Officer Report

Application No.: 18/01007/B Applicant: Mr Richard Smith Proposal: Erection of a two storey extension to side elevation Site Address: Ballagilley Farm House Gooseneck Road Hibernia Ramsey Isle Of Man IM7 1EP Planning Officer: Mr Nick Salt Photo Taken: 23.10.2018 Site Visit: 23.10.2018 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 29.10.2018 _________________________________________________________________

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.

• C 2. All new windows, roofing materials and external rendering shall match those of the existing building in respect of type, size, pattern and colour. Reason: In the interests of the character and appearance of the site and surrounding area.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This permission relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 24th September 2018:

• o 01 - Location Plan
• o 02 - Site Plan
• o 03 - Existing floor plans and elevations
• o 04 - proposed floor plans and elevations
• o 05 - Proposed Section _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

NONE _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site is the residential curtilage of an existing dwelling, Ballagilley, which sits on the northern side of the road which leads down west to Hibernia Crossroads. The property sits immediately to the east of Ballagilley Farm and its courtyard of farm buildings. The dwelling itself has some semblance of a traditional cottage but it has a relatively shallow pitched roof (30 degrees) and a small second pitched roofed annex to the rear which projects 3m from the original rear wall of the cottage and extends across the full width of the rear of the cottage. The property faces south east: the road approaches the property from the south-south-east. - 1.2 The property is visible from A2 but at a distance of some 260m and the cottage has a backdrop of the barns to the rear. Closer to the site the gable is clearly visible from the Hibernia Road but the front is not, obscured by existing high hedging. - 1.3 Directly adjacent to the north west of the dwelling is a newly converted stone barn, with a stone wall bounding the two properties.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed is the extension of the property by way of a two storey addition to the right hand (north eastern) side. This will extend the property by 6.15m and will be set back from the front and rear elevations by 200mm. The extension will have a chimney breast on the new north eastern gable. - 2.2 The extension will mirror the form and detailing of the main dwelling. The accommodation will add 95 sq m of floor area (measured externally). The existing dwelling provides 190 sq m of floor area - the extension thus representing less than 50% of the size of the existing floor area.

- 3.0 PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 The planning history for the site includes the erection of a timber shed (05/00104/B) and replacement barn (05/01154/B) both permitted. - 3.2 Particularly of material relevance to this application is application 11/00896/B which was for the same proposal as current. The current proposal is a resubmission of the plans in 11/00896/B, owing to a lapse in the validity of the permission after 4 years. The applicants have now decided to go ahead with the extension and have therefore resubmitted the application.

- 4.0 PLANNING POLICY

4.1 The site lies within an area of High Landscape Value and Scenic Significance on the Town and Country Planning (Development Plan) Order 1982. On the draft Landscape Character Assessment the site lies within an area of Uplands where the following advice is provided: "The overall strategy for the protection and enhancement of the Uplands Landscape Character Type is to conserve and enhance: the predominantly open and exposed character of the moorland hills and mountain summits; the generally uninterrupted skyline and panoramic views across the lower slopes and plains towards the sea; the strong sense of tranquillity and remoteness; and the distinctive features of cultural heritage and nature conservation interest. Key landscape planning considerations in relation to the protection and enhancement of this Landscape Character Type are as follows:-

• (a) Housing and business development would be out of place within the predominantly open, exposed, and visually-sensitive Upland landscapes;
• (b) Any buildings which are deemed necessary should avoid exposed or visually-prominent locations, and should reflect local building materials and styles;

• (c) Care should be taken not to compromise the sparsely-settled pattern of isolated, smallscale farmsteads within the Uplands;
• (d) Care should be taken to minimise visual clutter of highways infrastructure and signage on the unenclosed and simple character of rural roads that cross the Uplands;
• (e) Vertical telecommunication masts or structures, or renewable-energy development such as wind turbines, may be out of place within the predominantly open, exposed, and visuallysensitive Upland landscape, and care should be taken to ensure that the location of such development does not dominate the landscape."

4.2 As the proposal site is outside of an area zoned for development and lies within open countryside, Housing Policy 15 is particularly relevant in considering the merits of this application;

"The extension or alteration of existing traditionally styled properties in the countryside will normally only be approved where these respect the proportion, form and appearance of the existing property. Only exceptionally will permission be granted for extensions which measure more than 50% of the existing building in terms of floor space (measured externally)."

- 5.0 REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Garff Commissioners have no objections to this application (10.10.18). - 5.2 Manx Utilities Authority have commented to inform that a letter has been sent directly to the applicant regarding water mains (11.10.18).

- 6.0 ASSESSMENT

6.1 In assessing this application it is important to consider the following 3 potential areas for concern;

• o The principle of development
• o Character and appearance of the site and the surrounding area
• o Impact on neighbouring properties

6.2 The principle of development

• 6.2.1 The extension falls just under the 50% increase in floor space which is the threshold set out in HP15, whereby an extension to an existing traditionally styled rural property is normally acceptable. In this case therefore, the size of the extension is not an issue and the proposal is acceptable in principle.

6.3 Character and appearance of the site and the surrounding area

• 6.3.1 The site is visible from Hibernia Road but at the opposite gable end of the property, the extension would not be overly visible to vehicles passing along the road. Furthermore, it is party visible from the main road but at a considerable distance, therefore limiting any impact on the appearance of the area in that regard. As a whole, the dwelling is somewhat secondary in appearance to the adjacent stone building.

• 6.3.2 The propose extension would maintain the features of the main dwelling in terms of roofing, external walls, windows and the installation of a new false chimney stack which would provide a degree of balance to the whole dwelling. The extension would sit slightly back from the line of the current dwelling, thus giving a slightly secondary appearance and furthering its acceptability.
• 6.3.3 The proposal would have the least impact visually of any such extension of its size, and therefore can be regarded as permissible in this regard. The character of the area as rural and of the site as an agricultural dwelling would not be harmed.
• 6.4 Impact on Neighbouring Properties

• 6.4.1 The site dwelling sits below that of the building to the north west both in height and ground level. Due to this, overlooking and overshadowing would not likely be an issue. Despite the close proximity of 9 metres between the walls of the dwellings, the extension would not have an unacceptable impact on the residential amenity of the adjacent dwelling.

- 7.0 CONCLUSION

7.1 In summary, the proposal meets the relevant criteria of Housing Policy 15 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan and is in keeping with the appearance and character of the site and general area as per the aforementioned Landscape Character Assessment and is therefore recommended for approval. - 8.0 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:

• 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 6(4) who should be given Interested Person Status.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Head of Development Management in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 29.10.2018 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

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