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18/00266/B Page 1 of 4
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 18/00266/B Applicant : Mr Dan Jesperson Proposal : Conversion of former guest house to create a residential dwelling Site Address : Waverley Spaldrick Port Erin Isle Of Man IM9 6PD
Case Officer : Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken : 19.04.2018 Site Visit : 19.04.2018 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 23.04.2018 __
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 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This decision relates to drawings 17/2646/01, 17/2646/02A, 17/2646/05 and the rooflight literature all received on 12th March, 2018.
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
It is recommended that the following persons should be given Interested Person Status as they are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 6(4):
The owner of 13, Carlton Apartments, which is immediately alongside the application property.
Whilst they do not raise material planning considerations, their property adjoins the application site and as such should be afforded interested person status under 2(1)(a) of Government Circular 0046/13. __
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18/00266/B Page 2 of 4
Officer’s Report
THE SITE 1.1 The site is the curtilage of a three storey property located on the eastern side of Spaldrick Promenade. It is situated at the end of a terrace of four properties and to the south, across a gap of 2m are two semi-detached, two storey dwellings - 1 and 2, Spaldrick Promenade.
1.2 The application property, like that at the other end of the terrace, has a pitched, slated roof above the second floor projecting angled bay, and the bay to the left, like the two bays in between, has a flat roof with decorative castellations. The ground floors of the properties are all higher than the roadway, with steps leading up to each front door. The application property is the only one in the terrace having decorative balustrading above the roadside rendered boundary wall. The property has a three storey rear projecting outlet which steps down to one and a half storey height across the southern half of around half of the remainder of the rear yard.
1.3 The property still has its original sliding sash windows throughout: numbers 1 and 2 have modern sliding sash windows and number 3 has a mix of modern single light windows and casements subdivided centrally.
1.4 The last use of the property was as a guest house with 15 letting rooms over four floors. There is a substantial metal fire escape on the gable and a flat roofed dormer above the projecting flat roofed bay. The property has a neglected appearance, unpainted rear and side walls, the front door and windows having the paint peeling from the timberworks, the name of the property partly missing and frayed curtains in the windows.
THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the conversion of the property into a single dwelling with works to include the removal of the smaller rear outlet, the property re-rendered including the replication of the banding and dentilled cornice, windows replaced with "opening sash" and substantial repairs/reconstruction to/of the front bays due to their condition. A balcony is to be added to the first floor and the existing fire escape on the gable will be removed. An existing dormer is to be removed and replaced with rooflights and the existing gable window increased in size.
2.2 The creation of the first floor balcony involves the replacement of the existing window with patio doors and the installation of a concrete floor across the space between the bays and projecting out at angles to replicate those of the two bays, and a glazed screen across the front.
2.3 The dormer window will be replaced by rooflights which include a short balcony at the base and guard rails alongside - one set in place of the dormer, above the flat roofed bay and the other in the space between the bays.
2.4 Solar panels are to be introduced on the side of the rear annex (which would not need planning approval under Class 29 of The Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2012.
2.5 The third floor window in the gable is to be replaced by a peaked, slightly wider window.
2.6 A small, covered area at the rear is to be created, around 400mm higher than the existing side wall.
PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The site lies within an area of Residential use on the Area Plan for the South. Despite suggestion to the contrary by the applicant in the supporting information (although in the pre-application enquiry, it was acknowledged that the site was at the edge of the proposed CA), the site does lie within the proposed Conservation Area for Port Erin. The proposed CA specifically includes this terrace, excluding the pair of semi-detached properties alongside and all of the other properties to the rear and north.
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18/00266/B Page 3 of 4
3.2 The Strategic Plan requires development in Conservation Areas to preserve or enhance the appearance and character of the Area. Planning Circular 1/98 encourages original windows to be replicated where they cannot be repaired.
3.3 The draft Conservation Area Appraisal document refers to the application site as follows:
"Early settlement This character area comprises three separate areas: o The original Port Erin Village (incorporating Dandy Hill, the cottages on Shore Road and the buildings in the block between Strand Road and Station Road including the Falcon's Nest Hotel) o The remaining buildings of the Darrag hamlet (Shen Valley, Yn Darrag and Myrtle Cottage) o The remaining buildings of the Strooansnail hamlet (Primrose House and Primrose Cottage) and o The group of houses at the north of promenade near the entrance to Bradda Glen. These areas contain the oldest buildings in the Port Erin conservation area, the majority of which pre-date 1869, but may be even older."
No other reference is made to the terrace.
3.4 Strategic Plan General Policy 2 is also applicable as follows:
General Policy 2: "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:
(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; (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality and (n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."
PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 Planning approval was granted for the replacement of the existing garage across the rear lane, associated with this property, under 17/01334/B. The other properties in the terrace have been the subject of applications for the replacement of windows. Between 2007 and up until the designation in the Area Plan of 2013 of the terrace as a Conservation Area, planning approval would not have been required for the replacement of the windows under the terms of the Permitted Development Order at that time.
REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Port Erin Commissioners indicate that they support the application (11.04.18).
5.2 The owner of 13, Carlton Apartments which is adjacent to the application property, is concerned about the location of the gymnasium as it is adjacent to her bedroom. If the walls are soundproofed the she would have no objection. She also has concerns about the proposal for a sauna due to historical damps problems emanating from the application property, which has been referred to Environmental Health. Otherwise, she is supportive of the application (09.04.18).
5.3 The applicant has responded to these comments, suggesting that the re-roofing should resolve any damp issues and any connection detail between the two properties will be designed to eradicate damp on both sides. The proposed sauna will have its own specialist equipment so should not cause an issue and is on the gable side of the building rather than that adjoining the neighbouring building. The proposed gym is for private occasional use and not a commercial arrangement and as part of the refurbishment, the walls are to be lined and insulated where required including the party wall at this level.. They do not consider that noise transfer will be an issue, particularly due to the existing thick stone walls (e-mail dated 16.04.18).
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18/00266/B Page 4 of 4
ASSESSMENT 6.1 The works will generally renovate the property, reinstating much of the original features such as the sliding sashes. Those works which bring new elements to the property - the balcony, rooflights, changed gable window and removal of the rear annex will have little visual impact due to their position, the first floor balcony having the most impact. However, given the glazed screen and the angled nature of it, this is not considered to be objectionable.
6.2 The works will not significantly change the impact of the building on those in neighbouring property, the increase in size of the top floor gable window outweighed by the positive visual and neighbour impact of removing the external fire escape.
6.3 The planning system does not usually concern itself with how a building is used internally and whether there is a gymnasium and sauna and where these would be is not a matter for the planning application.
CONCLUSION 7.1 The works are considered to largely preserve the character of the property, reinjecting investment in a property of acknowledged interest and satisfy the requirements of the conservation policies as well as General Policy 2 and the application is supported.
INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 (Article 6(4), the following persons are automatically interested persons: (a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent; (b) The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested; (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material (d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.
8.2 The decision-maker must determine:
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I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Senior Planning Officer in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.
Decision Made : Permitted
Date: 27.04.2018
Determining officer
Signed : C BALMER
Chris Balmer
Senior Planning Officer
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