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This site represents a suitable and valuable opportunity to provide a bespoke and aspirational housing development on existing residential land within the Castletown area. The following key planning considerations are relevant to this proposal:
These factors are explored in greater detail within the report below and conclude that this development proposal should be fully supported.
This Statement has been prepared in support of the proposal for additional housing development on a site at Netherby House, Douglas Road, positioned to the north-east of Castletown.
The site is surrounded by both existing residential and zoned employment land uses, although it is not designated for development itself. The site comprises a large detached dwelling, set within mature landscaped grounds and is well screened from the Douglas Road. The site has the appearance of a residential property.
A previous planning application for the replacement of the existing house with seven dwellings was approved by a Ministerial decision on 14th August 2014 (ref: 14/00291/A). Although this permission has now lapsed, the planning policy context within which this application was assessed, was largely the same as it is today. The Minister’s assessment of a range of relevant planning issues at that time, should remain an important material consideration in the assessment of any future application.
The proposed development largely echoes the previously approved scheme. This includes the replacement of the existing dwelling with seven detached properties. The properties are large family homes, set within sizeable and functional plots.
A detailed layout has been prepared, which retains the existing mature planting and provides further enhancements, so that robust screening to the site frontage will reduce any strong visual impact within the surrounding landscape. The proposal also maintains the strong planted boundary to the adjacent properties on Brookfield Avenue, protecting the privacy of these properties and providing excellent amenity value for future residents of this development.
The careful and considered design of the development will protect existing habitats and will work towards achieving biodiversity net gain. The homes will be constructed using sustainable construction techniques, in order to ensure that the development complies with the emerging climate change bill. Opportunities to encourage active travel will be explored, with possible connections being made to the existing footpath network to the rear of the site.
The proposal has been the subject of pre-application discussions during the Spring / Summer 2021 and following recent Officer feedback, we now seek to provide further supporting information to justify that a need exists for additional housing in this location.
The development plan for the area consists of the Strategic Plan (2016) and the Area Plan for the South (2013). The Strategic Plan represents the most recent policy document for the area. This sets out that the South will provide 1,120 homes for the period 2011- 2026. During the assessment of the Strategic Plan, the Inspector remarked upon the lack of residential development allocated within Castletown, commenting that it was important that this Service Centre should thrive and grow. It is considered that the growth of Castletown has been strongly inhibited by deficiencies within the Area Plan for the South.
The Area Plan for the South (2013) was adopted against the background of the earlier Strategic Plan and set out the need for 1300 dwellings to be provided within the south between the period 2001 - 2016. The previous application was determined within the context of the same Area Plan and the Minister considered that the approved development complied with this key policy document at that time.
During the consideration of the Area Plan for the South, the Inspector commented that further housing allocations should be made within the Castletown area, in order to achieve a more equitable spread of housing, so as to reflect the Service Centre classification of the town, with its superior facilities. Whilst the Area Plan was adopted, this came with a recommendation for a timely review of the Area Plan, in order to consider the inclusion of more residential land within the Castletown area.
The Castletown Housing Land Review (CHLR) was begun in 2015, as a means of addressing the need for a partial review of the Area Plan. The CHLR sought to reassess the need for additional housing within the wider Castletown area and considered options for resolving the inequitable balance of housing within the south. The CHLR was never formally adopted by Tynwald and the overall processes and findings of this review were discounted by the Inspector following the planning appeal at Knock Rushen (Planning application ref: 18/00987/B). Nevertheless, it remains the case that the reasons for undertaking the CHLR are unchanged and there is a recognised imbalance in the distribution of housing across the south of the Island. We therefore consider that the need for more residential land, as highlighted by the Area Plan for the South, and which still remains unsatisfied, is a significant material consideration in the assessment of our proposal. There are no scheduled plans in place for a further review of the Area Plan or the replacement of this document.
The proposed redevelopment of Netherby House would represent a highly efficient use of land that is already used for residential purposes. The resulting net gain of 6 dwellings that would be achieved by this proposal would make a small, but not insignificant contribution to housing numbers, which would be a step towards addressing the inequitable spread of housing within the Castletown area, without undermining the targets set out within the current Strategic Plan or the outcome of any future plan review.
Both the Strategic Plan (2016) and the Area Plan for the South (2013) classify Castletown as a ‘Service Centre’ where they consider further housing development to be appropriate, so long as it is in keeping with the scale of the settlement and the historic setting of Castletown is protected. Recent development within Castletown has taken place on land zoned for residential development through the Area Plan and therefore contributes to the housing need already identified. It could be argued that the need for housing has been accentuated during this time, as the last remaining zoned residential sites have come forward for development and properties have been sold very quickly. The recent development of these zoned sites does not therefore resolve the inequitable spread of housing that was highlighted by the Area Plan Inspector. Overall, Castletown has received very little housing development within the last 30 years, a fact that was observed by the Inspector at the recent Knock Rushen appeal. The Inspector also noted that there were clear constraints to the settlement of Castletown which meant that very few opportunities to deliver further housing exist and that satisfying any further housing need would prove challenging. As a result of the outcome of the recent Knock Rushen appeal, none of the planning applications for housing that were promoted on the back of the CHLR have been delivered. However, the need for more housing in Castletown is still apparent, as confirmed by the accompanying Commentary on the Residential Property Market in Castletown, produced by Black Grace Cowley. It is of note that the Castletown Commissioners are supportive of the prospect of housing growth within Castletown and their full
endorsement of the recent Knock Rushen housing application demonstrates their positive viewpoint on this subject. They have further indicated that they will be supportive of this proposal at Netherby House, as it sits in line with their aspirations for the provision of more housing within Castletown.
We consider that the proposed development at Netherby House will provide a highly sustainable development, improving the efficiency of this residential land, by increasing the number of properties it supports and thus, complying with the aims of the Strategic Plan.
The site hosts a large single dwelling and associated curtilage and is served by an existing highways access. Although it is located outside of the Castletown town boundary, it sits alongside established residential development to the south and benefits from good accessibility to a range of services and facilities. It is approximately 400m away from the housing development at Janet’s Corner and 1500m from town centre shops. Regular bus services run past the front of the site, and it is also adjacent to the large zoned employment area focused around the Airport.
The site also benefits from being within single ownership and is being promoted by a developer with a strong track record of delivery. It represents a small-scale housing development that can be built out quickly and will release additional properties onto the market in a relatively short space of time. The proposal will bring forward a selection of larger family homes, providing a type of development that has an acute local demand and where limited opportunities exist for this need to be otherwise fulfilled.
The properties will be built with energy efficiency in mind, using sustainable construction techniques in order to work towards the aspirations of the emerging Climate Change Bill. Existing habitats will be retained and enhanced, working towards a 10% biodiversity net gain. The site is well connected for sustainable travel choices and opportunities to improve connectivity via the local footpath network will be explored.
Hartford Homes is the Isle of Man’s premier house builder, with 25-years’ experience in building quality homes across the Island. In this case, they have worked alongside Andrew Wallis from Black Grace Cowley in order to reaffirm their understanding of the local housing market within Castletown. The accompanying report entitled “Commentary on the Residential Property Market” has confirmed that there is a recognised under-supply of larger, family homes in this area and the proposed development will therefore contribute towards meeting this demand.
Evidence demonstrates that recent housing developments on the Island have all sold out very quickly, with many properties being bought off-plan, prior to construction. It is recognised that there has been very limited new housing provided within Castletown over many years and as such, there remains an acute need for new housing within the area. Market evidence also suggests that the lack of recent residential development in Castletown is having an impact on property prices as well as availability, with the price of family homes within the area exceeding £400,000.
Whilst there are some housing developments that are currently under construction, or have recently gained planning approval, these have come forward on allocated sites, which predominantly provide a range of smaller properties in order to maximise the available land. This has meant that there are very few opportunities to provide larger family homes or aspirational properties to cater for those looking to move up the property ladder. The accompanying table produced by Black Grace Cowley demonstrates that at the time of writing this report, only four properties exist within 1 mile of Castletown that fall within the price bracket of £750,000 - £2,000,000. Furthermore, many of these properties are traditional townhouses which are not fully compatible with family living as a result of their often compromised outdoor space and lack of car parking. It is proposed that this development will provide new dwellings within this section of the market.
Whilst the proposal does seek to meet a demand for properties at the higher end of the market, in recent experience, Hartford Homes have recognised that new build properties are predominantly being purchased by existing Island residents. Therefore, it is anticipated that by building larger family homes on this site, a range of smaller properties will also be released further down the supply chain, thus having a positive impact across the housing market as a whole. This would help to achieve a more consistent supply of new housing stock onto the market.
In summary, we consider this proposal represents a unique and valuable opportunity to deliver a small but not insignificant number of residential units within an area of housing need and high demand.
The proposal seeks to redevelop an existing residential site positioned on the outskirts of Castletown, a Service Centre which is a key location for housing growth. The development represents a more efficient use of residential land which benefits from good accessibility to a range of services and facilities, including schools, shops and employment opportunities.
The site previously gained planning permission for a development of similar form and scale and was the subject of detailed Ministerial consideration in 2014 after assessment under a very similar planning policy context to that which currently exists.
The previous application was able to satisfy all technical considerations and it is reasonably expected that any future proposal can come forward with equal support from technical consultees. The proposal can achieve a safe and suitable access, retain important planted features within the site, limit visual impact, protect residential amenity and enhance ecological value.
Castletown is a highly sustainable settlement and one of only two Service Centres within the south of the Island. The limited housing sites that have been allocated within Castletown through the current development plan, along with the limited supply of properties being built out in recent years, is inconsistent with its position in the settlement hierarchy. The acute need to address the lack of residential development in Castletown has long since been unresolved and in light of the recently dismissed appeal at Knock Rushen, there is no immediate solution available to improve the supply of housing within this area. This site at Netherby House therefore represents a unique and ideal opportunity to maintain the momentum of housing delivery, whilst not
compromising the future housing need figures that could come forward during any future policy review. Our understanding of the market suggests that there is an un-met demand for high quality large homes, as a result of the distinct lack of choice for those aspiring to live in or around Castletown. The small boutique development, such as that envisaged here, would go some way to assisting this supply.
Accordingly, we consider that this development, which is in line with the previous Ministerial decision and which would reflect their judgement that the proposal was acceptable within a very similar planning policy context, would not undermine the development plan. Instead, it would represent an example of a situation where material planning considerations weigh in favour of a proposed development which works towards addressing a long standing and so far, unsatisfied need for a more equitable spread of housing within Castletown.
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