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DESIGN STATEMENT
PROPOSED STABLE BLOCK at FIELD 531216 WOODLAND HEIGHTS, ASHLEY ROAD ONCHAN
for
Mr & Mrs KEVIN MILLWARD
FLANAGING & BUILDING CONTROL RECEIVED ON 08 SEP 2015 DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
Carl Jenkins Design Reference: 2015/17/04
1.0 CONTENTS 2.0 Introduction 3.0 Existing Site 4.0 Planning History 5.0 Pre-Application Advice 6.0 Planning Policy 7.0 Scheme Proposals 8.0 Summary
Appendix A – Photographs of Application Site
Appendix B – Photographs of existing access lane
This Design Statement accompanies the full planning application for the erection of a stable block / animal shelter within Field 531216, under the land ownership of The Bungalow, Woodland Heights, Ashley Road, Onchan.
In this Design Statement the existing site, details of pre application consultations and the development proposals are discussed in full and should be read in conjunction with the following: -
The application site is within the agricultural field numbered 531216 and is located in the east of the Isle of Man on the outskirts of the parish of Onchan.
The application site covers approximately 140 square metres and is within the agricultural grazing field forming part of The Bungalow, Woodland Heights holding. The holding as a whole comprises a residential property and approximately 90,300 square metres (9.03 Hectares / 22.3 acres) of grazing land, spread over six fields which have recently been purchased by the current owners of the residential property. The extent of the grazing land and application site are indicated on Carl Jenkins Design drawing numbered 2015/17/01 included with this application.
The application site is on part of the grazing land associated with The Bungalow, Woodland Heights and is located to the south of the residential properties of The Bungalow, The Cottage, Woodland Towers and two further residential properties. The application site is located approximately 75m to the closest residential property to the north. There are also residential properties located to the south, Brownswood (approximately 90m) and the west, Maple Avenue and Ashley House (approximately 70m).
The land slopes from west of the application site towards the access road located to the east of the application site. The South and West boundaries of the application site comprise of a mixture of mature trees and established bracken whilst the north boundary of the application site gives access to The Bungalow, Woodlands Heights and a stock proof fence to The Cottage. The boundary along the east of the application site comprises a stock proof fence with limited vegetation and mature trees.
Photographs of the application site in relation to the adjoining residential properties are included in Appendix A at the rear of this document.
Vehicle access to application site is from Ashley Road in Onchan via a private access lane, which serves the existing residential properties and gives access to several agricultural fields, including field 531216. This private access lane is jointly owned by the residential properties served and the responsibility of maintenance and repairs are shared between the homeowners. The shared private access lane terminates at the Woodland Towers residence and the owners of The Bungalow have a legal right of
way over the lane to access their property. The section of lane between The Bungalow and Woodland Towers is not under the ownership of The Bungalow and the owner carries out maintenance / repairs. The shared private lane leads to a dead end and is not commonly used by members of the public.
Photographs of the existing shared access lane and private access to The Bungalow are included in Appendix B at the rear of this document.
There are no public footpaths in the immediate vicinity of the application site.
The site has not been subject to any planning applications under the current owners however as a whole has been subject to a planning application for a new field access in 2012. The previous owner submitted the application for a new field access and details are included below for reference in relation to this application.
Applications submitted by previous owners
Throughout the design process pre-application consultations have taken place with Mr Edmond Riley, Planning Officer and Mrs Hazel Reid, Highways Officer. These consultations have been in the form of a site visit, telephone conversations and email correspondence.
The advice given in the pre application consultations has been incorporated into the drawings and information that form the basis of this application.
6.1.1 Map 1 of the Onchan Local Plan 2000 indicates the application site is within an area designated as Open Space.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES AND RELEVANT STRATEGIC POLICIES
Within the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007, the following policies are of particular relevance to this application. For brevity the relevant Strategic Objectives and Policies have been referenced only and the following should be read in conjunction with the published Government document.
| Ref | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 12/00165/B | Permitted | Creation of new field access into field 531294 |
This application follows the Strategic Objective to encourage high quality development throughout the island and maintain the heritage & landscape identity of the existing grazing fields.
All these points have been considered and addressed as part of the scheme design development and are described in detail in this document.
k) The proposals do not prejudice the use or development of adjoining land l) The application site is not on contaminated land or is subject to flooding m) The proposals take into account the personal safety and security of its users n) The proposals will have minimal energy consumption
Although this policy states that development will not be permitted outside of those areas, which are zoned for development on the appropriate area plans there are some exceptions that relate to Equestrian Pursuits.
This proposal will not adversely affect the countryside.
The proposed building will provide shelter / stables for a small number of animals owned by the owner of The Bungalow, Woodland Heights and has been sited as close to the existing buildings as possible to minimize the impact on the surrounding area (see Scheme Proposals section below).
The proposed building complies with this policy.
The proposed building will provide shelter / stables for a small number of animals owned by the owner of The Bungalow, Woodland Heights and will not be detrimental to the character and appearance of the countryside.
7.0 SCHEME PROPOSAL
7.1 DESCRIPTION
The proposal seeks to construct a suitably sized animal shelter within the grazing land of Field 531216 to provide wintering for the existing animal stock and suitable storage facilities for animal feed associated with the animals. The building will also allow the future expansion of animal levels, suitable for the area of land contained within The Bungalow, Woodland Heights holding.
At present the owners of The Bungalow travel to Ballawhetstone stables in Ballabeg weekly to allow their daughters to go riding. If the proposals are approved then two additional horses can be purchased and housed in the stables so the girls could go riding before or/and after school on a daily basis without having to rely on a parent to transport them.
The design objectives have been to develop a proposal that: -
The position of the proposed building has been carefully considered to provide a suitable balance between keeping the surrounding building cluster together whilst maintaining adequate distance to ensure no adverse impact from noise or smells. In order to comply with current planning policy field 531216 was identified as the closest suitable location within the holding for a new stable building in relation to the existing buildings. The location of the existing field access gate and length of access track required within the field was also considered during the discussions regarding siting.
The proposed building seeks to utilise the existing slope of the land to minimize the height of the proposed building in relation to residential properties to the West of the application site. It is intended that the proposed animal shelter be built into the landscape of the existing field, with the ground to the rear of the building being graded to accommodate the new building and a 1.2m high retaining wall built behind. All excavated material will be used to create the bank alongside the new access lane (see section 7.8 below) or evenly spread across the surrounding area.
Due to the fact the building is going to be ‘dug into’ the landscape it will have very little impact on any public views from the residential properties to this West. Any visual impact will also be reduced by the existing boundary trees / bracken to the rear and side of the proposed building. There are no public roads or footpaths in the immediate vicinity of the proposals so therefore there will be no adverse impact on the public views of the countryside. The proposed bank used to screen the new access lane will be continued along the front of the proposed stable building to provide additional screening when viewed from the shared private access lane.
The proposed building is set in excess of 70m, measured at the closest point, from the nearest residential property and will be set significantly into the existing landscape so minimizing any harmful impact on the private residential amenity of the neighbouring properties. This distance and change in level will be sufficient to protect the living conditions of the occupants of all the surrounding residential properties.
The proposed location of the building will not have any impact on the existing mature trees or bracken along the boundaries.
The position and orientation of the proposed stable / animal shelter has been considered to make efficient use of the existing contours of the land. The building is to be dug into the existing bank sloping up towards the West boundary of the site in order to reduce the visual impact on the existing residential properties and access road. This also serves to minimize the visual impact on the surrounding landscape and views from the residential properties to the west of the application site.
The building has been orientated to provide maximum shelter from the prevailing southwest wind. This also allows the owners of The Bungalow, Woodland Height to monitor the animals from their property at all times.
The scale of the proposed building will be suitable to provide shelter / accommodation for the existing animal stock of two miniature horses whilst allowing the owners to increase the stock numbers by at least a further two horses for their children. Ultimately it is the intention to have up to six horses grazing on the holding and the building has been designed to comfortably provide shelter for these animals.
In addition to the animal shelter, the proposed building will accommodate animal feed and equipment associated with the general upkeep and exercise of horses.
The proposed building configuration and construction allows for the construction of each element of the stable block separately. It is likely that should this application be successful then the tack room, hay barn and four stables would be erected initially with the other two stable blocks being erected next year or when required.
The proposed building has been designed in accordance with traditional agricultural animal shelter / stable styled buildings. It is rectangular in form with a low pitched roof clad in traditional materials. The owner has opted for an off the shelf stable building that can be supplied by several companies and shipped to the Isle of Man for erection. The size of each stable / room is based on a standard configuration which has been used for many years.
It is intended that the highest quality materials be used throughout the project in keeping with the surrounding buildings. Originally the client would have preferred a masonry construction building however following discussions and reference to the Strategic Plan have decided to proceed with a more traditional timber frame construction.
The external walls are to be clad with Redwood timber cladding to give the building an agricultural appearance. The roof is to be finished with Onduline roof sheeting with translucent rooflights incorporated at high level to provide natural daylight to the internal space. Materials have been chosen to reflect the agricultural use of the
building whilst respecting the surrounding residential buildings and will be in keeping with similar buildings in the surrounding area.
Initially the possibility of accessing the proposed application site from the residential property known as The Bungalow was explored however it soon became apparent that this wasn't a feasible option. The shared private access lane leads to a section of access lane that is not under the ownership of The Bungalow before entering the residential property. This section of lane has a steep slope and at present has an uneven surface in a number of locations, which would result in difficult conditions for a vehicle towing a horsebox. Access into the grounds of the Bungalow is via a sharp 90 degree bend which again would prove difficult to negotiate with a horsebox.
Due to the existing constraints of the access into The Bungalow it was decided to utilize the existing field gate to access the site. This gate is accessed via the shared private access drive off Ashley road and is of suitable width to accommodate a vehicle towing a horsebox. A 3m wide stone track will be laid along the south boundary of field 531216, using the existing vegetation along the boundary to provide screening, up to the proposed stable block. The stone track will be widened at the field gate entrance to provide a 4.5m wide by 10m long area to allow additional manoeuvrability for long vehicles.
A 1m high by 1.5m wide bank will be constructed to the north side of the new entrance track, using the material excavated from under the building, to provide additional screening. This bank will be planted with native species including Hazel, Bramble, Honeysuckle and manx gorse, as recommended by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture. All new planting and maintenance will be carried out in accordance with the Code of Best Practice for Manx Hedgerow Management, published by the Isle of Man Government.
Access to the proposed building will be controlled by the owners of The Bungalow via the existing field gate, which will be kept lock when not in use.
It is anticipated there will be very little increase in traffic using the shared, private access lane and Ashley Road as the stables are for private use by the owners of The Bungalow only. Animals will only need to be transported when requiring treatment or attending occasional events / shows.
In summary: -
In light of the above and the enclosed documents we look forward to your recommendation for approval.
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