Officers Report

Application No.: 25/90410/B Applicant: Mrs Sandra Arnold Proposal: Erection of single storey extension; conversion of detached garage/store to ancillary living accommodation Site Address: Thanehurst Fairy Cottage Laxey Isle Of Man IM4 7BR Planning Officer: Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 11.07.2025 _________________________________________________________________

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.

• C 2. The proposed living accommodation within the detached garage hereby approved shall not be occupied at any time other than for purposes incidental to the enjoyment of the residential use of the dwelling, also known as "Thanehurst," and shall not be separated, sold off or occupied as a single independent dwelling unit.

Reason: to ensure proper control of the development and to avoid any future undesirable fragmentation of the curtilage.

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

It is considered that there is no demonstrable harm arising from the proposal, as such the proposal is deemed to comply with General Policy 2 and Transport Policy 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 17th April 2025;

• o Drawing No. 25 1871 01
• o Drawing No. 25 1871 02
• o Drawing No. 25 1871 03
• o Drawing No. 25 1871 04

• o Drawing No. 25 1871 05
• o Drawing No. 25 1871 06
• o Drawing No. 25 1871 07
• o Drawing No. 25 1871 08
• o Drawing No. 25 1871 09
• o Drawing No. 25 1871 10
• o Drawing No. 01
• o Photographs of the site _________________________________________________________________

Right to Appeal

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

_________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of Thanehurst, Fairy Cottage, Laxey which is a two storey dwelling situated to the Eastern side of Fairy Cottage, Laxey which is a lane that serves the rear of several properties to the North and the main entrance for several properties to the South and West. Due to the location of the property within the overall streetscene, it is situated at a lower level than the main road. - 1.2 There is a garage situated to the North of the site which is situated at road level, and at a higher elevation than the second floor level of the main dwelling. The garage has a parking in front of it, with there being a driveway to the main dwelling and space for several cars within the parking apron. - 1.3 The property is surrounded by garden to the North East, East and South. The closest neighbours to the property are situated to the North West of the site and are situated at a much higher elevation than the main dwelling and garage. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for several parts including but not exclusive;

• o Removal of existing conservatory and roof to Northern extension and the erection of a replacement extension measuring approximately 5.2m by 5.5m. Both new and existing extension are to have timber cladding and a standing seam mansard roof with rooflights to the flat roof area.
• o Removal of the existing dash render and replacement with lime render
• o Replacement roof to main dwelling with the addition of velux combination windows to the rear elevation and rooflight to the North West Elevation
• o Removal of walling and windows and the installation of sliding doors to the rear ground floor level
• o Blocking up of door way to front elevation
• o Alteration of existing garage to separate ancillary accommodation, alteration includes the replacement roof and replacement of the garage door with double doors.

2.2 The application drawings show other alterations which would be permitted under Planning Permission such as the raised patio to rear elevation. PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 There are several previous applications on the site of which none are relevant in the assessment of this application. PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as an "Predominantly Residential," on the Area Plan for the East, Map 7 - Laxey. The property is not within a Conservation Area nor a Flood Risk Zone;

- 4.2 ISLE OF MAN STRATEGIC PLAN 2016

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

• o Strategic Policy 1 - make best use of resources
• o Strategic Policies 3 & 5 - promote good design and use of local materials and character
• o General Policy 2 (b)(c)(g) - general standards towards acceptable development, character and appearance and neighbouring amenity.
• o Paragraph 8.12.1 - supports principle of extensions and alterations in built up areas not controlled by Conservation Area nor Registered Building policies
• o Transport Policy 7 in connection with Appendix 7 - set out parking standards
• o Environment Policy 42 - promotes development take into account the particular character and identity of the environment.

4.3 RESIDENTIAL DESIGN GUIDANCE

• 4.3.1 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, below is a short summary. Highway Services have considered the proposal and state the following, "The proposal to convert the garage to a bedroom is acceptable to HDC and would not give rise to a condition to retain as a garage. There is enough off street parking to cater for the existing and proposed development within the site." (11.07.25)

5.2 Garff Commissioners have considered the proposal and state in part, "It was noted that there were no submissions from neighbours by the date of the meeting. The consensus was that there would be minimal visual impact or intrusion caused by the proposals. There were no objections to this application." (21.05.25) ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are:

• - character and appearance
• - neighbouring amenity
• - highway safety
• - other matters

- 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.
• 6.2.2 The overall streetscene is a mix of properties and character, with the street providing both the front and rear of properties. As such the overall character is varied. The area in which "Thanehurst" is situated is a mix of properties, both the fronts and rears, due to this there isn't a general theme within the area. The property is also situated upon the Raad Ny Foillan coastal footpath, both of these items mean that a high regard to the appearance of the property needs to be taken into account.

• 6.2.3 When looking at the proposed extension and alterations to the main dwelling, the majority of the alterations are situated to the rear of the property and are unlikely to impact the overall dwelling nor the streetscene as a whole.
• 6.2.4 Turning towards the proposed extension and exterior alterations of the side extension, there is no doubt that the proposal is aimed for a modern finish, which doesn't match the main dwelling in appearance. Whilst this is the case, extensions such as this with a standing seam roof and cladding are becoming popular within residential environments and as such the proposal would not look out of place within it's setting. With regards to the alterations to the garage, they would be seen in isolation due to where the garage is situated, whilst this is the case, the proposal is acceptable for where it is situated and is unlikely to impact the overall streetscene above and beyond what is currently in place.

- 6.3 NEIGHBOURING AMENITY

• 6.3.1 With regards to neighbouring amenity, as stated above most of the proposed works are situated to the rear of the property, which faces seawards and as such there is no neighbouring properties to be impacted. With regards to the proposed extension and alterations of the main dwelling, due to the elevation difference in the site it is unlikely that the proposal would have an impact on the neighbouring properties to the West, with the likelihood that the impact would be mostly to the main dwelling as the proposal would be overlooked via walkers and the neighbours.
• 6.3.2 Turning towards the proposed garage, the proposal does not increase any overlooking or overbearing impact to the properties to the West with there already being a high range of mutual overlooking.

- 6.4. HIGHWAY SAFETY

• 6.4.1 As the proposal includes the removal of the existing garage it's necessary to assess whether the site would have enough parking. The parking apron in front of the garage has enough space for the required parking spaces as per Transport Policy 7 in connection with Appendix 7 with the parking apron of the main dwelling having spaces for several cars.

6.5 OTHER MATTERS

• 6.5.1 The proposed works are an extension and alterations to an already existing structures within a residential site, as such the proposal is not expected to create any changes or new issues in respect of criminal actively or spread of fire. The proposal whilst increasing the surface area by the proposed extension, any water run-off will be dealt with as per the existing arrangement of the main dwelling/ the detached garage. Whilst the proposal has added an additional en0suite within the garage, it is deemed that the proposal as a whole would not be increasing water usage of the dwelling and therefore there are no new issues in this respect.

CONCLUSION

7.1 For the above reasons the proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 and Transport Policy 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and therefore acceptable. 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: 16.07.2025 Determining Officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner

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