Officer Report

Application No.: 24/91168/B Applicant: Mr & Mrs Scott Stewart Proposal: Construction of detached garage Site Address: Crofton Baldhoon Road Laxey Isle Of Man IM4 7NA Planning Officer: Vanessa Porter Photo Taken: 24.01.2025 Site Visit: 24.01.2025 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 28.01.2025 _________________________________________________________________

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.

• C 2. The garage hereby approved shall only be used in association with the tourist units named "Margarita Cottage" for purposes incidental to the use of the tourist units.

Reason: The original application PA20/00431/B was approved with parking for the tourist units situated where the proposed garage is to be situated and has been considered on the basis of parking for the tourist units only.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposal complies with General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 23rd October 2024;

• o Drawing No. 24-121-PL01 Rev A
• o Photos of the application site

This decision also relates to an drawing no. 24-121-PL04 Rev B dated received 20th January 2025, an email dated 27th January 2025 and drawing no. 24-121-PL03 Rev B dated received 28th January 2025

_________________________________________________________________ Right to Appeal

It is recommended that the following organisations should NOT be given the Right to Appeal: DOI Highway Services - No Objection DOI Highway Drainage - No Objection Garff Commissioners - No Objection

_________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The site represents the residential curtilage of 'Crofton', Baldhoon Road Laxey which is an existing dwelling situated on the northern side of the Baldhoon Road, on the rising slopes of the western side of Laxey Village. The property is one of the last on the right as one leaves the village to approach Glen Roy. - 1.2 The access to Crofton, sits between 'Chalma' and 'Ballamilghn Villa' which sit to the east and west respectively, with the latter sitting directly below the application property. The access winds upward, past Margarita Cottage and there is also a pedestrian access from the main road. Margarita Cottage, Chalma and Crofton all share the same point of access from the Baldhoon Road with Margarita Cottage and Crofton having a right of way off the lane which continues northwest. - 1.3 The existing dwelling on site is a two storey detached traditional styled dwelling which has seen new extensions in the form of a two storey pitch roofed side extension and a monopitch roofed attached garage to the side of the two storey extension. - 1.4 The dwelling like the other neighbouring properties on the northern side of the highway sits on a significantly high elevation with completely conceals views from the surrounding highways, with the mature landscaping which is set around the existing dwelling serving to further screen the dwelling form public views. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for the erection of a single storey garage which is situated to the first bend of the driveway. The proposed garage is to measure 6.5m by 6.5m with an overall pitched roof height of 5.1m. The proposed garage is to be rendered and to have roof slates. PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 There are two previous applications which are relevant to the assessment of this application,

3.2 PA23/00459/B - Alterations and extensions to existing dwelling, including the removal of a two storey extension and single storey garage - Permitted

3.3 PA20/00431/B - Conversion of dwelling to 2 holiday cottages with associated parking Permitted with the following condition; Condition 2 - Prior to the occupation of any holiday cottage the car parking area, as shown on Site Plan date stamped received 23rd March 2020, shall be provided and remain free from obstruction thereafter. Reason: To ensure that the strategic plan car parking standards are met in the interest of highway safety. PLANNING POLICY

4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "Predominantly Residential" on the Area Plan for the East, Map 7 - Laxey. The site is not situated within a Flood Risk Zone nor a Conservation Area.

4.2 Given the nature of the site and the land designation, the most relevant Isle of Man Strategic Plan policy would be General Policy 2 which sets out the general standards towards acceptable development, this is then followed by Transport Policy 7 in connection with Appendix 7 which sets out general parking standards. - 4.3 The Residential Design Guidance (2021) is also relevant and provides advice on the design of new houses and extensions to existing property as well as how to assess the impact of such development on the living conditions of those in adjacent residential property.

4.4 Furthermore consideration shall also be given to Community Policies 7 & 11 in respect of reducing outbreak of fire and preventing criminal activity and Infrastructure Policy 5 in respect of water conservation. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 The following representations can be found in full online, below is a short summary;

5.2 Highway Services have considered the proposal and state "No Highways Interest." (01.11.24) - 5.3 Garff Commissioners have considered the proposal and state, "It was noted that the proposed garage would be 6.5m x 6.5m x 6m high and be on the lower slopes of the approach drive to the Crofton property. The consensus was that the visual impact caused by the new dwelling would not be detrimental to the character of the area and not significant enough to warrant an objection." (11.11.24) - 5.4 DOI Highway Drainage have written in (19.11.24) to comment, "Allowing surface water runoff onto a public highway would contravene Section 58 of the Highway Act 1986 and guidance contained in section 11.3.11 of the Manual for Manx Roads. Recommendation: As detailed levels are not shown the Applicant should be aware of and demonstrate compliance with the clause above."

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

• - character and appearance (GP2,b & c)
• - impact on neighbouring amenity (GP2, g)
• - other matters (RDG, CP7, 11 & IP5)
• - compliance with PA20/00431/B & Transport Policy 7

6.2 CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE 6.2.1 There is a general presumption in favour of extensions or alterations to existing properties as per Paragraph 8.12.1 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, where such works would not have an adverse impact on either adjacent properties or the surrounding area in general.

• 6.2.3 Baldhoon Road is a mix of properties at varying heights, with the application site being raised by quite a bit in the overall streetscene, as such the addition of a garage within this part of the property will be noticeable. Whilst this is the case, the proposal is for a typical sized and designed garage, which would not look out of place at the front of a property, as such once it is built it is unlikely to impact the overall character and appearance of the overall streetscene above and beyond what is currently in place. As such these aspects are deemed to comply with General Policy 2 (b) & (c).

- 6.3 NEIGHBOURING AMENITY

• 6.3.1 When looking at the proposal and whether there would be an impact upon neighbouring amenity, the closest property to be impacted is "Chalma" which is situated to the East of the proposed garage
• 6.3.2 The level and scale of development proposed here, especially being single storey are considered to be relatively modest and not judged to cause harm to the enjoyment of the main dwellinghouse or considered to harm the neighbouring amenity, specifically those to the rear and sides. On balance, these aspects would be considered to be compliant with those sections of General Policy 2(g).

- 6.4 OTHER MATTERS

• 6.4.1 Whilst the proposed works are not an extension to the already existing dwelling but stand alone, it is expected that the proposal would not create any changes or new issues in respect of criminal activity or spread of fire. The proposal would be introducing a new surface area, whilst this is the case the application form provided states that any water run off would be dealt with as per the existing arrange of the main dwelling. It is not expected that the proposed garage would increase the water usage of the main dwelling and therefore there are no new issues in this respect.

6.5 COMPLIANCE WITH PA20/00431/B & TRANSPORT POLICY 7

• 6.5.1 When assessing the application it was noted that the site where the proposed garage is to be situated was part of the overall property which was conditioned for parking under PA20/00431/B for the holiday cottages and formed part of the approval. As such a query was raised with the agent on what the purpose of the garaging is and an additional site plan was received.

• 6.5.2 The agent confirmed that the proposed garages are to be used in connection with the existing holiday accommodation, therefore, for the proposed works to comply with condition 2 of PA20/00431/B then a condition should be attached to this application for the garage to only be used in connection with the holiday accommodation.
• 6.5.3 Having discussed the condition with the agent, they have confirmed that a similar condition can be added to this application.

CONCLUSION

7.1 The planning application would be an acceptable form of development that has been designed to ensure that it would not harm the use and enjoyment of neighbouring properties and would comply with General Policy 2 and Transport Policy 7 and therefore recommended for approval. 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.

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: 06.02.2025 Determining Officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner

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