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Application No.: 07/01994/B Case Officer : Miss S E Corlett #### Consultations #### Representations ### Planning Applicant: Danford Ltd Proposal: Improvements to and use of estate roadway for construction vehicle access to development site Site Address: Balladoyne Estate St Johns Isle of Man **
The site, defined in orange, represents the Balladoyne Estate road which leads south from the A1 Peel Road through Balladoyne estate and stopping at the south western edge of the estate which bounds land which is designated for development (see below). The estate comprises 15 bungalows. The existing road is shown as a minimum of 4.8m in width, wider in some places.
The site is designated as Residential on the St. John's Local Plan. The land to the south and west is identified as being suitable for residential development in the form of five bungalows. A design brief was included which required, inter alia, that "The application for the development of the site must include an indication of the temporary route to be used by construction traffic and such route must be removed and the site made good when construction works are completed" and "Permanent access to the site after the development is completed may be taken through the Balladoyne estate".
No applications have been submitted in respect of the roadway within the estate but an application was submitted recently for the principle of the development of six dwellings on the land alongside and which was approved on appeal (PA 06/0371). One of the conditions of this approval was that "Construction traffic must use only the temporary access indicated on drawing number 4043/2: this temporary access must be removed and the land over which it passes much be restored to its current condition within one month of the completion of building operations: details of this access and the arrangement must be included in the application for reserved matters". Also "The application for reserved matters must include details of the proposed improvements to the visibility at the junction of the Balladoyne Estate Road and Peel Road, and of the proposed estate road widening; these works must be completed prior to the occupation of any of the dwellings".
The Inspector reporting on this appeal dealt with highways safety as a principal concern and comments that "Forward visibility for motorists approaching from the direction of Ballacraine of vehicles emerging from the access is virtually nil. To make matters worse there is no footpath along the southern side of the A1 carriageway and there is a bus stop and the trunk of a large mature tree just a few metres from the bell-mouth of the estate road". Despite these criticisms he concluded that the land use designation on the local plan should over-ride these concerns as the Department of Transport did not recommend at the time of the local plan preparation that there was a highways concern. He discussed ways in which the visibility could be improved and referred to using the land-owner's garden - Rosshay, within the estate, to provide part of this, removing a mature tree and vegetation in the front garden and comments that "The hazard likely to be created by the additional traffic generated by the approval of a further six dwellings would be more than offset in my view by the benefit of the improvement in visibility at the junction with Peel Road".
Proposed now is the improvement of the estate road and its use temporarily to accommodate the construction traffic associated with the undertaking of the development of the land to the south west. The improvements involve the removal of the tree, the lowering of the hedge (to a height not specified) and the relocation of the bus stop. The Manx Electricity Authority pole referred to in the earlier appeal is not mentioned. Also proposed is the widening of part of the estate road to allow vehicles to pass each other more easily.
The applicant, who is the potential purchaser of the site, explains in the letter that the land owner of the field over which the temporary access would be formed is no longer agreeable to the use of his field and as such, the applicant is now seeking permission to use Balladoyne estate road as the route into the site for construction traffic. They explain that an agreement was reached some time ago but that that right of access is due to expire before they will be able to complete the development. They suggest that a turning head could be constructed at the end of the road, hard standing provided on the building site so that no construction vehicles would be parked on the estate road. They also suggest that they will do their utmost to minimise any inconvenience to local
residents during the period of construction and will implement the works to improve the visibility at the junction of the estate road with the Main Road which are required to be undertaken prior to the occupation of any of the dwellings (as required by PA 06/0371).
There are objections to the application from the residents of the following properties in Balladoyne: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11 on the basis that the present alignment and width of the road creates traffic calming and the trees enhance the appearance of the estate and should not be removed, that the use of the estate road for construction traffic would be contrary to the terms of the previous approval for the development and the policies of the Local Plan, the estate road is not suitable or safe for construction traffic
The occupants of numbers 1, 8 and Rosshay indicate that they raise no objection to the application as the use of the estate road will expedite the development of the adjacent land, will be less likely to delay work due to inclement weather affecting the surface of the access and that the development will enhance the value of their properties in the longer term.
Department of Transport Drainage Division recommend that the developer should consult them in respect of any works to be carried out in the estate road due to the shallow depth of the public sewer in the road.
The Society for the Preservation of the Manx Countryside and Environment suggest that perhaps Government should assist the acquisition of the land necessary to avoid having to use the estate road if this is a problem.
German Parish Commissioners object to the application, acknowledging that there are objections from a number of residents of Balladoyne estate and suggesting that the impact of the proposed development would be unacceptable on the residents and note that the Local Plan requires that a temporary construction access is found so that Balladoyne estate road will not be used.
It is clear from the Local Plan and from the decision in respect of PA 06/0371 that it was always envisaged that construction traffic associated with the development of the land would not travel through Balladoyne and it is not unreasonable that local residents have been comforted by these provisions and now object to the construction route through the estate and past their properties.
The estate road is between 4.7 and 4.6m wide at present but with hard surfaced areas alongside which could enable road widening. The plans indicate that the estate road will be widened to 4.8m. If construction traffic is to use the estate road, this could include a range of vehicles from small vans to ready-mix concrete wagons, excavators and other heavy vehicles which could be up to 2.5m in width and due to the winding nature of the estate road would be unlikely to enable vehicles to pass alongside. In addition, the estate is generally quite open with either no boundary treatment or hedging, resulting in potentially a visual and aural nuisance to householders.
The visibility at the entrance is obscured to the east by the presence of the tree and the hedging alongside Rosshay which are to be removed. Whilst these are not within the defined site, the works do not require planning permission and could be controlled by condition. Such a condition should read that no construction vehicles may use Balladoyne Estate Road until such times as the tree has been removed and the roadside hedging has been reduced to a level not exceeding 1m above road level - all within the curtilage of Rosshay and as indicated on the plan reference 4175/S1.
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