95947

==== PAGE 1 ====

                                      23/00793/B                                     Page  1  of  7

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No. : 23/00793/B Applicant : Mr Kenneth McGovern Proposal : Erection of detached dwelling with garage & vehicular access (previously approved under PA 13/00655/A) Site Address : Land Adjacent To Elmwood Somerset Road Douglas Isle Of Man

Planning Officer: Mr Hamish Laird Photo Taken : 22.08.2023 Site Visit : 22.08.2023 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 26.09.2023 __

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

C 1. The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice.

Reason: To comply with Article 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

C 2. No development shall commence until a schedule of materials and finishes and samples of the materials to be used in the construction of the external surfaces, including roofs, cladding and details of the colour and texture of the render, have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Department. The development shall not be carried out unless in accordance with the approved details.

Reason: In the interests of the character and appearance of the site and surrounding area.

C 3. Details of foul and surface water drainage provision to serve the development, hereby approved, shall be submitted to and approved in writing by DEFA Planning. Such approved drainage scheme shall be installed prior to the development hereby permitted being first occupied and shall thereafter be retained and maintained at all times.

Reason: To ensure that the site is adequately drained and does not increase the risk of flooding elsewhere.

C 4. The development hereby approved shall not be occupied or operated until the parking and turning areas, including the space within the garage, have been provided in accordance

==== PAGE 2 ====

                                      23/00793/B                                     Page  2  of  7

with the approved plans. Such areas shall not be used for any purpose other than the parking and turning of vehicles associated with the development and shall remain free of obstruction for such use at all times.

Reason: To ensure that sufficient provision is made for off-street parking and turning of vehicles in the interests of highway safety.

C 5. Prior to the commencement of the development, hereby approved, a bird and bat brick plan shall be submitted to and approved in writing by DEFA Planning. Any bird bricks shall be sited to ensure that they are not placed above any opening windows. The development shall be carried out in accordance with the approved details prior to the first occupation of the dwelling and shall be retained and maintained for the lifetime of the development.

Reason: To minimise any disturbance to nesting birds from occupants of the dwelling opening and closing windows.

C 6. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2012 (or any Order revoking and/or re-enacting that Order with or without modification), no development shall be undertaken under the following classes of Schedule 1 of the Order at any time:

Class 13 - Greenhouses and polytunnels Class 14 - Extension of dwellinghouse Class 15 - Garden sheds and summer-houses Class 16 - Fences, walls and gates Class 17 - Private garages and car ports Class 21 - Construction of Decking

Reason: To control future development on the site in the interests of visual and neighbours amenities.

C 7. Prior to the commencement of the development, hereby permitted, details of the provision of a boundary hedge along the front (north-eastern) site boundary shall be submitted to and approved in writing by DEFA Planning. The hedge shall comprise Manx native species only. The hedge shall be planted in the first planting season (November - March) following the first occupation of the development. Any constituent plants which die, are removed, or become diseased, shall be replaced with similar size and species plants. Thereafter, the hedge shall be retained and maintained for the lifetime of the development.

Reason: To promote biodiversity on the site.

N 1. FOR YOUR INFORMATION Please be aware that a ban on the installation of fossil fuel heating systems in any new building(s) and or extension(s), will come into force on 1st January 2025.

You therefore are encouraged to ensure that your proposed development includes alternatives to fossil fuel heating systems if you believe that such works will not be completed by that date.

To this end, if you propose an alternative, such as air source or ground source heat pump(s), or any other heating system that would require planning approval, the details of this should be addressed now. This may require you to resubmit your planning application to accommodate the alternative permitted heating system proposed.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.

==== PAGE 3 ====

                                      23/00793/B                                     Page  3  of  7

Overall it is concluded that the planning application accords with the provisions set out in Strategic Policies 1 and 2; General Policy 2; Housing Policy 4; Environment Policy 36 and Transport Polices 4 and 7 in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to:

Site Location Plan edged red - scale 1:1,250; Drawing No. 1670-01 - Proposed Site Layout Plan; Proposed Floor Plans and Elevations - all at scale 1:100; and, Drawing No. 1670-02 - Proposed Block Plan @ scale 1:500; and, Proposed Vehicular Access Arrangements @ scale 1:200;

and Documents - all date stamped and received 13 July, 2023. __

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None. __

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The application site is a plot of land that is located between Greeba and Elmwood, both large two storey detached dwelling facing onto Somerset Road. The parcel of land is currently fenced off and is a vacant plot. It had previously been used as an area of garden land attached to Elmwood.

1.2 The application site at present is bounded by hedging and tall mature trees on all sides except the roadside boundary. Views into the application site are readily available from the main public thoroughfare. The site is also set below the two adjacent properties, with land levels gently falling from front to rear.

1.3 The surrounding area is characterised by a mix of dwellings of different form, layouts and appearance with a mixture of detached dwellings and terraced dwellings.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 This application seeks full planning approval for the erection of a 2-storey, detached dwelling with integral garage on this plot of land.

3.0 PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The application site is located within an area that is designated as Predominantly Residential use under the Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Douglas Local Plan) Order 1998 Map No. 2 (South). The application site lies adjacent to the Selborne Drive Conservation Area.

3.2 In terms of strategic plan policy, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains six policies that are considered specifically material to the assessment of this current planning application:

Strategic Policy 1 states: "Development should make the best use of resources by: (a) optimising the use of previously developed land, redundant buildings, unused and under-used land and buildings, and re-using scarce indigenous building materials; (b) ensuring efficient use of sites, taking into account the needs for access, landscaping, open space(1) and amenity standards; and

==== PAGE 4 ====

                                      23/00793/B                                     Page  4  of  7

(c) being located so as to utilise existing and planned infrastructure, facilities and services."

Strategic Policy 2 states: "New development will be located primarily within our existing towns and villages, or, where appropriate, in sustainable urban extensions(2) of these towns and villages. Development will be permitted in the countryside only in the exceptional circumstances identified in paragraph 6.3."

General Policy 2 states: "Development which is in accordance with the land-use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted, provided that the development: (a) is in accordance with the design brief in the Area Plan where there is such a brief; (b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them; (c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; (d) does not adversely affect the protected wildlife or locally important habitats on the site or adjacent land, including water courses; (e) does not affect adversely public views of the sea; (f) incorporates where possible existing topography and landscape features, particularly trees and sod banks; (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality; (h) provides satisfactory amenity standards in itself, including where appropriate safe and convenient access for all highway users, together with adequate parking, servicing and manoeuvring space; (i) does not have an unacceptable effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways; (j) can be provided with all necessary services; (k) does not prejudice the use or development of adjoining land in accordance with the appropriate Area Plan; (l) is not on contaminated land or subject to unreasonable risk of erosion or flooding; (m) takes account of community and personal safety and security in the design of buildings and the spaces around them; and (n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."

Housing Policy 4: "New housing will be located primarily within our existing towns and villages, or, where appropriate, in sustainable urban extensions(1) of these towns and villages where identified in adopted Area Plans: otherwise new housing will be permitted in the countryside only in the following exceptional circumstances: (a) essential housing for agricultural workers in accordance with Housing Policies 7, 8, 9 and 10; (b) conversion of redundant rural buildings in accordance with Housing Policy 11; and (c) the replacement of existing rural dwellings and abandoned dwellings in accordance with Housing Policies 12, 13 and 14."

Transport Policy 4: "The new and existing highways which serve any new 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."

Transport Policy 7: The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards.

==== PAGE 5 ====

                                      23/00793/B                                     Page  5  of  7

Environment Policy 36: Where development is proposed outside of, but close to, the boundary of a Conservation Area, this will only be permitted where it will not detrimentally affect important views into and out of the Conservation Area."

4.0 PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 The application site has previously been the subject of planning application ref: 13/00655/A for "Approval in principle for erection of a dwelling." The application was permitted on 03.07.2013. The approved plan showed a potential site layout indicating one dwelling with access directly onto Somerset Road. The layout drawing was indicative only.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 The Department of Infrastructure Highways Division 21/7/23 - comments: After reviewing this Application, Highway Services HDC finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and /or parking, subject to the boundary wall fronting the highway being no more than 1m in height. The Applicant will need a s109(a) highway agreement for the new dropped kerb vehicular access.

5.2 DEFA - Ecosystem Policy Officer (1/8/23) comments:

Though the plans for the site include the retention of boundary hedges and trees, much of the southern hedge will need to be removed and thinned, and the creation of the new dwelling will result in the destruction of an urban green space and the replacement with a lot of hard surfaces. Urban green space provides important feeding, breeding and sheltering habitat for a variety of urban wildlife such as bats, birds, invertebrates and hedgehogs, additionally they provide green corridors to enable the movement of wildlife, such as bats and birds, throughout the landscape. Gardens also play a small yet important role in regulatory processes such as flood and climate mitigation.

Therefore we believe that wildlife mitigation is required, in order for this application to result in no net loss for biodiversity in accordance with Planning policy. In order to achieve this we think the proposed fence in the front garden should be replaced/supplemented with the planting of a native hedge, and bat and bird bricks built into the new property.

We therefore request that a condition is secured for no works to commence unless a bird and bat brick plan has been submitted to Planning for written approval which contains details about the specifications and locations of nest bricks suitable for swifts high up on a northern elevation of the new dwelling and a bat brick suitable for crevice roosting species high up on a southern elevation. The bat and bird bricks shall then be installed as shown and retained thereafter.

We also request a condition for no works to commence unless a plan has been provided to Planning for written approval, showing the location and species to be used in a new native hedge.

6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 The site lies within the settlement boundary for Douglas, and the previously approved planning application for the approval of the principle of development of the site via the erection of one dwelling has been accepted (See PA Ref: 13/00655/A). The key issue to be assessed in the determination of this application is whether the proposed dwelling on the site is acceptable in the manner proposed. This is subject to whether the design of the dwelling is acceptable, whether the site can be accessed in a safe manner, and, whether the residential amenities of occupants of adjacent properties would be adversely affected. In addition, there is the question of whether the impact on trees shown by the submitted plans is acceptable.

==== PAGE 6 ====

                                      23/00793/B                                     Page  6  of  7

6.2 The application site is in an area designated as predominantly residential by the relevant Area Plan and therefore the principle for residential development is deemed acceptable. Whilst the application site forms part of the garden of Elmwood, there would remain a sufficient amount of land associated with the existing dwelling and the new proposed property as to provide a satisfactory level of amenity for both dwellings. The application site does appear to be a vacant building plot that during time has become a garden area.

6.3 In addition, Housing Policy 4 states that new housing will primarily be located within the Island's existing towns and villages. The proposed new dwelling would form part of a row of detached residential properties along with being located adjacent to an existing residential terrace.

6.4 The development of the application site with a new dwelling would change the appearance of the street scene. The proposed design of dwelling is considered to be acceptable, in that it would be in character and keeping with adjoining dwellings in the street scene, and would be well-screened from adjoining properties by existing boundary hedging and fencing around the site apart from the roadside boundary, which presently is open. The erection of the proposed new dwelling would be wholly visible from Somerset Road. However, whilst the proposal would slightly alter the appearance of the surrounding area and street scene, it is not considered to be of a scale or keeping or that it would cause an unacceptable degree of harm to the character of the area or adjacent Conservation Area sufficient to warrant refusal. The dwelling would form part of an existing and established street of a mix of residential properties.

6.5 Access to the site would be from a new access off Somerset Road as existing with the other properties of this road. It has been demonstrated on Drawing No: 1670/1 that adequate visibility splays can be achieved. This stretch of road is limited to 30mph. However there are a number of properties that have vehicular accesses onto the highway. As drawings detail, there would be no vegetation to the front boundary of the site that would interfere with visibility in either direction. The site is large enough to provide a sufficient amount of off-street car parking, which is 3 spaces, one of which would comprise the proposed integral garage.

6.6 In terms of impacts on neighbour's amenities, it is considered that the proposed design of dwelling and its siting on the plot would provide sufficient space between it and the plot boundaries and adjoining dwellings to obviate any issues relating to overlooking/loss of privacy; or, loss of outlook.

6.7 Overall, it is considered that the submitted details of siting, design, external appearance of the building, internal layout, means of access, drainage and landscaping of the site, are acceptable and reflect the development envisaged by the original Approval in Principle permission PA Ref: 13/00655/A, and is judged to be acceptable.

6.8 The comments received from the DEFA Ecosystems Policy Officer are noted. A condition should be attached to any planning permission granted requiring that before any development on site commences a bird and bat brick plan shall have been submitted to Planning for written approval which shall then be installed as shown and retained thereafter.

7.0 RECOMMENDATION 7.1 Overall, it is concluded that the planning application is in accordance with Strategic Policy 1, Strategic Policy 2, General Policy 2, Housing Policy 4 and Transport Policy 4 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

7.2 It is recommended that the planning application be permitted.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS

==== PAGE 7 ====

                                      23/00793/B                                     Page  7  of  7

8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons: (a) the applicant (including an agent acting on their behalf); (b) any Government Department that has made written representations that the Department considers material; (c) the Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure; (d) Manx National Heritage where it has made written representations that the Department considers material; (e) Manx Utilities where it has made written representations that the Department considers material; (f) the local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated; and (g) a local authority adjoining the authority referred to in paragraph (f) where that adjoining authority has made written representations that the Department considers material.

8.2 The decision maker must determine: o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than the Department of Infrastructure Highway Services Division) are material; and o whether there are other persons to those listed in Article 4(2) who should be given Interested Person Status.

__

I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Principal Planner in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status.

Decision Made : Permitted

Date: 02.10.2023

Determining officer Signed : J SINGLETON

Jason Singleton

Principal Planner

Customer note

This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the file copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online services/customers and archive records.