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Application No.: 23/00935/B Applicant: Mr Tony & Mrs Elaine Anne Milligan Proposal: Variation of condition 1 for 94/00914/B to the proposed building must be used as accommodation ancillary to the Grange and must not be occupied as a dwelling in its own right and physical alterations which include re-slating of roof, replacing windows, creation of a patio, recladding of building, replacement of door, demolition of porch and installation of two flues. Site Address: The Grange Station Road Ballaugh Isle Of Man IM7 5AH Planning Officer: Mr Peiran Shen Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 14.02.2024
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
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.
Reason: the application is assessed as additional amenity to a dwellinghouse (the Grange) and the approval is granted on this base.
grassed areas details of the hard surface treatment of the open parts of the site and a programme of implementation.
All hard and/or soft landscaping works shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details. The works shall be carried out prior to the occupation of any part of the development or in accordance with the programme agreed in writing with the Department. Any trees or plants indicated on the approved scheme which, within a period of five years from the date of planting, die, are removed or become seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced during the next planting season with other trees or plants of a species and size to be first approved in writing by the Department. All hard landscape works shall be permanently retained in accordance with the approved details.
Reason: In the interest of safeguarding the amenities of neighbouring properties and to ensure the provision of an appropriate landscape setting to the development.
The proposal does not have an adverse impact on the character of the area. There are no unacceptable additional impacts on neighbouring properties and the annexe remains ancillary to a main dwelling within proximity. Given these, it is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan and the Residential Design Guide July 2021. Therefore, it is recommended for an approval.
This approval relates to the documents, planning statement, Site and Location Plan, Elevations and Floor Plan, Registered Tree Plan, Slate Type Comparison and photos date stamped as having been received on 1st August 2023.
_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons
It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should be given Interested Person Status as they are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 4(2):
The Glebe House, Station Road, Ballaugh as they satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status.
It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 4(2):
31 First Avenue, Douglas, The Society for the Preservation of Manx Countryside and the Environment
is not within 20m of the application site and the development is not automatically required to be the subject of an EIA by Appendix 5 of the Strategic Plan, in accordance with paragraph 2B of the Policy _____________________________________________________________________________
1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE - 1.1 The application site is the Grange, Station Road, Ballaugh. - 1.2 This section of Station Road and Ballacrosha is separated from the house mostly by short stone walls as well as a few trees. There are also hedges and trees growing close to the stone wall. - 1.3 There are three detached houses implicated in this application: the Grange, the Old Rectory and the Glebe House. The history of these properties will be explained in section 2. The combined outlines of these properties form a diamond-ish shape and can be divided into four parts: the northwest half, the south section of the southeast half, the middle section of the southeast part and the west section of the southeast half, with the southwest boundary being Station Rod and southeast boundary being Ballacrosha. - 1.4 The Garage occupies the northwest half and the middle section of the southeast half (a T-shaped outline). The Old Rectory occupies the south section of the southeast half and the Glebe House occupies the west section of the southeast parts. - 1.5 The Grange has a driveway leading from the station road to its main dwelling. There is a single-storey pitched-roof structure in the middle section of the southeast half, sitting close to Ballacrosha. The detailed planning history of this building will be explained in section 2 but its primary approval was from PA 94/00914/B, which allowed it to be used as an ancillary accommodation attached to the Old Rectory. - 1.6 This structure is referred to as the "summerhouse" in the current applicant's statement and as the "storage building" in the 94 application. - 1.7 According to a photo provided by the applicant as well as the planning statement, the "summerhouse", in 1994, has timber shingle cladding, timber windows with glazing bars and a timber door. - 1.8 According to the satellite image of 2012, there is a protruding element on the north side of the "summerhouse", this is likely the "conservatory" mentioned in both the applicant's statement and neighbouring comment. - 1.9 There is also a shed to the east of the summerhouse detailed in paragraphs 1.4 and
1.10 There is a registered tree (RT0209) at the southeast corner of the summerhouse. 1.11 The Old Rectory sits at the corner of Station Road and Ballacrosha. Its driveway shares the same entrance with the Grange. The Glebe House sits on Ballacrosha.
2.1 This application seeks a variation of Condition 1 of planning approval 94/00914/B. - 2.2 Condition 1 of the approval states: "The proposed building must be used only as accommodation ancillary to the Old Rectory and must not be occupied as a dwelling in its own right." - 2.3 The "building" has changed ownership from the Old Rectory to the Grange. - 2.4 Therefore, the proposed is retrospectively changing this condition to "the building must be used only as accommodation ancillary to the Grange and must not be occupied as a dwelling in its own right."
2.5 The proposal also includes repair and renovation work to the building, including reslating of the roof, replacing windows, creation of a patio, recladding of the building, replacement of doors, demolition of the porch (the conservatory mentioned in paragraph 1.8) and installation of two flues.
3.1 The single-storey, pitched-roof structure, as mentioned in paragraphs 1.4 and 1.5, according to the statement of the applicant, was built at an unknown time before the first TCPA (1949) was in effect. - 3.2 Since 1949, the first application (in the database) related to this structure is PA 91/01226/C, which was REFUSED in asking for the storage building to be turned into residential use. At this time, the main dwelling this structure relates to has changed its name from the Grange to the Old Rectory (in 1987, according to the applicant's statement). - 3.3 The next application related to this structure is PA 94/00914/B. It was APPROVED to change the use of the "storage building" into an ancillary accommodation to the Old Rectory (which will be referred to as the "annexe" from this point of time in this report). This approval contains elevations and floor plans of the annexe. - 3.4 Also at this time, the outline of the Old Rectory covers the current outline of the Old Rectory and the Grange. - 3.5 13/91275/A was APPROVED for the Old Rectory to divide the current residential plot into two separate plots and erection of a new dwelling on the newly created plot accessed via the existing driveway. 15/00107/REM was then APPROVED relating to PA 13/91275/A for the erection of a dwelling, addressing siting, design, external appearance, internal layout, means of access and landscaping. - 3.6 The 2013 and 2015 applications led to the creation of the new house now called "the Grange". A part of "the Old Rectory" was purchased to be included in "the Grange", which resulted in the current "Grange" described in paragraphs 1.3 and 1.4. - 3.7 There is another application submitted under PA 23/00905/B for the Erection of a replacement shed. This shed is the one mentioned in paragraph 1.6.
4.1 The site is within an area designated for Predominantly Residential Use in the 1982 Development Plan. Strategic Plan
4.2 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application:
PPS and NPD
4.3 There is no relevant Planning Policy Statement or National Policy Directive that applies to this application.
5.1 While not a new house or an extension to a new house, the proposed ancillary accommodation fits many principles of the Residential Design Guide (July 2021), which contains the following guidance's that are considered particularly of material relevance to the assessment of this current planning application:
6.1 Ballaugh Parish Commissioners have not commented at the time of the report (10.11.2023)
6.2 DoI Highway Services does not oppose this application (11.08.2023). - 6.3 DEFA Environmental Health Unit has no objection to this application (04.12.2023). - 6.4 Owners/Occupiers of 31 First Avenue, Douglas (The Society for the Preservation of Manx Countryside and the Environment) wrote in with no objection against the application (25.08.2023). - 6.5 Owners/Occupiers of the Glebe House wrote in objection to this application (22.08.2023). Details of the objections can be viewed online. A summary of the objection that contains material planning considerations includes the principle of the continuous use of the building as ancillary accommodation after changing ownership and its impact on overlooking and other living amenities due to its proximity.
7.1 The annexe was approved under PA 94/00914/B and it is visible in the satellite image taken in 2001. The dimensions of the annexe in the satellite image are similar to what was proposed in the 1994 application. Therefore, the annexe existing at the moment (approx. 7.5m long and 5m wide) is considered to be a continuation of the storage shed/summerhouse/annexe proposed in PA 94/00914/B (and likely altered according to the 1994 application). Interpretation of Condition 1 of PA 94/00914/B
7.2 Ancillary accommodation use is a use incidental to the enjoyment of a dwellinghouse. This means when approved, the use would come into effect once the approved building is habitable or has been inhabited and stays with the building regardless of its status. - 7.3 In this case, the relevant condition is Condition 1 of PA 94/00914/B, which has two parts: firstly, the ancillary use attaches to the Old Rectory, and secondly, the building must not be occupied as an independent dwelling. - 7.4 Given the applicant's statement, it is considered that the ancillary accommodation use has been in effect after the approval. Therefore, the ancillary accommodation use is active and still considered attached to the Old Rectory by the condition at the time of this application. - 7.5 The application, while retrospective, proposes the ancillary use to be attached to the Grange, rather than continue to be attached to the Old Rectory. This is an alteration to the first part of the 1994 condition. This proposal, if approved, would not conflict with the second part of the approval. - 7.6 Reason for conditions wasn't required in 1994. However, when comparing the 1994 condition to its current counterpart, it is safe to say that the reason was to prevent the approved ancillary accommodation from becoming an independent dwelling. Therefore, the first part of the condition 1994 condition was to ensure its use as "ancillary" and the second
part was to make sure the use is not "independent", an echo or even a paraphrase of the first part. Therefore, it is considered that to which dwelling the annexe is "ancillary to" is less significant than it "being ancillary" to a nearby dwelling.
Assessment of the Requested Variation of Condition
7.7 The proposed change to this condition only altered the ownership part of the condition and not the "ancillary" part nor the "non-independent" part of the condition. Therefore, it is considered the proposed variation of condition would maintain the intended effect of the original condition and does not require to be reassessed on the principle level. Scope the Impact Assessment - 7.8 Given 7.1, the assessment will only focus on what's the difference between the 1994 structure and the current proposal and whether impacts from these differences are considered acceptable. This means the current impacts of the annexe have been considered and accepted in the 1994 application and will not be reassessed in this application. Elements of Assessment - 7.9 The key considerations of this application are its impact on the character and streetscene of the area and the amenities of the neighbours. Then, the impact of the patio and the flue will be assessed individually followed by its impact on the registered tree. At last, the assessment will be made about whether the annexe is still "ancillary" after the proposed changes. Character and Streetscene - 7.10 The replacement roof tiles and the demolition of the conservatory are considered to have no negative impact on the character of the area. The replacement timber cladding from shingle cladding to weatherboard cladding changes the appearance of the annexe itself but this is not considered to have an impact on the character of the area. Neighbouring Amenities - 7.11 As the annexe stays about the same size, its windows stay about the same position and the conservatory has been removed. It is considered that there is no additional overbearing, overshadowing or overlooking concern from the annexe itself. Patio - 7.12 There is a degree of natural overlooking at any part of a residential curtilage. A hardened surface does increase the likelihood of a longer stay and therefore increases the intensity of overlooking. However, given it is next to the annexe, which has a higher degree of overlooking and this impact was approved in 1994, this is not considered to be a sufficient reason for recommending refusal. However, it is considered that a landscape condition can be attached to reduce the degree of overlooking created by the patio to an acceptable level. Flue - 7.13 It is considered that the flue does not harm the character and streetscene of the area. - 7.14 Environment Policy 22 states that it is important to protect the environment and quality of life by controlling development which lead to unacceptable pollution and other nuisances. It also states that it is not the role of land use planning to duplicate controls which are the statutory responsibility of other agencies including other directorates within the Department. Based on this policy and after careful consideration, it is considered that there is no reason to recommend refusal as there is no evidence indicate the presence of unacceptably harm to the amenity of nearby properties. Ancillary Accommodation Status - 7.15 The original approval includes a layout no different than a house. While this layout was not conditioned at the time, it shows the approved annexe can be self-contained at the time,
the installation of flue and boiler does not increase the level of self-containment of the annexe more than the 1994 approval. In the meantime, the annexe is still only accessible through the driveway of the Grange. Therefore, it is considered that there is no change in its "ancillary accommodation" status.
Registered Tree
7.16 While there is a registered tree close to the proposal, the nature of the proposal does not include heavy groundwork so it is considered that there is very limited impact on the registered tree. The applicant is still to pay due caution during the work so there is no damage to the registered tree.
8.1 The proposal does not have an adverse impact on the character of the area. There are no unacceptable additional impacts on neighbouring properties and the annexe remains ancillary to a main dwelling within proximity. Given these, it is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan and the Residential Design Guide July 2021. Therefore, it is recommended for an approval. - 9.0 INTEREST PERSON STATUS
9.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons:
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 : 20.02.2024 Determining officer
Signed : A MORGAN Abigail Morgan Acting Head of Development Management
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