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Application No.: 15/00448/B Applicant: John Robert Cubbon Proposal: Refurbishment, restoration and extension of existing tholtan to form a dwelling house Site Address: Field 425114 & 425023 Ballaglonney Farm Ronague Road Ronague Castletown Isle of Man Case Officer : Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken: 07.05.2015 Site Visit: 07.05.2015 Expected Decision Level: Planning Committee
THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AS IT DOES NOT COMPLY WHOLLY WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN
1.1 The site is two fields and a strip of land which all lie to the north east of the Ballaglonney Road, a lane which leads east from the B42 Ronague Road towards Ballaglonney Farms, Ballaglonney and Ballalona - the latter two being private dwellings. This road is also a public footpath. - 1.2 The site is 1.7ha (4.3 acres) in area along with a strip of land which indicates the route of a proposed new access to the Ballaglonney Road. - 1.3 The site accommodates just one building, the remains of a former dwelling. This has all four of its walls but no roof and both of its chimneys. The building is stone with distinctive courses of beach stone and white quoins on all of the corners. The building is visible from the B42 but not prominent. Ballaglonney Farmhouse itself is a lovely example of Manx stone faced cottage and sits some 150m away, separated from the application building by fields and farm buildings. - 1.4 The southern part of the proposed access route is currently marshy land with no obvious existing route to the adopted highway and some standing water alongside the hedge. THE PROPOSAL
2.1 Proposed is the renovation of the existing building and its extension. The extensions as proposed initially are on the front and rear: the front extension is a large two storey glazed addition to one side and that on the rear is a narrower centrally positioned solid stone walled two storey annex. Generally the existing window and door apertures are to be retained. The applicant explains that the engineer has recommended that the front wall be rebuilt which "lends itself to opening up the existing building to link to the new extension". They consider that the building sits "proudly" in the landscaped and deserves to be preserved. Housing Policies 13 and 14 are referred to but not discussed in any detail.
2.2 The application includes a report from a Structural Engineer. This advises that the building was last occupied around 80 years ago. He describes the site as being elevated and severely exposed. He describes the walls as of solid construction consisting of random rubble Manx slate bedded in lime mortar. He states that other than the front wall the building shows no apparent signs of significant differential settlements of the foundations to the walls. Settlement causes V shaped cracking and distorted window and door openings. Settlement of the front wall foundations has caused distortion to the windows on each side of the front door and joints have opened. He describes some evidence of settlement to the front right hand corner and rear wall causing joints to open. He describes the walls as being reasonably vertical although the front wall bows out by around 100-150mm which is likely, he considers, to have been caused by the spreading of the roof structure and aggravated by foundation movement. He recommends consideration to the raking of the masonry to the front wall back to the gable walls and rebuilding them in reclaimed stone. Overall he considers the walls in reasonable condition and the renovation is therefore "viable". - 2.3 He recommends the strengthening of the corners using stainless steel rods and epoxy resin and installed by specialists and the top courses of the walls removed and re-bedded in lime mortar. The existing slate lintels are in good condition and may be re-used although if fractures are found they can be replaced. Where timber lintels are in place they will be replaced with concrete. - 2.4 The first floor needs to be replaced and the existing ground floor replaced by a concrete slab with appropriate damp proofing. During this the foundations of the walls could be underpinned with a minimum depth of foundation being 450mm. Segmental concrete underpinning he advises would resolve foundation deficiencies. - 2.5 There is an existing access to the property through the farm yard. However the applicant wishes to create a separate access on the basis that the existing lane is narrow with high hedges and serves both the farm and the tholtan and the creation of passing places would require the removal of hedges. The new access would be wider and could accommodate modern farm machinery and vehicles more readily than can the existing lane. This is sited close to existing field boundaries. - 2.6 The applicant has contacted the various service authorities who have advised that water and electricity can be provided to the building. - 2.7 Drainage will be designed following the undertaking of percolation tests. - 2.8 Following discussion with the planning office and the Biodiversity Officer of Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, the design of the extensions and the route of the new access have been amended. The extensions now limit the alteration to the existing front elevation and add only a glazed porch and the extensions are to the left hand side with a single storey living room which will be stone faced and a small rendered link with a slightly lower height roof. To the rear there will be another single storey rendered annex. Rooflights are shown to be conservation type with a central transom and windows are shown to be sliding sash but in uPVC framing. - 2.9 The new access will now avoid an area of marshy ground which has some ecological interest, now cutting across the field to the east and joining the access lane (public footpath). The new lane will have a passing place and will have Manx hedges on each side. PLANNING STATUS AND POLICY
3.1 The site lies within an area of open space on the Area Plan for the South adopted in 2013 as open space. There is a general presumption against development in the countryside as set
out in Environment Policy 1 and General Policy 3 although provision is made for the renovation of existing buildings under Housing Policies 12 and 13 as follows:
In assessing whether a property has lost its habitable state by abandonment, regard will be had to the following criteria:
3.2 In this case the property has lost its residential status by abandonment and is of architectural interest and is apparently capable of renovation and as such Housing Policy 13 is applicable:
This policy will not apply in National Heritage Areas (see Environment Policy 6). Permission will not be given for the use of buildings more ruinous than those in a) above, or for the erection of replacement buildings. Extensions of dwellings formed in accordance with the above may be permitted if the extension is clearly subordinate to the original building (ie. in terms of floor space measured externally, the extensions measures less than 50% of that or the original)."
4.1 No planning applications have been submitted for this tholtan. The farm has been the subject of a number of applications, none of which is relevant to the consideration of the current proposal. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Arbory Commissioners have no objections to the principle of the renovation but have concern at the front annex as shown initially (22.05.15). They have no comment on the amended plans (29/07/15).
5.2 Manx Utilities Authority seeks consultation regarding the provision of an electricity supply (19.05.15). - 5.3 Department of Infrastructure Highway Services indicate that is has no objection to the application (22/07/15).
6.1 The issues in this case are whether the works to renovate the property are in line with the provisions of Housing Policy 13 and preserve the character of the building and also whether the proposed access is acceptable in principle and in detail in terms of visual impact, highway safety and ecology. Visual impact of the building works to the dwelling
6.2 The revised scheme has much less impact on the character and appearance of the cottage and retains the frontage more or less as it currently is and would have been. The porch is traditional in appearance and scale and lightweight in construction and will enhance the appearance of the cottage and the new extensions are very much ancillary and may well not be publicly visible due to their height in relation to the surrounding topography. The main cottage will remain the principal element of the building mass which is the critical consideration. The materials and details of windows, doors and roofing are all appropriate for the character of the building. Impact of the access - 6.3 The policy requires that the property has an existing usable access. It does not actually require that this access is used, nor that a new access would be automatically unacceptable although it is inferred that the policy assumes that the existing usable access will actually be used. In this case there is a usable access which could be used but this is not ideal either for additional traffic or for the existing traffic which uses it, due to the surface treatment width and alignment. The proposed access will improve access to the farm as a whole regardless of the proposed works to the tholtan and traffic resulting from that new use. As such, it is not considered that the proposed new access is unacceptable in principle nor that the application should fail because it is not being served by the existing access. - 6.4 The proposed new access will have a visual impact in that there will be new hedges and hard surfacing where there is presently just agricultural field. However, as it now has an angle within the overall alignment, it will reduce the impact of a very long and straight feature which may have looked very new and artificial although the other lanes in the vicinity are long and relatively straight. As such, the proposed new access is considered to be acceptable. It is also relevant that not far away another tholtan was approved for renovation despite there being no existing usable access and only a footpath through a field (Ballalona - PAs 09/00024/A and 13/00519/REM). - 6.5 In summary it is considered that with some change to the setting of the site and the building itself, the proposal will result in the rescue of an interesting building which is suitable and will benefit from being renovated and the application is recommended for approval.
7.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, the following persons are automatically interested persons:
Manx Utilities Authority does not raise material planning issues and as such should not be afforded interested person status.
With effect from 1 June 2015, the Transfer of Planning & Building Control Functions Order 2015 amends the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 to give effect to the meaning of the
word ‘Department’ to be the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture unless otherwise directed by that Order. Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 14.08.2015 Conditions and Notes for Approval: C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
Reason: To comply with article 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
This approval relates to the drawings S1 and the location plan received on 22nd April, 2015 and PA3, PA4, SP1A and SP2 all received on 14th July 2015.
I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the appropriate delegated authority.
Decision Made : Approved Committee Meeting Date: 24.08.2015 Signed : Miss S E Corlett Presenting Officer Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph). Signatory to delete as appropriate YES/NO
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