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Planning Submission Report Approval in Principle for the erection of two dwellings, Close Mooar, Glen Darragh Road, Glen Vine, Isle of Man. 30th March 2007
Ref:1098/4.2
Proposal: Approval in Principle for the creation of 2 detached dwellings Address: Field South of Close Mooar (County Series 1298), Glen Darragh Road, Glen Vine, Isle of Man. IM4 4BE. Applicant: Mr J Martin and Ms N Carter Agent: Hugh Logan Architects, Bridge Court, 10 Bridge Street, Castletown, Isle of Man.
The Application site is a field/paddock between the Heritage Trail, Glen Darragh Road and an existing dwelling, Close Mooar to the south of Glen Vine. The site has been used as a private garden area by the owner of Close Mooar for some 20 years.
An application for the erection of 4 dwellings on this site (application no. PA06/00635) was refused at appeal on January 18, 2007.
The reasons for refusal based on the Appeal Inspector's report are as follows:
a) The site is not zoned for development and provides a transition between reasonably low density development on the opposite side of the road and the open countryside through which the old railway line still has the appearance of running.
However, the Inspector also described this site 'as an anomaly when viewed on the plan, as much development has been built in the vicinity recently, apparently not in accordance with the zoning of the development plan.'
b) Suitability of the means of access to provide for a safe means of ingress and egress.
In order to address the Appeal Inspector's concerns regarding the formation of a transition zone from low density development to countryside, it is proposed to reduce the number of dwellings to two. The dwellings will be located at the northern end of the site, towards Close Mooar and within the existing building line along Glen Darragh Road (refer to Proposed Site Plan Drawing No. 1098 - 02A). The southern end of the site would be retained as open space and additional tree screening is proposed along the boundary.
An accurate survey of the site has been undertaken to position the exact boundary line and tree locations. It is proposed that a single access/egress point be located at the northern end of the site along Glen Darragh Road. 70 metre by 2.4 metre vehicular sight lines in each direction can be achieved from the access, as indicated on Site Plan Drawing No.1098 - 02A. A meeting has been held with Ms Laura Mason from the Department of Transport who has approved the proposed new access and sight lines (refer to Appendix A- letter from Department of Transport dated March 23, 2007). However, they have also requested a 2 metre deep grass verge running parallel with the boundary in the direction of St Marks. This has been incorporated into the proposed site layout.
Whilst this is an outline application for Approval in Principle only, indicative drawings of the proposed dwellings have been provided.
As the site is located near to a school, it is considered appropriate that the new dwellings are family houses, detached in character with large gardens. The building footprints are concentrated mainly at Ground Floor level. It is proposed that the elevation adjacent to the western boundary is single storey to prevent overlooking into the adjacent field.
The style and character of the dwellings are in keeping with recently constructed dwellings along Glen Darragh Road. It is proposed to incorporate good quality materials such as slate, facing brickwork and cedar cladding in addition to an eco- friendly approach to energy generation and conservation.
The application site, whilst not zoned in accordance with the 1982 Development Order falls within an area of Glen Vine where much recent development has been approved and developed contrary to the Order (Refer to Appendix B of this report). This reflects the fact that the Development Order Plan is 25 years old, is clearly out of date and is due to be replaced by New Area Plans to follow adoption of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan.
The strategic objectives of the Draft Isle of Man Strategic Plan (November 2004) offer support to this application. In particular, paragraph 3.2c sets out an objective 'to guide most new development to existing settlements, thus making optimum use of existing and planned infrastructure and services'.
The Strategic Objectives give rise to Strategic Policies. The Policies relevant to this proposal are:
Strategic Policy 1 – Development should make the best use of the resources by
a) Maximising the use of redundant, unused and under-used land and buildings, and re-using scarce indigenous building materials. b) Ensuring efficient use of sites, taking into account the need of access, landscaping, open space and amenity standards; and c) Being located as to utilise existing and planned infrastructure, facilities and services.
The application proposal aims to make efficient use of a large private open space attached to a single dwelling house (Close Mooar). By proposing to develop the land for new family houses it makes efficient use of land within the existing built extremities of the Village whilst maintaining a transition zone from countryside and former railway line to low density development.
The development of new family homes within walking distance of an existing school meets with another objective of the Strategic Plan by reducing the need for travel by private car and making best use of existing infrastructure.
Strategic Policy 2 states:
'New development will be located primarily within our existing towns and villages or where appropriate in sustainable urban extensions of these towns and villages'.
Both Crosby and Glen vine are identified and noted in Appendix 3 of the Strategic Plan as being existing settlements to which this policy refers.
Strategic Policy 2 highlights the need for additional housing on the island by making provision for 5400 additional dwellings within the period 2001 – 2016. This proposal makes a modest but viable contribution to this requirement. Under Section 8.5 of the Strategic Plan (Distribution of Housing) reference is made to a ‘general policy of containment of built development rather than dispersal. Containment produces greater efficiency and sustainability in terms of the provision of essential infrastructure (power drainage, roads, schools, water and other utilities).’
5.0 Summary and Conclusion
The application proposal satisfies many of the objectives and policies of the emerging Strategic Plan. It is clearly evident that the 1982 Development Plan for this area is well out of date and this is reflected in recent development on unzoned land within the vicinity of the site. The proposal offers a high quality low density development in keeping with other new developments in the area which is contained within the built extremities of the village. A large area of open space is retained as a ‘transition zone’ to the countryside. As with other unzoned land in the area which has been granted planning permission for development, this proposal should be taken on its own merits and planning approval ought to therefore be granted.
Hugh Logan Architects March 2007
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