Construction of a dormer bungalow with integrated garage

Why Was This Refused?

✓Site is in protected rural countryside where new housing is strictly controlled

✓Applicant's personal circumstances not sufficient to justify a countryside exception

✓Inability to demonstrate safe vehicle visibility splays at the Garey Road access

✓Loss of hedging needed for visibility splays would harm the rural character of the site

✓Proposed dwelling would appear overbearing and harm amenity of neighbouring properties

✓highways

✓amenity

✓character

✓access

✓neighbour_impact

✓Neighbouring amenities

✓Highway safety

Permission was sought to build a dormer bungalow with an integrated garage on an approximately 520m² plot on the north-west side of Garey Road, Garey, Lezayre. The site is currently served by an existing field access and has trees along its road frontage boundary. The application was refused by the Committee in July 2023, with the officer also recommending refusal. The site falls within a rural and protected area of countryside where development is tightly restricted, and the site is not allocated for housing. The applicant put forward personal circumstances as justification, but these were not considered significant enough to outweigh countryside protection policies. Two further reasons reinforced the refusal.

The application was refused on three grounds. First, the site lies within protected countryside where new dwellings are strictly controlled, and the applicant's personal circumstances were not considered sufficient to justify an exception. Second, the applicant could not demonstrate that adequate vehicle visibility splays could be achieved at the access onto Garey Road, raising highway safety concerns. Third, clearing the required hedging and vegetation to create those splays would cause an unacceptable loss of roadside greenery, make the dwelling appear dominant and out of character, and harm the outlook and amenity of neighbouring properties.

Site Observations

•asymmetric shaped plot of land of approx. 520m2 located on the north-west side of Garey Road
•served by an existing field access from Garey Road, and features a number of trees on the road frontage boundary

Refusal Reasons

✕The principle of development for the erection of a dwelling and garage is not accepted because the site lies within a rural and protected part of the countryside where any development is strictly controlled with the site not being allocated specifically for any development. The personal circumstances put forward by the applicant are not considered to be of such significance to warrant a departure from DEFA Planning's policies for the area. The proposal would be contrary to the provisions of General Policy 3a); Housing Policy 4a); and, Environment Policy 1, which seeks to protect the countryside for its own sake and from "Development which would adversely affect the countryside will not be permitted unless there is an over-riding national need in land use planning terms which outweighs the requirement to protect these areas and for which there is no reasonable and acceptable alternative."
✕Notwithstanding the above reason of refusal, the existing vehicular access serving the site is shown as being upgraded on Proposed Site Plan Drawing No. 2207/PL1000 Rev. A to serve the development. However, the applicant has failed to demonstrate that vehicle vehicle visibility splays can be provided either side of the vehicular access serving the site in accordance with the requirements of the Manual for Manx Roads. Given the lack of such details to demonstrate that safe access and egress can be achieved from the proposed access location, the proposal fails to meet the requirements of Transport Policy 4 in the Adopted Isle of Man Strategic Plan (2016).
✕In addition, the loss of hedging and foliage along the site frontage to provide the visibility splays, which would need to be 2.4m x 70.0m for the extent of the sites' frontages to meet the Manual for Manx Roads requirements, would result an unacceptable loss of roadside vegetation and would as a consequence result in the proposal appearing as an overdevelopment of the site with the dwelling appearing as a dominant and visually harmful feature that would be out of character and keeping with the sites rural appearance and surroundings. Furthermore, this would be harmful to the amenities of occupants of the above neighbouring dwellings at 1 Ballakillingan Cottages; Old Garey Station; and, Riverside, by appearing overbearing resulting in an unacceptable loss of outlook and visual amenity from them in respect of their relationship with the development. This would be contrary to the provisions of contrary to the provisions of General Policy 2 b) c) g) and i); and, Environment Policy 22 in the Adopted Isle of Man Strategic Plan (2016).

Policies Assessed (4)

GP3A

General Policy 3a

HP4A

Housing Policy 4a

EP1

Environment Policy 1

Area Plan for the East sets out locally-applicable means for implementing the policies set out in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016. In that Strategic Plan, we find the Environment Policies. Environment Policy 1 states: The countryside and its ecology will be protected for its own sake. For the purposes of this policy, the countryside comprises all land which is outside the settlements defined in Appendix 3 at A.3.6 or which is not designated for future development on an Area Plan. Development which would adversely affect the countryside will not be permitted unless there is an over- riding national need in land use planning terms which outweighs the requirement to protect these areas and for which there is no reasonable and acceptable alternative. Maintaining the purpose of this Area Plan as a means of implementation, there is some further direction to be found in the Strategic Plan, at paragraph 7.2.1: 'Whilst landscape and coastal change is inevitable, and in some cases desirable, the emphasis must be on the appropriateness of this change and the balance or equity between the needs of conservation and those of development. The primary goal must therefore be to respect, maintain and enhance the natural and cultural environment including nature conservation and landscape and coastal quality, and ensure its protection from inappropriate development.' Given the comprehensive nature of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan's Environmental Policies, only a small number of additional Proposals and Recommendations are necessary. In order to produce an implementable Area Plan for the East it is necessary to recognise those statutory desig nations and strategies which whilst having an Island-wide scope are highly relevant to the protection of environments within the Plan Area. An example is the UNESCO Biosphere status afforded to the Isle of Man. Island-level strategies identify crossborder issues and take account of the cumulative impacts of human engagement with nature. Area Plan Objectives i. To protect, conserve and enhance the natural and cultural environment of the plan area and promote biodiversity. ii. To improve the function, usability and provision of our green infrastructure and public spaces by providing a network of green spaces and features which are connected and where possible, accessible to the public. iii. To manage and improve flood risk and improve drainage conditions. iv. To support the working countryside and its custodians in maintaini ng a sustainable rural economy. Area Plan Desired Outcomes i. Where approved, d evelopment will be ecologically sustainable and designed to protect and where possible enhance biodiversity as well as mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. ii. The Green Infrastructure network will be established and fostered, connecting people with nature in a way that achieves the best shared outcomes for the urban and natural environment. iii. Statutory and non-statutory designations will continue to provide protection to the most important and most vulnerable cultural assets, habitats and environments in the plan area. iv. Beyond the towns and villages, the area as a whole will retain its landscape setting including its important visual interaction with the central uplands, central valley, coast and marine environment. Natural Environment Proposal 1 The Department supports the protection, creation and improvement of green infrastructure in the East, particularly in those locations which have the potential to be part of a Green Infrastructure Network. Applications for development must take into account any approved Government Green Infrastructure Strategies, but in any case, must identify how development proposals intend to contribute to the long term provision of a network of connected green spaces. UNESCO Biosphere In 2017, the Isle of Man became the first ever entire nation to achieve UNESCO Biosphere status. Project partners pledge to take steps to protect natural resources, develop the economy in a sustainable way and promote outstanding living landscapes. UNESCO Biosphere Reserves are established to connect people and the economy with nature, wildlife, culture, heritage and communities. Biosphere Reserves have three functions: Conservation: to contribute to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation. Development: to foster economic and human development which is socio -culturally and ecologically sustainable. Logistic support: to support demonstration projects, environmental education and training, research and monitoring related to local, regional, national and global issues of conservation and sustainable development. The Isle of Man Biosphere is zoned into six areas . Examples of all of these can be found in the Eastern area: Terrestrial Core areas, Marine Core areas, Terrestrial Buffer zone, Marine Buffer zone, Terrestrial Transition areas and Marine Transition areas. There is some overlap with The Isle of Man's First Biodiversity Strategy 2015-20

TP4

Transport Policy 4

Transport Policy 4: The new and existing highways which serve any n ew development must be designed so as to be capable of accommodating the vehicle and pedestrian journeys generated by that development in a safe and appropriate manner, and in accordance with the environmental objectives of this plan. 11.3.2 Notwithstanding policies within this plan which encourage travel by means other than private car it is anticipated that the number of vehicles using the Island's roads will continue to increase. This increase in demand is likely to lead to a greater need for road impro vements in order that travel can take place in a safe, effective, and environmentally acceptable manner. The Department of Transport will continue to assess the need for such improvements to public highways and undertake works where appropriate, with much of the improvement within existing roads carried out under the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order2005. The need for improvements to the Island's highway network must be balanced against the environmental objectives of this plan.

01/02692/BApproved2002

Change of use of dwelling to remove agricultural tie

Construction of a dormer bungalow with integrated garage

Why Was This Refused?

Site Observations

Policies Assessed (4)

Planning History (2)

Documents (27)

Source & Provenance