Conversion of garage to ancillary accommodation

General Policy of the Strategic Plan

This application is considered to comply with General Policy of the Strategic Plan

ned, well managed with a good walking surface, within or close to towns and villages. Types of community, educational and health facilities vary considerably from community centres, schools and GP surgeries to police, fire and ambulance services. They form an essential network of support and are basic requirements for the underpinning of sustainable communities. Without basic services, communities tend to lack a sense of belonging and places tend to be little more than groups or estates of housing. Many of the schools in the East contribute towards indoor and outdoor sports provision and halls can be multi-purpose out of school hours. This need for a possible new school has been recognised in Baldrine and it is recognised that there may in the future need to be additional provision to serve additional development in the future on the edge of Douglas and Onchan. Development Brief DBH002g recognises a need to take account of need for a replacement Braddan School. For this reason, Strategic Reserve Sites will need to take both education and community facilities into account before release. Assessment of current open space and community facilities Table 15 sets out the key facilities in each Local Authority Area. The table illustrates the tendency for smaller settlements to have lower levels of community facilities and formal sports provision. It also highlights on a basic level deficits in existing provision helping give focus to where additional investment may need to be focused. Open Space and Community facilities - existing provision Type of land / amenity Douglas Laxey Onchan Braddan Marown Santon Lonan Amenity Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Places of Worship Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Burial Land Y N Y Y Y Y Y Child Care Y Y Y Y Y Y N Children's Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Outdoor Pitches Y Y Y Y Y N N Post Offices Y Y Y Y N N N Doctors and Dentists Y Y Y Y N N N Schools Y Y Y Y Y N N Skate Park/BMX Y Y N Y Y N N Allotments Y Y N N N Y Y* Golf Course Y N Y N N Y N Shooting Ranges N Y N Y N Y N Youth Club Y Y Y N N N N Sailing Y Y N Y N N N Equestrian Centres N N Y Y Y Y N Nursing Homes Y Y N N N N N Motorsport Y N N N N Y N Indoor Sports Facilities Y N Y N N N N *Laxey and Lonan allotment association within the boundary of Laxey Outdoor Recreation and Amenity Space The Community Audit records detailed information on recreation and amenity space. From this it is possible to analyse the data to determine if current provision is at an appropriate level given the population in the East. In order to create a benchmark against which the current provision can be assessed, the 'target' requirements for new residential developments are used. The Strategic Plan sets out minimum recreation open space standards per 1,000 head of population for new residential developments of 10 dwellings or more. These are as follows: Sports pitches 1.8 hectares/ 1,000 population Childrens' play space 0.6 hectares/ 1,000 population Amenity space 0.8 hectares/1,000 population Table 16 combines the separate Local Authority/Parish figures for the three categories of open space to give an overall figure for the East. For a comparison, figures have been benchmarked against the provisions required in the Strategic Plan 2016 to put the figures into context. Open Space and Recreation in the East - summary figures Douglas Braddan Onchan Laxey Lonan Marown Santon Isle of Man (East) Strategic Plan Target Difference Amenity 0.80 3.98 2.37 1.07 9.18 0.67 9.29 1.78 +0.98 Children's 0.03 0.06 0.17 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.07 0.06 -0.54 Outdoor Pitches 0.84 0.55 0.05 0.89 0.00 0.51 0.00 0.61 -1.19 Overall Supply 1.67 4.59 2.59 2.03 9.24 0.94 9.36 2.39 -0.75 The Table above showing open space and recreation figures demonstrate some deficits in provision across the local authority areas and highlights where new provision may need to be provided as part of future development schemes. For example, it shows that the East of the Island has a generally high level of amenity space but has a lower level of sports pitch provision. It is important to note that access to any kind of amenity space crosses Local Authority boundaries and residents living in one area may be regular users of amenities such as open space in neighbouring areas. In addition, these figures do not account for the differing demographics of each area and the population within distinct age groups has not been considered. Table 11 does not assess the usage of facilities or current sporting trends or outdoor pursuits that do not require sports pitches. Isle of Man Sport is conducting their own Island wide study as to existing sports provision and usage. Open Space and Community Proposal 1 Areas for residential growth identified in this Plan must take account of the needs for neighbourhood centres which will protect sufficient space for community health services and other social facilities. These could be provided within existing development, identified sites or on Strategic Reserve

Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man

This application is considered to comply with General Policy of the Strategic Plan and Planning Policy 1/01.

Strategic Policy 4 (a)

The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant

General Policy 2 (b) (c) (g) (m) (n)

The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant

Environment Policy 10

The submission complies with adopted Environmental Policy 10

irements of the relevant gas supply agency. Flood Risk 63 There was widespread concern about the adequacy of drainage and the risk of flooding, particularly in parts of Braddan, Onchan and Laxey. Environment Policy 10 of the Strategic Plan indicates that where development is proposed on any site where there is a potential risk of flooding, the prospective developer will be required to submit a flood risk assessment, together with details of proposed mitigation measures. This approach is reinforced in Utilities Proposal 6 of the draft Area Plan, which (among other things) requires the incorporation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) into new developments, to attenuate the rate of surface water run-off. I consider these policies to be reasonable. Clearly, without adequate mitigation measures, new building should normally be resisted on land which is at serious risk of flooding, or where the proposed development would increase the flood risk elsewhere. 64 In my view, the format of Utilities Proposal 6 could be improved. First, as a Proposal of the Area Plan, I consider that it should be in a bold typeface, to differentiate it from the supporting text. (The same applies to a number of other policies e.g. Transport Policy 2, and Utilities Policies 2 and 5). Second, there appears to be an error of syntax at the start of the second sentence of Utilities Proposal 6, which should perhaps read 'Strategies to achieve this will include …'. Third, the third bullet point of this Proposal introduces SuDS. Subsequent bullet points describe features of SuDS, and are therefore subordinate to the third bullet point. For clarity, I consider that they should be indented. I recommend that the draft Area Plan be modified accordingly. Sewage Treatment 65 There was also some public concern about the adequacy of the sewerage system, both in terms of its capacity to accommodate the effluent from proposed residential development areas, and in terms of the current practice of discharging untreated sewage into the sea. Infrastructure Policy 1 of the Strategic Plan indicates that developments entailing the erection of multiple dwellings should take place only on sites that will ultimately be connected to the IRIS system, which takes sewage to a treatment works at Meary Veg. (IRIS is an acronym for Integration and Recycling of the Island's Sewage). However, as long ago as 2006/7, a review was undertaken to decide whether to continue with the IRIS strategy. This concluded that it would be beneficial to adopt a regional sewage treatment strategy (RSTS) for those settlements that were not already connected to the IRIS system, including Laxey, Baldrine and settlements in the Central Valley. To that extent, Infrastructure Policy 1 of the Strategic Plan is now out of date. 66 I understand that a planning application will soon be submitted for the development of a local sewage treatment facility for Laxey. Feasibility studies for the provision of a similar facility to serve Baldrine are ongoing. A replacement sewage works at Ballagarey, serving part of the Central Valley became operational in 2018. However, capacity limitations mean that planned development in Crosby is likely to have to rely on standalone sewage treatment for the time being, until the existing treatment works is replaced as anticipated in 2022. The Programme for Government (2016-2021) indicates an intention to complete the regional sewage treatment infrastructure within the lifetime of the present administration. 67 It seems to me that these considerations should be taken into account in the allocation and phasing of land for development. I will return to this matter when considering the draft Area Plan's proposals for housing. Electricity Renewable Energy 68 Peel Energy considered that the Area Plan should contain a detailed and specific chapter on renewable energy, providing measurable criteria against which applications for the development of renewable power generating facilities would be assessed. They cited the States of Jersey Island Plan 2011, which includes such material. And they pointed out that a Climate Change Emergency has recently been declared on the Isle of Man; that a Climate Change Bill is soon to be presented to Tynwald; and that there has been strong public support for the Government's Climate Change Mitigation Strategy. They argued that, in failing to provide detailed guidance on renewable power generation, the Area Plan was inconsistent with the Strategic Plan; and that since the Area Plan post-dated the Strategic Plan, its largely negative provisions would prevail. 69 Energy Policy 4 of the Strategic Plan applies to development proposals for renewable energy generated by wind, water, tidal or solar power. It indicates that any such proposals will be judged against that Plan's environmental objectives. Proposals for wind, water or tidal power would need to be supported by an Environmental Impact Assessment. The supporting text indicates that renewable energy schemes will be given similar scrutiny as is gi

Community Policy 7

The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant

Community Policy 7: The design of new development and the extension and refurbishment of existing buildings and development must, as far as is reasonably practical, pay due regard to existing best practice so as to help prevent criminal and anti-social behaviour. 10.12.2 The Isle of Man Constabulary has suggested that neighbourhood police stations, where the public can meet police officers, are needed to improve community safety. In the majority of cases these will need to be provided within existin g communities as opportunities arise. Consideration should be given to incorporating such facilities in larger new developments in association with other community facilities.