Heritage Homes Supporting Statement

Ms E.J. Callow, Secretary to the Planning Committee, The Department of Local Government and the Environment, Murray House, Mount Havelock, Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 2SF

13th April 2005

Dear Ms Callow,

Re; Erection of 6 dwellings in plots of at least 1 acre each, with access drives, landscaping and drainage works, Land directly north of Groudle Road and between Groudle View and The Old Toll House, Onchan

Please find enclosed three copies of an application seeking detailed planning approval for the above, each copy comprising;

• a completed application form;
• a statement of supporting information; and
• a set of drawings as listed on the form.

Please also find enclosed a planning fee of £990 in the form of a cheque.

I trust that this is sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Committee, please do not hesitate to contact me should you require further information.

Yours sincerely,

Heritage Homes Ltd

Erection of 6 Dwellings in Plots of at Least 1 Acre Each, with Access Drives, Landscaping and Drainage Works, Groudle Road, Onchan

Supporting Information

1. The site is an area of approximately 9 acres immediately to the north of Groudle Road and directly east of the existing dwellings of Groudle View. At its north eastern corner the site adjoins an electricity substation site and the dwelling "The Old Toll House". The northern site boundary in part adjoins the wooded area of Groudle Glen, with narrow sections that extend to the river to allow for the laying of drainage pipes and the creation of a footpath.

1. The site is predominantly within an area that is designated for Proposed Low Density Housing in Parkland (LDHP) by the Onchan Local Plan. Part of the site to the west of the electricity substation is designated as woodland, and this will not be affected by development works. Paragraph 4.15 of the Plan refers to the application site, and suggests that the roadside hedge should be retained/reinstated and that new dwellings should not be visible from Groudle Road. Policy O/RES/P/4 of the Plan reiterates this view, adding that no development should be erected within 80 metres of the river and that the northern part of the site should include Public Open Space. The new dwellings will be more than 80 metres from the river, the roadside sod hedge is to be retained and reinstated where necessary (save for access points), and a significant part of the land designated for LDHP will be set aside for Public Open Space.

1. Planning approval in principle has previously been granted under PA 97/00772 for the residential development of an area which included the application site, with detailed approval being granted under PA 99/0430. Although house types were not shown for the 6 plots within the application site, the appeal inspector for PA 99/0430 concluded that two storey dwellings at the "Groudle Road frontage" of the site would be acceptable.

1. The dwellings will each be set within a plot of at least 1 acre thus complying with the provisions of the LDHP Planning Circular. The slope of the site will

ensure that the dwellings are set well below the level of Groudle Road and they will therefore have little visual impact from that direction; the slope will also necessitate an element of "cut and fill" for each dwelling and a levelling of the areas in front of the dwellings on Plots 3A to 6A as shown on the submitted drawings. When viewed from the more distant Whitebridge Road direction the larger gap between the dwellings on plots 2A and 3A helps the layout to avoid an overly uniform appearance and removes the need to build on the steepest part of the site.

1. Different detailing, materials and colours will be used on the dwellings so as to introduce visual variety to the site, particularly when seen from the more distant viewpoints to the north west. New sod hedges will be introduced to define the boundaries between plots, as well as the northern boundaries of plots 1A, 2A and part of 3A. The remainder of the northern boundary of plot 3A and those of plots 4A, 5A and 6A is already defined by a sod hedge, which will be repaired where necessary. An existing hedge, which is in poor repair, is to be removed from the centre of plot 3A.

1. Combined drainage from all six plots will be taken by a single underground pipe to the Groudle River, where it will discharge via a headwall and spillway. Each dwelling will be connected to its own private sewage treatment plant, with the environmentally acceptable treated effluent being discharged along with surface water. Consultation with the Environmental Protection Officer responsible for water has shown the proposed standard of treatment to be acceptable in this instance.

1. A footpath currently runs through the Public Open Space on the northern side of the existing housing development before reaching the boundary of Groudle Glen in the vicinity of the proposed plots 3 & 4. From this point there is no formal connection with the footpath which runs through the glen, only a series of trails which lead across and down a very steep bank. It is proposed to formalise the connection with the glen footpath, providing a new link to the north of plot 3A. The new path will be unsurfaced to match the existing footpaths and will include steps where necessary.