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                                      20/00161/B                                     Page  1  of  4

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 20/00161/B Applicant : Mr And Mrs Andrew Holland Sharpe Proposal : Installation of two dormers on front/south elevation and roof lights to side and rear. Site Address : 5 Spinney Close Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 1NF

Planning Officer: Mr Peiran Shen Photo Taken : 26.03.2020 Site Visit : 26.03.2020 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 06.04.2020 __

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.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. This application is considered to comply with GP2 of the Strategic Plan and the Residential Design Guide.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to the submitted documents and drawing no's 001, 050, 100, 300 date- stamped as having been received on 12th February 2020.

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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties 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):

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                                      20/00161/B                                     Page  2  of  4

3 Spinney Close, Douglas, IM2 1NF

as they satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status (July 2018). __

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE

1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of 5 Spinney Close, Douglas, a single storey bungalow located on the north of Spinney Close. The elevation is finished yellow brick rendering on the elevation and brick rending on the other elevations. The dwelling has a hip roof.

1.2 There is three roof lights on the rear elevation of the roof.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The planning application seeks approval for the installation of two dormer on the front elevation and roof lights to all other elevations on the roof.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 The installation of two dormer windows along with the roof lights were approved as part of PA 09/01350/B.

4.0 PLANNING POLICY

4.1 In terms of local plan policy, the application site is within an area designated as "Predominantly Residential" under the Douglas Local Plan. The site is not within a Conservation Area.

4.2 In terms of strategic plan policy, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains two policies that is considered specifically relevant to the assessment of this current planning application:

4.3 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".

4.4 "8.12.1 Extensions to Dwellings in built-up areas or sites designated for residential use: As a general policy, in built-up areas not controlled by Conservation Area or Registered Building policies, there will be a general presumption in favour of extensions to an existing property where such extensions would not have an adverse impact on either adjacent property or the surrounding area in general."

4.5 Residential Design Guidance (July 2019) provides advice on the design of new houses and extensions to an existing property as well as how to assess the impact of such development on the living conditions of those in adjacent residential property.

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                                      20/00161/B                                     Page  3  of  4

4.6 RDG 4.Dormer Extensions sets out some key considerations. These include overlooking, adverse impact on the character and appearance of both the individual property and the wider street scene. These impacts can be regulated by designing with the right location, size and proportion. The section also specifically mentioned that the dormer should be secondary to the size of the roof in which it will be positioned.

4.7 RDG 5 sets out key considerations regarding architectural details. These include window details and external finishing. The general idea is that the extension should have a similar style with the main dwelling for a coherent appearance unless the clash between modern and traditional design can be handled with elegance.

4.8 RDG 7 sets out key considerations regarding the impact on neighbouring properties. These include the potential loss of light/overshadowing, overbearing impact upon outlook and overlooking resulting in a loss of privacy.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Douglas Borough Council has no objection to this application (04/03/2020).

5.2 DoI Highway Services does not oppose to this application (28/02/2020).

5.3 The resident of 3 Spinney Close commented (20/03/2020) to expression their objection. The concern is regarding over-sized dormer being overbearing to their main living area and the dining area. They propose smaller dormer windows to mitigate these concerns.

6.0 ASSESSMENT

6.1 The key issues to considerer in the assessment of this planning application are firstly the potential impacts upon the visual amenities of the street scene and secondary the potential impact upon neighbouring residents.

6.2 The main alterations to the front elevation results in two new dormers on the roof. The properties in this area are made up of various sizes and designs, some of them have dormer windows. The proposed dormer window are larger than the one on other property on the same street and can be seen as a bit over proportion. However, the criteria in RDG is that the dormer should be proportionate to the roof its located on and in this case the dormers, although big in size, is still secondary to the roof and therefore is considered acceptable.

6.3 The neighbouring properties on the same side of the street, although has descending elevation from the west to the east, do not have significant positioning difference of north or south. This means the new dormer is unlikely to have overbearing impact on the neighbouring properties. Although, due to the elevation difference. The dormer is visible from the neighbouring property (to the west) from their dining and living room. In addition, both window are not the only window with a decent outlook. Given the proposed dormer is no higher than the existing roof. The new outlook is still reasonable and therefore is acceptable.

6.3 The new dormer windows are unlikely to create overlooking issues due to the different elevation the property has compare to neighbouring property.

7.0 CONCLUSION

7.1 Overall it is concluded that the planning application would have no significant impacts upon public or private amenities and therefore accords with the provisions set out in General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and the Residential Design Guide and as such the planning application is recommended for approval.

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                                      20/00161/B                                     Page  4  of  4

8.0 INTEREST PERSON STATUS

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 whcih 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 above 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.

Decision Made : Permitted

Date: 14.04.2020

Determining officer Signed : C BALMER

Chris Balmer

Principal Planner

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