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Application No.: 20/01473/B Applicant: Mr Jason & Mrs Leona Price Proposal: Alteration and erection of two storey extension and erection of detached garage with ancillary living accommodation above. Site Address: Hillside Cottage Ballavale Road Santon Isle Of Man IM4 1EH Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Expected Decision Level: Planning Committee Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 18.01.2021 _________________________________________________________________
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: The application has been assessed only in terms of this restricted use and to ensure that no new dwelling in the countryside is created which would be contrary to Strategic Policy 2, Spatial Policy 5 and Housing Policy 4 of the Strategic Plan 2016.
It is considered that the alterations to the dwelling comply with Environment Policies 1 and 2 and Housing Policy 16. It is considered that the erection of the garage will accommodate living space which is limited in area and whose visual impact would be acceptable, thus according with Environment Policies 1 and 2. Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following drawings: JLP_01 insofar as it defines the site, JLP_02 and JLP_03 all received on 4th December, 2020. _______________________________________________________________
None _____________________________________________________________________________
THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE AS IT COULD BE CONSIDERED A DEPARTURE FROM THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND IS RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL
1.1 The site is the residential curtilage of an existing dwelling which sits on the western side of the B26 Ballavale Road which links the Old and New Castletown Roads (A25 and A5). The curtilage is a long rectangle which runs parallel with the highway and which accommodates a detached dwelling with a garage block which sits to the rear (north). Vehicular access sits between the two buildings. - 1.2 The existing dwelling is not traditional, has a front door which sits on the southern elevation to the right of centre with two sets of windows to the right and one to the left over two floors. The rear elevation accommodates an asymmetric two storey extension and wrapped around this a window storey pitched roofed annex. - 1.3 The existing garage has a more steeply sloping roof with two floors of accommodation. On the ground floor there are parking spaces with a kitchen and dining room alongside with a set of stairs and two bedrooms above. This is not what was approved (see Planning History below). THE PROPOSAL
2.1 Originally proposed was the creation of two parking spaces (an area 6m by 6m) to the north of the existing garage block and the erection of a new garage between the two existing buildings and projecting slightly further west than does the existing dwelling but still within the existing curtilage. Also proposed was the raising of the height of the roadside wall but this was not included in the application drawings which were submitted to the Department. The applicant does not wish to pursue this in this current application. - 2.2 Also proposed is an extension on the western side of the existing house and the removal of the garage doors on the existing garage and the conversion of the internal space into a lounge and the replacement of the garage doors with windows. - 2.3 Following discussions with the applicant, and clarification of the "ancillary" nature of the proposals, the applicant has amended the proposal to remove the creation of the two new parking spaces and the replacement of the garage doors with windows, leaving the existing garage as it is. - 2.4 The proposal is now, therefore:
The extension of the house and The erection of a new garage
Extension of the house
2.5 The extension will be on the western side of the existing house and will add 5.2m across the full depth of the house (11.4m). This is entirely at the rear and only partially visible from the Ballavale Road, although could just be visible above the roadside stone wall on the A5 from where the top part of the existing house and the top of the existing garage are visible. This extension will provide a family/dining room at ground floor level and two bedrooms above. The property will result in having a lounge, two family/dining rooms and a kitchen at ground floor level and five bedrooms above. The applicant has explained that they are a family of six along with future aspirations of accommodating elderly relatives and that all of the buildings are on the same oil tank and rates although have a separate electricity meter that they pay. In their deeds they are prevented from selling the garage separately and it is not their intention to do so. - 2.6 The design and finish of the extension are to match the main house to which they would be attached forming a second gable separated by a link and removing the view of the asymmetric current rear annex. Proposed new garage - 2.7 The new garage will sit between the existing house and the existing garage which is now not to be changed. This will accommodate a double garage space served by a double garage door with a pedestrian door alongside which leads to accommodation above which will be around 30 - 36 sq m of floorspace above 1.5m ceiling height. The Housing (Standards) Regulations 2017 advise that single occupancy permanent flats should be no smaller than 30 sq m and up to 25 sq m. - 2.8 The building will have an asymmetric pitched roof with the lower part facing the road and with a central dormer. The accommodation shown is a lounge-kitchenette area with a bedroom and shower room. The building will be finished with natural slates and rendered walls to match the existing buildings on the site. - 2.9 A new retaining wall will be required to the north of the new garage to accommodate the slope of the site. PLANNING POLICY
3.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Town and Country Planning (Development Plan) Order 1982 as not for a particular purpose and also within areas of Woodland and High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Significance. On the Area Plan for the East which has recently been approved, the site is also in an area not designated for a particular purpose and also within the Landscape Character Appraisal, as Incised Inland Slopes where the following policy is available:
Landscape Proposal 7 (Santon) In cases where new development is proposed, applications must demonstrate that it can be suitably integrated into the surrounding landscape setting through reasonable mitigation measures and considering siting, colours, materials, finishes and the general scale.
3.2 As such, there is a presumption against development here as set out in Environment Policies 1 and 2 which protect the countryside for its own sake and also which protects the landscape as the most important consideration. General Policy 3 sets out exceptions to the presumption against development in the countryside and whilst it does not include policies which allow extensions to existing residential properties (Housing Policies 15 and 16) these provisions do exist elsewhere in the Strategic Plan. There is nothing within the Plan which allows for the erection of garages although it is generally acknowledged that permission is not
3.5 The Department has recently published the Residential Design Guidance (March 2019) which provides advice on the design of new houses and extensions to existing property as well as how to assess the impact of such development on the living conditions of those in adjacent residential property. - 3.6 Ancillary accommodation is not the subject of any particular policies within the Strategic Plan. Planning guidance on such development can be found elsewhere. This is all on the following basis:
First, a severability test, and second, an environmental impact test. Applying the first test, one would ask whether the alleged ancillary use could practically and viably operate on its own were the primary use of the premises to cease. If it could, then the use is very unlikely to be ancillary as there is clearly no linkage or dependency. The second test would look to any outward effects of the use, in terms of the appearance of the premises, the amenity of the surrounding area or neighborhood traffic conditions. If it could be shown that there would be a significantly greater impact following from the introduction of the alleged ancillary activity than one could reasonably expect from the existing use, then it is unlikely that the use could be so described.
In the UK there was the following example: The proposals concerned the conversion of an existing domestic garage and rear storage area to residential use. The property was located at the end of a long drive, which also served the main dwellinghouse and it was proposed to convert the garage into two bedrooms, lounge,
bathroom and kitchen/dining room. The appellants claimed that the building would be occupied by close family or as holiday accommodation. The inspector in noting that the garage was located within 1.5m of the dwellinghouse, held that it would be difficult for the council to ensure that the occupation of the unit generated the necessary degree of dependency upon the host dwelling so as to render its use ancillary to the primary residence. Occupants would have a limited amount of amenity space within a rear courtyard and accordingly this would impinge upon the amenity of occupiers of the main dwelling. She considered that a condition would not enable the ancillary link to be maintained since it could be breached without the council knowing. Consequently she held that the conversion was unacceptable (Chichester 30/4/02 DCS No.050-329-284).
Ancillary in planning terms means that the said building is used by and for the people of the main property, in a secondary manner and the whole planning unit (including the additional building) remains as a single unit of accommodation. You cannot have an entirely independent property 'ancillary' to another (except rare occasions for staff).
What needs to be considered when determining this is HOW a building is being used. It boils down to whether something is a single household. A household contains either a single person, a family or people who live as a family. A good way to explain it is imagining a college house. If a group of you get together and rent a house, you divide up all the bills, watch telly together and have the occasional meal together, then you are living as a single household. If you rent a room from the landlord and pay your bills separately to him and watch television in your room, then you are not living as a single household (it is a matter of fact and degree).
Consequently, it is neither here nor there if someone owns the additional accommodation on the farm, in the garden and so on: what matters is whether they live separately (ie come and go, watch television, eat, have different visitors etc) . If they do, then it is a separate dwelling. This also applies to relatives - even if it is someone's granny, or son, if they live separately, then it is a separate household. If there is a kitchen and lounge accommodation included, then there is no need for the occupants to cook or spend time with anyone in any of the other adjacent dwellings and of course it is beyond planning control to ensure that someone spends a particular length of time in a particular place.
4.1 The existing garage was approved as a garage and stable with tack room and games room above (85/00980/B). The applicant has stated that the garage was as it is shown in the submitted existing drawings when they purchased the site two years ago and that the owners before that confirmed that it was also like that when they owned the property. They suggest that the internal fittings suggest that it has been like that for a considerable time - beyond the ten years in which enforcement action would be possible under the 1999 Town and Country Planning Act. No changes are now being proposed to this building.
4.2 The two storey extension at the rear of the property was added under 85/00980/B with the single storey wrap around added under 87/00014/B. - 4.3 88/01788/B saw the addition of a boundary wall and 94/00780/B saw permission for a rear porch. - 4.4 Whilst not within the application site, it is relevant that planning approval in principle was refused for the erection of 6 dwellings in the field to the north, for reasons relating to the land use designation and unsustainable location as well as the visual impact and lack of information to demonstrate a safe means of access is available as well as noting that the Area Plan for that area was at the time being progressed and debated and that was the appropriate means of finding out whether the land should be designated for development. REPRESENTATIONS
5.1 Highway Services do not oppose the application subject to conditions relating to the drawings submitted (06/01/21). ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The application now involves an extension to a non traditional dwelling and the erection of a detached garage which will sit between the existing house and the existing garage.
6.2 The alterations to the dwelling will not increase its impact and is well designed and finished. It will not have an adverse impact on the countryside and thus is considered to comply with Environment Policies 1 and 2 and Housing Policy 16. - 6.3 The garage will be a new structure in the countryside which provides living accommodation. The amount of accommodation is limited, possibly to less than is accepted under the Housing (Standards) Regulations 2017 to permanently accommodate one person. This accommodation will also share the same access and the garaged spaces are also likely to be shared with the main house, particularly with the increased levels of ownership of electric vehicles which benefit from covered space for charging and electric and non electric bicycles all of which support sustainable forms of transport, which also benefit from undercover and secure storage. - 6.4 The visual impact of the new garage is limited by between two existing structures and within the residential curtilage although it will be seen from the highway. Its appearance is that of a garage with accommodation above and a condition could be applied to retain the ground floor garaging as parking for the site in general.
7.1 It is considered that the alterations to the dwelling comply with Environment Policies 1 and 2 and Housing Policy 16. It is considered that the erection of the garage will accommodate living space which is limited in area and whose visual impact would be acceptable, thus according with Environment Policies 1 and 2. INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons:
I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to that body 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: 04.02.2021 Signed : C BALMER Presenting Officer
Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph to the officer report).
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