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THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AS THERE ARE OBJECTIONS FROM THREE LOCAL RESIDENTS WHOSE PROPERTY IS SUFFICIENTLY CLOSE TO THE APPLICATION SITE FOR THEM TO WARRANT BEING AFFORDED PARTY STATUS (SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION) AND FROM THE LOCAL AUTHORITY AND THE APPLICATION IS RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL.
The site represents the curtilage of Lorne House, a large house situated between Bridge Road, Douglas Street, Brewery Wharf apartments and School Lane which abuts Victoria Road Primary School. The entrance to the site is from Douglas Street at its junction with School Lane where there are three properties which back onto the site - Lorne House Lodge, Stable Cottage and Coach House Cottage.
Lorne House sits in its own grounds with lawns, trees and flower beds to the south west, a tennis court to the west, lawns to the rear (north east) and a kitchen garden to the south east are fields on which sheep are sometimes grazed. There is presently a compound area when the tennis courts were previously, whilst works are undertaken around the site. At the entrance to the site there is the remains of a former piggery building which has recently been demolished due to fears over its stability - a structural report was commissioned in this respect.
Lorne House dates back in its original form, to 1826 and not surprisingly has historical importance having accommodated the Lieutenant Governor in 1832. The house has been altered over time although retains its status and character as a landmark building in its own grounds although seen by relatively few due to the high stone wall which runs around the grounds. The house is visible from the upper levels of Castle Rushen.
The site lies within an area of Residential use within the grounds which are designated as Private Woodland on the Castletown Local Plan of 1991. The draft Town Plan of 2001 identifies the site as Woodland with a section to the north west of the house as Proposed Residential or Office development In Parkland. The draft Southern Area Plan which was published on 23rd October, 2009 identifies the site as Woodland with the area of Registered Trees defined and a scheduled Ancient Monument in the grounds also shown, a burial ground and possible assembly field at one time.
The site also lies within Castletown's Conservation Area. Lorne House is not Registered but is on the list of buildings worthy of investigation for such status.
The following applications have been submitted in respect of this site: PA 10/01059/B - Erection of boundary wall to extend existing wall Status - Pending Consideration PA 10/01048/B - Demolition of existing garage and erection of a replacement garage block Status - Pending Consideration PA 10/01046/B - Creation of a new vehicular access and driveway Status - Pending Consideration PA 10/01043/B - Erection of section of boundary wall (Retrospective) Status - Pending Consideration PA 10/01042/C - Change of use from existing mixed office and residential accommodation into a private dwelling Status - Pending Consideration PA 10/01040/B - Demolition of existing outbuildings and erection of a gatehouse dwelling
Status - Pending Consideration PA 10/01039/B - Relocation of existing tennis court Status - Pending Consideration PA 10/00986/B - Erection of MEA sub station (retrospective) Status - Pending Consideration PA 10/0409 - Erection of a stone wall, iron railings and entrance gate (Retrospective) Status - Permitted 25th May 2010 - appeal in progress PA 05/01368/B - Erection of two houses with a single shared vehicular access from Bridge Street Status - Refused at Appeal - 3rd May 2006 PA 05/00340/B - Installation of a satellite dish on west elevation of Status - Permitted 28th April 2005 PA 97/00682/B - Erection of satellite dish, Lorne House, Castletown. Initial Decision - Permitted 3rd September 1997 PA 92/00364/B - Installation of Cattle Grid, inside entrance to Lorne House, Castletown Status - Permitted PA 91/00626/C - Change of use of domestic accommodation to office and domestic, Lorne House West, Castletown. Status - Permitted PA 89/01784/B - Construction of dormer in roof, How-yn-Gren, Douglas Street, Castletown. Status - Permitted PA 88/01705/B - Three-storey extension to form dining room and extra bedrooms, Lorne House, Castletown Status - Permitted PA 88/00714/B - Alterations and extensions to form new dining room and staircase, Lorne House, Castletown. Status - Permitted PA 88/00175/B - Erection of additional garage incorporating pitched roof over, How Yngren, Douglas Road, Castletown Status - Permitted PA 85/00107/B - Alterations, conversions and extensions to form additional living accommodation, How Yngren, Douglas Street, Castletown Status - Permitted
Now proposed is the erection of a stone wall along the boundary with numbers 1-10, Smetana Close where there is presently a post and wire fence. There are trees very close to the line of the fence. The existing fencing and trees are visible from the footpath which runs from Douglas Street to Victoria Road (School Lane). The walling is to be a maximum of 1.8 m high on the Smetana Close side and finished in stone. The wall would constitute permitted development if the site were not within the Conservation Area.
Castletown Commissioners and Castletown Heritage object to the application on the basis that the walling may damage tree roots and the wall will be out of keeping with the area.
The owners of 10, Bridge Street and the trustees of 2, Bridge Street are astonished that the building is not registered and consider that the proposal should be considered in respect of registered building policies. They do not refer to the specifics of the application nor do they attempt to assess the application in respect of the policies which they suggest should be applied.
The owner of 11, Queen Street objects to the amount of applications and the cumulative effect of all of the development proposed.
The owner of the Malt House, Bridge Street suggests that if he lived in Smetana Close he would object to the application on the basis of loss of view and light. He does not live alongside Smetana Close.
The owner of Lorne House Lodge expresses concern at the proposed walling will block out a currently open view into the site, the walling will not be built from stone and the construction of the wall may result in damage to the tree roots.
Manx National Heritage raise no objection to the erection of the proposed walling but advise that the area is important archaeologically and all works should be undertaken with a watching brief and record anything of interest which is found. They advise that a licence is required for archaeological excavations.
The view of the Conservation Officer is directly opposed to that of the local authority and Castletown Heritage and suggests that the proposed wall will have a unifying impact on the site which is of historical interest. there is also no objection on historical grounds to the proposed works from Manx National Heritage.
The walling is to be faced on both sides with Manx stone and as such will have the appearance of a stone-built wall, regardless of whether it is built entirely from stone.
The views of the Forestry Division of DEFA have been sought and following clarification of the location of the fence, at the lower side of the trees, does not object subject to the works being carried out in accordance with a schedule of recommendations to minimise damage to the trees. The walling is to be no higher than 1.8 m which is not out of keeping with the boundary of a large dwelling backing onto other private property and will provide privacy for both the occupants of Lorne House and those in Smetana Close. The applicant's agent has clarified that the works will be undertaken in accordance with the provisions of BS 5837:2005 with no machinery or equipment stored on the tree roots which would result in compaction. Access to the site will be from the hard standing on the low side of the trees.
As the property is located within the Castletown Conservation Area designated in 1990, the content of this application has been considered with particular regard to Policy CA/2 SPECIAL PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS of Conservation Areas as set out within Planning Policy Statement 1/01- Policy and Guidance Notes for the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man.
As commented on by the Planning Officer, Lorne House has been suggested for inclusion on the Protected Buildings Register in the draft Southern Area Plan, published on the 23rd October 2009.
These proposals seek to replace an existing post and wire fence with a masonry wall clad in the local Castletown Limestone. The proposed wall will link the two existing lengths of walling on the boundary. In itself, the installation of the stone boundary will have a unifying effect on this section of
the Castletown Conservation Area and is a considerable improvement on the existing post and wire fence.
There are however, two areas of consideration, the impact of the wall's foundations on the existing trees which are an intrinsic part of the setting of Lorne House and the impact of these proposals on any archaeological interest. If these two issues can be overcome, the proposals are acceptable.
The local authority is, by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, paragraph 6 (5) (d), considered an "interested person" and as such should be afforded party status.
The occupants/owners/trustees of 2 and 10, Bridge Street and Lorne House Lodge are physically adjacent to the site and should be afforded party status on the basis of 2(1)(a) of Government Circular 1/06 - Determination of Interested Party Status. However, none of these parties is directly affected by the proposal nor do the Bridge Street objectors raise any specific or material objection to the application and as such, as the Circular states that parties owning or residing in land or buildings which physically adjoin the site shall "generally" be afforded party status, in this case the Committee may consider it inappropriate to afford party status to these parties.
The owner of The Malt House is associated with property which physically abuts the site and as such should be afforded party status.
The owner of 11, Queen Street is not directly affected by the proposal and should not be afforded party status in this instance.
Manx National Heritage are a statutory authority and should be afforded party status in this instance. Castletown Heritage are not a statutory authority and are not directly affected by the proposal and as such should not be afforded party status in this instance.
Recommended Decision: Permitted
Date of Recommendation: 25.08.2010
C 1. This permission relates to the erection of a wall as shown in drawing 01 received on 13th July, 2010. C 2. The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.
The works must be carried out such that damage is not caused to the trees through removal of branches or compaction of roots. The provisions of British Standard 5837:2005 should be adhered to and the advice of DEFA Forestry Division is recommended during the implementation of the approval.
Prior to the commencement of works on site, the applicant must have approved by the planning authority a scheme for the monitoring of the work on site in relation to the discovery and recording of items of archaeological interest. It should be noted that a licence is required for archaeological excavation and the applicant is encouraged to consult Manx National Heritage in respect of the information required to satisfy this condition.
I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Authority in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the Town and Country (Development Procedure) 2005
Decision Made : Authority Meeting Date : 2 / 9 / 10
Signed : Presenting Officer Further to the decision of the Authority an additional report/condition reason is required. Signing Officer to delete as appropriate
YEB/NO
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