Officer Report

Application No.: 25/90251/B Applicant: Rockborough Limited Proposal: Replacement of conservatory with single-storey extension to rear elevation, and associated terracing, steps and balustrades. Site Address: Sea Spray 6 Mona Terrace Castletown Isle Of Man IM9 1BH Planning Officer: Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 13.05.2025 _________________________________________________________________

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.

The proposal is considered to be acceptable by not resulting in any new or increased impacts on the visual amenity of the surrounding streetscene or neighbouring amenity and as such 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 6th March 2025;

• o Drawing No. PA/01
• o Drawing No. PA/02
• o Drawing No. PA/03 _________________________________________________________________

Right to Appeal

It is recommended that the following organisations should NOT be given the Right to Appeal: Highway Services - no objection Castletown Commissioners - no objection

It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should NOT be given the Right to Appeal because: No. 5 Mona Terrace - no objection

_________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is within the curtilage of Sea Spray, No, 6 Mona Terrace which is a mid terrace property situated to the North of The Promenade, Castletown. To the rear of the property there is a tiered garden which leads to a garage with a pitched roof. - 1.2 There is an access lane behind the property, which goes from James Road to King Williams Road, and is the rear access for several properties along King Williams Way, Orry Place, Mona Terrace and several garages. There is also a large grassed area directly adjacent to the rear of Sea Spray. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for the removal of the existing rear conservatory and the erection of a new flat roofed extension measuring approximately 3.5m by - 3.5m with an overall height of 2.8m to the flat roofed part and 3.4m to the top of the roof lantern situated to the middle of the flat roof. The proposal also includes alteration to the rear garden area to provide an upper and lower terraced area. PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 There are no previous applications which are relevant to the assessment of this application. PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as Predominantly Residential on the Area Plan for the South, Map 5 - Castletown. The property is not within a Conservation Area or a Flood Risk Zone.

- 4.2 AREA PLAN FOR THE SOUTH

• 4.2.1 Paragraph 5.16.3 of the Area Plan for the South is relevant and states, "The existing Register does not, however, represent a definitive list of the Island's buildings with special architectural or historic interest. Other buildings have been nominated, either as a result of an Island-wide survey which was commissioned in 1975, or as a result of consultations connected with Local Plan or Conservation Area work. The Department is currently undertaking a programme of research to assess their worthiness for inclusion on the Protected Buildings Register. The buildings on this list have been included in Appendix 5."
• 4.2.2 Appendix 5 - List of Registered Buildings and those Buildings on the list for further investigation, states Mona Terrace, The Promenade as No. 5 under Buildings not yet researched by the Department, Castletown.
• 4.3 ISLE OF MAN STRATEGIC PLAN 2016

• 4.3.1 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies considered materially relevant to the assessment:

• o Strategic Policies 3 and 5 - promote good design and use of local materials and character
• o General Policy 2 (b, c, g, h, i) - general standards towards acceptable development visual and neighbouring amenity
• o Paragraph 8.12.1 - supports principle of residential development in zoned areas
• o Environment Policy 23 - any increased impact on neighbours.
• o Environment Policy 42 - promotes development taking account of locality in design.
• o Community Policy 7, 11 - prevent criminal activity and reduce spread of fire

• o Infrastructure Policy 5 - conserve the Island's water

- 4.4 RESIDENTIAL DESIGN GUIDANCE

• 4.4.1 The Residential Design Guide (July 2021) contains the following guidance also considered materially relevant:

• o Section 5 Architectural Details
• o Section 7 Impact on Neighbouring Properties

REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 The following representations can be found in full online;

5.2 Highway Services have considered the proposal and state "No Highways Interest." (20.03.25) - 5.3 Castletown Commissioners have considered the application and state they have no objections. (14.04.25) - 5.4 The Registered Buildings Officer has considered the proposal and has no objections to the proposal, stating in part, "Given the limited visibility and therefore impact that the proposals would have from outside the site, and the fact that the principle elevation will not be harmed by the proposals, I judge that the application would cause no significant harm to the character and appearance of the property itself or that of the surrounding townscape." (18.03.25) - 5.5 The owner/ occupier of No.5 Mona Terrace has written in to state that they could not see any documents online (31.03.25), the officer tried to contact the owner/ occupier via phone and email but no further response has been provided at the time of writing this report.

ASSESSMENT 6.1 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 In the case of this application, due to the application appearing within Appendix 5 of the Area Plan for the South (as stated in section 4 of this report), as on the list for further investigation of possible registered buildings, a consultation with the Registered Buildings Officer was sought.

6.3 The proposal is situated to the rear of the property and is replacing a conservatory which is not period correct for the property. When noting this and the fact that the proposal due to where it is situated within the plot, the garage to the rear of the plot and the neighbouring walls, fences and garages it is unlikely to be seen outside of the direct neighbouring gardens.

6.4 The proposed extension and works to the rear elevation to create the terraces will ultimately be seen as a residential alteration within a residential environment and as such the character and appearance of the alteration is deemed acceptable and should not impact how the property is viewed within the streetscene. - 6.5 Turning towards neighbouring amenity, the works due to their location and the works themselves are unlikely to impact the neighbouring amenity of the surrounding properties above and beyond what is currently in place.

CONCLUSION

7.1 Overall the proposal is considered to be acceptable by not resulting in any new or increased impacts on the visual amenity of the surrounding streetscene or neighbouring amenity and as such the proposal complies with 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. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

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: 13.05.2025 Determining Officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner

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