property in large can be seen from the main Ballanass Road, due to its location directly along the roadside, in the case of the proposed works due to their nature it's unlikely that they would impact the main dwelling nor the overall streetscene due to their residential nature. As such the principle of the development is deemed acceptable.
• 6.3 CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE

• 6.3.1 The starting point when assessing the character and appearance of the proposal upon the property is the existing dwelling, which has over time had several non-traditional elements attached to it. With this in mind whilst the works themselves are not traditional, they will not appear out of place within the existing elevation of the dwelling.
• 6.3.2 Overall from a character and appearance point of view the proposal is deemed acceptable. It's noted that the proposal states that the brickwork will match the existing dwelling, as the property is distinctive in its appearance, with the property being Manx Stone this should be conditioned.

- 6.4 IMPACT UPON NEIGHBOURING AMENITY

• 6.4.1 The proposed works are deemed not to impact the neighbour amenity, due to the distance the neighbours are to the application site and the proposed works.

6.5 OTHER MATTERS

• 6.5.1 It's noted that the site is situated within a surface water flood risk area, and as such a Flood Risk Assessment as per Environment Policy 10 is required. Whilst this is the case, the proposed works are not increasing the additional footprint of the property nor making an existing situation worse, as such in this case it is deemed that a Flood Risk Assessment is not required.

CONCLUSION

7.1 The proposal complies with Housing Policy 15 & 16 and General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016. RIGHT TO APPEAL AND RIGHT TO GIVE EVIDENCE - 8.1 The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 sets out the process for determining planning applications (including appeals). It sets out a Right to Appeal (i.e. to submit an appeal against a planning decision) and a Right to Give Evidence at Appeals (i.e. to participate in an appeal if one is submitted).

8.2 Article A10 sets out that the right to appeal is available to:

• o applicant (in all cases);
• o a Local Authority; Government Department; Manx Utilities; and Manx National Heritage that submit a relevant objection; and
• o any other person who has made an objection that meets specified criteria.

8.3 Article 8(2)(a) requires that in determining an application, the Department must decide who has a right to appeal, in accordance with the criteria set out in article A10. - 8.4 The Order automatically affords the Right to Give Evidence to the following (no determination is required):

• o any appellant or potential appellant (which includes the applicant);
• o the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, the Department of Infrastructure and the local authority for the area;
• o any other person who has submitted written representations (this can include other Government Departments and Local Authorities); and
• o in the case of a petition, a single representative.

8.5 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 the Right to Appeal.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Principal Planner in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded interested person status and/or rights to appeal.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 24.07.2025 Determining Officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner

Customer note This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the office copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online service/ customers and archive record.