Officer Report

Application No.: 15/00612/B Applicant: Mrs Brian Douglas Proposal: Demolition of existing boathouse and erection of extension to dwelling to provide ancillary living accommodation (comprising amendments to PA 14/01003/B) Site Address: Derbyhaven House Derbyhaven Isle of Man IM9 1TS Case Officer : Miss S E Corlett Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation

Officer’s Report THE SITE

1.1 The site is the curtilage of Derbyhaven House, a two storey house which sits between two other dwellings - Traa-dy-Liooar to the north and the Marine Court Apartments to the south. The dwelling has attached to its front a single storey stone boathouse which extends from the house by 10.8m in front of an existing flat roofed outbuilding which comes out 8m from the side of the house. - 1.2 The existing boathouse sits some 3.2m from the front projection of the adjacent apartments, both buildings having windows which look towards each other. - 1.3 The boathouse is unique in the streetscene in terms of such a long building extending in front of the main dwelling, although given the proximity of the shore and boats, it is not out of keeping with the area. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 Proposed is the redevelopment of all of the buildings in front of the existing dwelling and the erection of a new building which is 1m shorter than the boathouse, the same height for a length of 3.2m where the buildings step down to form a patio of 3.2m and then the building steps back up, higher than the existing boathouse to join the house. The side of the building which faces towards the apartments to the south will be finished in stone wall which marks the current boundary above which will be built a timber faced rendered wall adding a further 2m in height to preserve the privacy of both properties. - 2.2 The new accommodation provided will be living and dining rooms, a utility and hall and a kitchen, all accessible from and ancillary to the main accommodation in Derbyhaven House. - 2.3 The front elevation which will face the road will appear similar to the existing except the timber doors will be replaced with glazing. The elevation on the higher part of the new building will have similar glazing looking towards the road but partly obscured by the lower part of the structure. Two existing windows in the front elevation of the house are to be affected - one blocked up completely and the other blocked up in the lower half.

2.4 Planning approval has already been granted for the redevelopment of the boathouse under PA 14/01003/B. The current application differs from that in that the pitch of the roofs on the new extension are now steeper and the ridges are now around 700mm higher, the glazing in the two front gables facing the road are now slightly different, previously the first floor windows was not to be reduced and blocked off and the building was to be less wide. PLANNING STATUS AND POLICY

3.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Area Plan for the South adopted in 2013 as Existing Residential. The Plan provides further information about the Derbyhaven area at Appendix 4:

• (i) Description: Derbyhaven comprises a group of dwellings clustered around the junction where the Castletown Road meets the Fort Island Road. It is a compact group, having a welldefined boundary with the Airport and the Golf Course. There are no public buildings, but there is a sense of place arising from its geographical position facing the largely natural harbour, and the pleasant public foreshore.
• (ii) Assessment: The group is clearly not sustainable, there is little or no scope for infilling, and extension of the group into Airport or Golf Course land would be undesirable. Derbyhaven is not far enough from Castletown for there to be a valid argument for local housing need. Additional dwellings are not therefore proposed.

3.2 As such and bearing in mind the previous approval granted for a similar scheme, the principle of the erection of a dwelling here is not considered to be an issue. - 3.3 The general standards of development set out in General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan are applicable in this case:

"Development which is in accordance with the land use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted, provided that the development:

• b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the space around them;
• c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality; k) does not prejudice the use or development of adjoining land in accordance with the appropriate Area Plan." PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 Other than the most recent application referred to above the site has been the subject of a number of applications, none of which is considered to be relevant to the consideration of the current proposal. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Department of Infrastructure Highway Services indicate that they do not object to the application (18.06.15). ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The key issues in this case is the visual impact and that on the adjacent Marine Court Apartments from the changes which arise from the scheme compared with that which was approved under PA 14/01003/B. In assessing the impact on the neighbours, it is relevant that whilst the ridge height is increased, the eaves level which is the more critical of the measurements as it is closer to the windows in the property, is only marginally higher, resulting in no discernible different in impact on the adjacent apartments.

6.2 The changes to the building will result in more glazing which is not necessarily out of keeping with the building or its surroundings and will not enable any greater level of overlooking than would the previous scheme. - 6.3 As such the application is recommended for approval.

PARTY STATUS

7.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• (a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant’s agent;
• (b) The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested;
• (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material, in this case Department of Infrastructure and (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

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:

29.06.2015

Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal

C : Conditions for approval

• N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal
• O : Notes attached to refusals

• 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 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

• C 2. The extension hereby approved shall not be occupied at any time other than for purposes incidental to the residential use of the dwelling known as Derbyhaven House and 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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This approval relates to drawings 1H, 2H, 3H, 4H and 5H all received on 1st June, 2015.

I confirm that this decision accords with the appropriate Government Circular delegating functions to Director of Planning and Building Control /Head of Development Management/ Senior Planning Officer.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : Determining officer (delete as appropriate) Signed :…………………………………….. Chris Balmer Senior Planning Officer Signed :…………………………………….. Sarah Corlett Senior Planning Officer Signed : Michael Gallagher Michael Gallagher Director of Planning and Building Control Signed :…………………………………….. Jennifer Chance Head of Development Management