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RECEIVED
17 SEP 2009
Additional information relevant to this application. This is in response to issues raised by the Appeal Inspector's report relating to the original planning application (PA: 08/00693/B)
A site level and tree survey has been carried out by IOMGroundmodels and submitted with the application.
The proposed levels of the new dwelling and access driveway have been shown on the site plan. Sections through the driveway show existing and proposed levels to indicate the amount of imported infill required to construct the road. The hardcore fill for the driveway would be recycled crushed material as supplied by local firms such as FPL Limited.
Structural & Civil Engineers, John Gray, have produced details and cross sections of the retaining walls required for the new driveway. The visible faces of the retaining wall are built in Manx stone to blend in with the landscaping, and the effective height of the wall has been minimised by a grassed embankment against it.
The owner of the adjacent land, Mr. Morris, has claimed that part of the land purchased by the applicant is actually in his ownership. This is strongly disputed by the applicant and legal measures are in progress to clarify this. While the previous Inspector commented that this did not affect the merits or otherwise of the proposal, the new scheme has been redesigned so that whatever the outcome of the dispute it will not affect the design or siting of the new dwelling.
To this end the original garden room to the north elevation has been omitted and the remaining building has been reduced by approximately 2.45 metres. This gives a total reduction in the overall length of the building of 8 metres. This also responds to other comments from neighbours and the Commissioners who felt the previous application was over development of the site.
This has also been amended to reposition the dwelling further away from the west boundary and in doing so provides additional private amenity space to the rear garden. The rear garden will not overlooked by Maughold Lodge.
The proposed access has now been modified to provide a combined 'pull in' space with Maughold Lodge. This allows the new driveway to be repositioned further away from the boundary with the Queen's Valley and achieves the required 18 metre visibility splays. It also allows additional landscaping to be provided as a buffer between the rear gardens of Queen's Valley and the driveway in order to maintain the neighbours privacy.
The combined driveway also has the added advantage of providing a passing place along this section of the lane.
The above was discussed on site with a representative from the Highways Division of the Department of Transport, and deemed to be an acceptable solution to the queries raised by the previous Appeal Inspector. The following additional information was also provided by the D.o.T follow a recent traffic survey of Claughbane Walk:-
Speeds (based on 85 percentile of traffic speed)
50 vehicles use the road daily with 14 of these during peak time (8.00am - 9.00am)
There was concern that the proximity and height of the new access driveway adjacent to the Queens Valley properties would cause a 'loss of privacy, or at least a perception of lost privacy'. As discussed in item 5 above, the repositioning of the proposed driveway allows a larger landscaping buffer between the properties. This would be landscaped with medium sized trees and bushes such as hawthorn, rowan and holly to reduce overlooking. The existing boundary trees and hedging would also be retained. The visible height of the stone retaining wall along the proposed driveway is to be kept to a minimum by having a grassed embankment against it. This will again reduce the perception of the retaining walls towering over neighbouring gardens.
It should also be noted that the access and driveway will be primarily used by vehicles and there will not be occasion for people to be standing at these points for any great length of time. Any potential loss of the neighbours privacy is therefore minimal and no more than already exist by people walking along Claughbane Walk.
There were concerns by the neighbours regarding the existing poor quality of surface water drainage in the area and that proposed soakaways would be ineffective. There were additional concerns over rainwater from Claughbane Road entering the site at the new access and so exacerbating the problem. It is intended that the latter would be resolved by providing drainage channels across the entrance to prevent storm water from the lane entering the site.
The majority of rainwater water on the site will be dealt with by providing a separate surface water system to connect into either:-
A: The existing combined drain at the last inspection chamber on site. This gives the ability to separate the foul and surface water systems at a future date.
or
B: Into a proprietary rainwater harvesting system. The rainwater would then be recycled for use in the washing machine, toilets or watering the garden.
Surface water drains will also be provided along the new driveway and parking area, connected into a rainwater harvesting system.
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