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Applicant: Mr Timothy Knowles Proposal Proposed development comprising the erection of a log cabin to be used as a gardeners cabin, machinery store and workshop (retrospective) exclusively for the management of the gardens and land forming part of the dwelling. Site Address Clough Willey Cottage Tosaby Road St Marks Ballasalla Isle Of Man IM9 3AN Case Officer : Toby Cowell Site Visit: Expected Decision Level Planning Committee Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation 29.07.2024
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: To ensure the provision of an appropriate landscape setting to the development and to assist the creation and management of biodiversity.
Reason: To ensure the delivery of an appropriate lighting scheme in the interests of safeguarding biodiversity.
Reason: The application has been assessed purely on the basis of being used for purposes ancillary to the principal dwellinghouse. Any deviation from this use may be inappropriate in this countryside location and require further assessment.
Reason: To safeguard the countryside for its own sake and in the interests of the visual amenity of the locality.
Reason: To safeguard the countryside for its own sake and in the interests of the visual amenity of the locality.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The development is considered to be acceptable in principle in this countryside location and of an appropriate form, mass and design without detriment to the character of the wider locality, subject to additional information provided with respect to detailed landscaping. The resultant development as proposed is therefore considered to be compliant with General Policy 2 and Environment Policies 1 and 42.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following plans and documents; 003 - demolitions plan Ecological enhancement plan Preliminary ecological appraisal Biodiversity net gain assessment Received 01.06.24
_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons
None ________________________________________________________________
THIS APPLICATION HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR DETERMINATION DUE TO THE POTENTIAL CONFLICT WITH THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN WHILST HAVING BEEN RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL BY OFFICERS
1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site lies within the curtilage of Clough Willey Cottage which lies between the B36 to the east and Stoney Mountain Plantation to the west. The site falls into two parts - an open agricultural field to the south which slopes upward from east to west and with a marshy area around 30m from the road and overhead electricity lines running approximately parallel to the road around 20m therefrom. The northern half of the field is planted with a variety of trees and shrubs and is part of the residential curtilage of an existing modest cottage - Clough Willy Cottage which lies just to the west of the centre of the residential area. - 1.2 To the north of the site is another residential property - Clough Willey, a substantial dwelling which sits in its own landscaped grounds complete with tennis court and outbuildings. - 1.3 The existing dwelling on the application site is a modest cottage which has been altered over time but remains a low profile property which sits in amongst established trees and shrubs.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Retrospective planning permission is sought for the erection a gardeners cabin, machinery store and workshop to be used exclusively for the gardens and wider curtilage forming part of the principle dwelling. The structure is already in situ with planning permission having previous been sought for the use of the cabin as ancillary residential accommodation. The existing cabin accommodates three bedrooms, a lounge and a timber framed car port for use by the family. This building has a footprint of 13m by 9.2m, an eaves level of 1.9m and a ridge at 3.3m with a flue extending approximately 600mm above this. - 2.2 This insulated cabin is placed over 150mm thick concrete slab and all the services come from the main cottage supply. The structure is presently finished in horizontal timber boarding, while its roof is covered in grey felt tiles. Four parking spaces are provided for the site; two in front (south) and two to the east. - 2.3 The proposals seek to remove all of the glazed doors on the front (southern) elevation and replaced with wooden barn style doors (each of the double doors with sides), with an up and over garage door to replace the central glazed doors. Internally, the cabin would be reconfigured to provide storage for various gardens equipment, including ride on mowers, together with maintenance storage, a toilet and wash room, and a tea room area.
3.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 Planning permission was previously sought for the erection of the cabin for use as ancillary residential accommodation with associated parking and access on a retrospective basis (PA 19/01241/B). The application was subsequently refused for the following reasons:
3.3 An enforcement notice was further issued following the confirmation of the refusal of planning permission, which required the use of the cabin for residential purposes to cease, the building to be demolished and the land to be restored to its former state. - 3.4 It is understood that the cabin has been vacated by the previous occupant.
4.1 The site lies within an area designated as not being for any particular use or purpose on the Area Plan for the South. The site is not within a Conservation Area, however much of the site is susceptible to high surface water flood risks. The site is not within a Registered Tree Area, and there are no protected trees on site. - 4.2 The following policies from the 2016 Strategic Plan are considered pertinent in the assessment of this application;
Strategic Policy 2 Priority for new development to identified towns and villages 3 To respect the character of our towns and villages 5 Design and visual impact
Spatial Policy 5 Development in the countryside will only be permitted in accordance with General Policy 3. General Policy 2 General Development Considerations 3 Exceptions to development in the countryside Environment Policy
42 Designed to respect the character and identity of the locality Transport Policy
5.1 Malew Commissioners - No objections. (10.01.24) - 5.2 Highways Services - No highways interest. (15.12.23) - 5.3 DEFA Biodiversity - The Ecosystem Policy Team can confirm that United Environmental Services' (UES) Preliminary Ecological Appraisal, Biodiversity Net Gain Assessment, and Ecological Enhancement Plan, dated May 2024, are all in order and that a suitable level of assessment has been undertaken.
In order to ensure no net loss and biodiversity net gain on site, a number of mitigation and enhancement measures have been proposed, as detailed in UES' Ecological Enhancement Plan. This includes:
The Ecosystem Policy Team therefore request that the measures contained in UES' Ecological Enhancement Plan are secured via a condition, this includes the employment of a Project Ecologist to oversee the various enhancement works on site. Though not referenced within the report, we also request that a condition is secured for no for no permanent external lighting to be installed unless a sensitive low level lighting plan, following best practise as detailed in the Bat Conservation Trust and Institute of Lighting Professionals Guidance Note 8/23 on Bats and Artificial Lighting (2023), has been submitted to Planning and approved in writing. (11.07.24)
5.4 Manx Utilities Authority - No response received at the time of writing.
6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are as follows:
"…with its substantial area of car parking space, out of keeping with a small-scale ancillary unit, the cabin nonetheless amounts, visually and practically, to a separate unit of living accommodation. Even accepting that it could be used so as to remain functionally and operationally associated with the existing Cottage, the cabin is of a nature and scale such that it is to be regarded as an unwarranted new dwelling in the countryside contrary to StP2 and GP3 of the IMSP."
"The cabin shares the single existing access drive and the partly wooded appeal site with Cloughwilly Cottage. The building and its associated driveway and parking are substantially screened from the surrounding area and public viewpoints. It can be accepted on the available evidence that, whilst there will have been some disturbance to general vegetation and ground levels, the construction of the cabin, carport and parking has not involved the felling of any major woodland trees. The building is set down into its site to some degree and is constructed of natural materials. Thus the design has evidently sought to moderate the degree of impact on the wooded rural landscape and the visual effect on the wider environment is modest.
Crucially though, this additional built development has intensified the residential use of the site, despite the mitigating circumstances outlined in connection with the issue of the principle of the development, discussed above. The effect is that the site is now more domestic and urban in both appearance and character than would have been the case before the cabin was built. In this regard, the development has cumulatively eroded the local landscape and fails to make any positive contribution to the Island environment, in terms of StP5 of the IMSP. Nor does it respect the site and surrounding landscape in layout, scale, form and design in accordance with GP2(b) and (c). It follows that the development fails also to protect the countryside for its own sake, as required by EP1 of the IMSP."
7.1 The development is considered to be acceptable in principle in this countryside location and of an appropriate form, mass and design without detriment to the character of the wider locality, subject to additional information provided with respect to detailed landscaping. The resultant development as proposed is therefore considered to be compliant with General Policy
2 and Environment Policies 1 and 42. The application is therefore recommended for approval.
8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons:
8.2 The decision maker must determine:
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 Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to the it by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Committee has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status.
Decision Made : …Permitted……….... Committee Meeting Date:…05.08.2024
Signed :………J SINGLETON……….. Presenting Officer
Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph to the officer report).
Signatory to delete as appropriate YES/NO See below
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This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the file copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online services/customers and archive records.
Application No 23/01380/B Applicant Mr Timothy Knowles Proposal Proposed development comprising the erection of a log cabin to be used as a gardeners cabin, machinery store and workshop (retrospective) exclusively for the management of the gardens and land forming part of the dwelling.
Site Address Clough Willey Cottage Tosaby Road St Marks Ballasalla Isle Of Man IM9 3AN Planning Officer Toby Cowell Presenting Officer Jason Singleton Addendum to the Officer Report The Committee endorsed the recommendation of the Case Officer with revision of condition 6 to include a 6 month time frame.
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