DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 23/01017/C Applicant: Miss Wendy Quine Proposal: Proposed change of use from garden room & store to living accommodation - with additional use for tourist lets Site Address: Kerrowdhoo Farmhouse Gleneedle Lower Foxdale Isle Of Man IM4 3BG Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Photo Taken: 31.10.2023 Site Visit: 31.10.2023 Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 08.02.2024

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 use hereby approved shall be used only for family and friends of those occupying the main dwelling as ancillary accommodation or as additional self contained tourist accommodation. The building shall not be occupied as an independent dwelling unit.

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

• C 3. The additional tourist accommodation hereby approved shall not be occupied by the same person(s) for a single period or cumulative periods exceeding 28 days in any calendar year.

Reason: To ensure that the development is only used and occupied as short let holiday accommodation and to prevent the creation of an unjustified separate dwelling in the countryside.

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

It is concluded that the planning application would comply the exception in with General Policy 3, which in turn meets the test of Housing policy 4 and 11 and would not harm the character of

the countryside in accordance with Environmental Policy 1, and parking in accordance with Transport Policy 4 and 7, with the tourist use being acceptable under Business Policy 13.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 30th August 2023:

• o Drawing No.1606.1
• o Drawing No.1606.2 ______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is within the residential curtilage of Kerrowdhoo Farm which is a detached dwelling situated to the Western side of Slieu Whallian Road, Lower Foxdale. The overall site consists of a large dwelling, a detached double garage with workshop and the part in which this application is based upon a garden store/workshop situated to the South of the site. - 1.2 To the front of the store/workshop is a large parking apron and turning circle. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for the change of the garden room/store to ancillary living accommodation with the additional use of the structure as tourist use. PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 There is one previous application which is relevant to this assessment; PA09/02091/B - Alterations and extension to dwelling, erection of a garage to replace barn and renovation of existing storage/ workshop out buildings, was permitted.

3.2 There is also an application which was submitted whilst this application was running it's course, PA23/01429/LAW, which was for "The building was constructed circa 2011 completed & formally signed off by Building Control 11 March 2015" - Pending. PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "not designated for development" and an "Area of High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Significance" and part of the site is within an "Area of Private Woodland or Parkland, "on the 1982 Development Plan, South Map. The site is not within a Conservation Area, Flood Zone.

4.2 When looking at the Isle of Man Strategic Policies, conversions of rural buildings into residential accommodation are assessed against Paragraph 8.10 and Housing Policy 11 of the Strategic Plan 2016, with the reuse of rural buildings for tourist use against Environment Policy 16.

4.3 These policies make clear that only buildings of historic, architectural or social interest are suitable for conversion, Business Policies 11, 12 and 14 also support tourist uses but only if they comply with Housing Policy 11 and Environment Policy 16, and also that they do not undermine other policies within the Strategic Plan such as Strategic Policies 2 and 8, and Spatial Policy 5 which seek to direct development to existing settlements and to protect the environment and countryside. Environment Policy 1 makes it clear that the countryside and its ecology will be protected for its own sake and only development which would not adversely affect it or which is considered to be of overriding national need being permitted.

4.4 Further to the above another material considerations is the 'Policy on the Development of Non-serviced Accommodation', dated March 2019, adopted by the Department for Enterprise in order "to shape a future development strategy for the sector, help inform planning policy and to guide the Department as to what support mechanisms may be required to maximise the potential benefits of an expansion on non-service accommodation in the Island." This document is helpful in outlining what type of tourist accommodation the Isle of Man is looking for and states that the focus for the future "will be on the types of non-service accommodation identified as being in shortage within the study, namely;

• 8.2.1 developments of multiple units;
• 8.2.2 those that cater for families;
• 8.2.3 those that cater for individuals with disabilities
• 8.2.4 proposals which incorporate leisure and entertainment facilities;
• 8.2.5 high quality, luxury, boutique developments;
• 8.2.6 clusters or separate small scale units which complement existing tourist activities or leisure facilities;
• 8.2.7 glamping units and
• 8.2.8 those catering for group experiences." REPRESENTATIONS

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

5.1 Highway Services have considered the application and state, "After reviewing this Application, Highway Services HDC finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and /or parking." (08.09.23) - 5.2 Patrick Commissioners have considered the application and state, "No Objection." (22.09.23)

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

• - principle
• - character and appearance
• - highway safety & parking provisions
• - possible separation
• - tourist use
• - other matters

6.2 PRINCIPLE

• 6.2.1 In the first instance the principle of the development needs to be addressed due to the structure being a garden room/store situated on a site within an area, "not designated for development" on the 1982 Development Plan, and as such is within an area where development is restricted, in order to protect the countryside for its own sake, as such when assessing the principle of the development Housing Policy 11 and Business Policy 12 are the most relevant.

• 6.2.2 When considering Housing Policy 11, in the case of this application it is accepted that the existing use of the building, as a store room/garden room, could be redundant from its use, as it would be hard to ascertain whether this need would be required or not within the site. There is also the fact that there are many other places within the site which could be used for the storage of items. The garden room/store is structurally intact, with there being no alterations proposed within this application to make it habitable bar the installation of rooflights, which are not a requirement for habitable accommodation, as such the proposal complies with part a) & b) of Housing Policy 11.
• 6.2.3 Turning towards part c) of Housing Policy 11, this is more tricky, the existing structure was constructed around 2011, with a Certificate of Lawfulness being approved showing the structure in place since 2017, as such the structure cannot be of historic interest, it's not of social interest but the structure whilst modern in its age, can be stated to have architectural merit. It is clear that the structure has been built to a high standard, with the structure being a mix of render and stonework. As such the proposal would comply with the overall principles of part c) of Housing Policy 11.
• 6.2.4 There are proposed no additional extensions to the garden room/store, with Drawing No. 1606.2 showing that the structure can viably be turned into a two bedroomed unit/tourist unit. Overall the proposal is modest and should not adversely affect the character or interest of the site, as such the proposal complies with part d) of Housing Policy 11.
• 6.2.5 The proposed residential use of the garden room/stone would not be at odds with the surrounding established uses, as such the proposal complies with part e) of Housing Policy 11. There is no doubt the building can be connected to electric and telecom, gas and mains foul drainage given the existing provisions in the area and to the main residential dwellinghouse, as such the proposal complies with part f) of Housing Policy 11.
• 6.2.6 On the whole it is considered the application meets the main test of Housing Policy 11 for development in the countryside, in turn would then comply with housing policy 4 (b). The development proposed by this planning application is therefore in accordance with General Policy 3, Housing Policy 11 and Housing Policy 4.

- 6.3 CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE

• 6.3.1 The proposal within this application is seeking to utilise the existing structure and bring it into a habitable use, which will ultimately preserve the character of the surrounding area. In turn this would be considered to have no detrimental impact upon the countryside given the existing existence of the building.
• 6.3.2 Overall taking into consideration the above, the level and scale of development proposed within this planning application are considered to be relatively minor, mainly consisting of minimal intervention in the fabric of the building by means of rooflights. The proposal is judged not to cause any material harm to the enjoyment of the landscape or considered to harm the character and quality of the countryside.

- 6.4 HIGHWAY SAFETY AND PARKING PROVISIONS

• 6.4.1 Turning towards whether there is situated parking for the site and whether there would be any impacts upon Highway Safety. The application site as stated within Section 1 of this report has a large parking area situated to the front of the dwelling which is situated for several vehicles and also provides a tuning circle, as such the proposal is deemed to comply with Transport Policy 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

- 6.5 POSSIBLE SEPARATION

• 6.5.1 The conversion of the barn into ancillary accommodation/ tourist accommodation could raise the possibility of the separation of the unit from the main dwelling, making a new dwelling within the countryside due to the proposal being a two bedroomed self-contained unit. Whilst this is the case, the proposed unit is situated in a very close proximity to the main dwelling, with the parking area being situated in front of both the main dwelling and the unit in question. As such the possibility of the subdivision of plots would be difficult.

• 6.5.2 As such, it is considered that the principle of the proposal is acceptable but any approval would require a condition restricting the building use to be 'ancillary' to the main dwelling and not a separate planning unit.

6.6 TOURIST USE

• 6.6.1 Turning towards the additional use of the site as tourist, generally It is difficult to assess how an individual person would behave whether they be a tourist or permanent resident. As a tourist, a person may be out a lot of the time, but may also have greater late nights and be disruptive on return. On the other hand, permanent residents may be at home more of the time, but be more likely to invite friends or family over for dinner or parties that may be noisy. In general terms, however, the majority of people tend to behave well and raise no concerns, although there will always be a percentage that might not, whether they are a permanent resident or otherwise.

• 6.6.2 Whilst the above is the case, due to the location of the proposed unit, it would be in the owner's best interest to make sure that there is a lack of disturbance from visitors.

• 6.6.3 It is considered the use of the garden room/ store would have a similar impact, whether it's used as ancillary accommodation or as tourist accommodation and would not have a significant impact upon the living conditions of the neighbouring properties, with the closest being the main dwelling on the site.

6.7 OTHER MATTERS

• 6.7.1 The proposed works are minimal alterations to an already existing garden room/store, 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, any water run-off will be dealt with as per the existing arrangement of the main dwelling. Whilst the proposal will increase water usage of the overall site it is deemed that there are no new issues in this respect. CONCLUSION

7.1 For the above reasons, it is concluded that the planning application would comply the exception in with General Policy 3, which in turn meets the test of Housing policy 4 and 11 and would not harm the character of the countryside in accordance with Environmental Policy 1, and parking in accordance with Transport Policy 4 and 7, with the tourist use being acceptable under Business Policy 13. As such the proposal is recommended for approval. INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• (a) the applicant (including an agent acting on their behalf);
• (b) any Government Department that has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (c) the Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure;

• (d) Manx National Heritage where it has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (e) Manx Utilities where it has made written representations that the Department considers material; .
• (f) the local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated; and
• (g) a local authority adjoining the authority referred to in paragraph (f) where that adjoining authority has made written representations that the Department considers material.

8.2 The decision maker must determine:

• o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than the Department of Infrastructure Highway Services Division) are material; and
• o whether there are other persons to those listed above who should be given Interested Person Status 8.3 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 Interested Person Status.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Acting Head of Development Management 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

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 19.02.2024 Determining officer

Signed : A MORGAN Abigail Morgan Acting Head of Development Management

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