Loading document...
==== PAGE 1 ====
20/00726/B Page 1 of 5
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 20/00726/B Applicant : Mrs Vilma Fargher Proposal : Roofing works, removal of chimney stacks, installation of roof lights and formation of a balcony Site Address : 1 Armadale House North Shore Road Ramsey Isle Of Man IM8 3AN
Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Photo Taken :
Site Visit :
Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 02.12.2020 __
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.
N 1. The Ecosystem Policy Officer has made comments regarding possible swift nests within the property and as such it is advisable that the applicant contact the team prior to doing the works on the property.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposed works comply with General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 8th July 2020: o Site/Location Plan
This decision also relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 27th November 2020: o Site/Location Plan o North Elevation & South Elevation After Works o East Elevation After Works __
==== PAGE 2 ====
20/00726/B Page 2 of 5
Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
None __
Officer’s Report
THE APPLICATION SITE 1.1 The application site is within the curtilage of 1 Armadale House, North Shore Road which is an end of terrace five storey property situated to the south east of North Shore Road.
1.2 To the rear of the property are several outbuildings and structure to the side and rear.
THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The current planning application seeks approval in several parts;
2.2 On the main part of the dwelling is the replacement of the main roof with slate roof tiles, the removal of the two chimney stacks to the eastern elevation. There is also the installation of an additional roof light to the front elevation measuring 0.9m by 0.9m to match the existing rooflight and to the rear elevation the replacement of three rooflights of varying sizes with two rooflights measuring 1m by 0.7m.
2.3 To the rear outrigger is the removal of the rear chimney stack and two rooflight with the replacement of the roof with slate roof tiles.
2.4 Besides the rear outrigger is a rear walkway of which the proposal is to remove the existing unfit sides and roofing, flatten the roof of the ground floor extension to create additional walkway area. There is then the addition of a 1m high post and rail deck railing to create a balcony/walkway area.
PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 There are no previous planning applications identified on this site.
PLANNING POLICY 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as Residential/Offices (C) Mooragh Promenade on the Ramsey Local Plan 1998, Map 2, of which the Area Plan says the following, "Dwellings should be of a high standard, and should be designed to acknowledge the architectural style, scale and massing of adjacent Victorian buildings, particularly on sites which face the Promenade and the harbourside. Heights of dwelling should be stepped down from the promenade to the harbourside and Old River Road, and design and scale should be appropriate to a harbourside location. On the Peveril plot and the Manor House site, there could be included office use with on-site parking space and open space provisions; these particular developments should be undertaken after consultation with the Department of Agriculture. Fisheries and Forestry (D.A.F.F), and should include appropriate measures to identify and transplant rare plants."
4.2 Of specific relevance to the assessment of this application is General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 which 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: 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; n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."
==== PAGE 3 ====
20/00726/B Page 3 of 5
4.3 Also relevant is Paragraph 8.12.1 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan which states, "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 existing property where such extensions would not have an adverse impact on either adjacent property or the surrounding area in general."
REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Highway Services have considered the application and do not oppose but do note the following, "Applicant to be advised that there may be need for licences to place equipment and materials in the highway during works." (04.08.20).
5.2 Ramsey Town Commissioners have considered the proposal and have no objection (24.08.20).
5.3 The Ecosystem Policy Officer has written in to state, "1 Armadale House is home to at least 3 swift nest sites which are located in the roof area and secondary storey of the building, on the northern elevation. There is potential for their nests to be damaged, destroyed or blocked when the roofing work is being undertaken, particularly the work to remove the chimney..." The comments go on to state that the works proposed can only be done between a certain time and with a method statement. (13.08.20)
ASSESSMENT 6.1 The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are the potential impacts of the proposal on the character and appearance of 1 Armadale House and the wider street scene and whether the alterations will affect neighbouring amenity.
6.2 In the first instance the main alteration which will be seen from the main road of North Shore Road and Ramsey Promenade is the removal of the chimney stacks to the north east elevation. When looking at 1 Armadale House the property is situated within an area of two block of traditional Victorian guest houses. Within the two blocks of properties out of the four end properties only the application site and "Airlie" which is oppose the application site to the north west.
6.3 Further that the application site there are traditional buildings and also more modern built properties of which several have chimneystacks and several do not. With this in mind and when looking at the application site the main viewpoint which would be altered with the removal of the chimneystacks would be looking down North Shore Road from Ramsey Promenade, currently at the moment the only viewpoint of chimneystack is from the application site and from the property across the road "Airlie."
6.4 Whilst the removal of the chimneystacks would be noticeable from this viewpoint, the likelihood that it would alter how the property is viewed within the streetscene would be minimal.
6.5 When looking at the removal and replacement of the main roof with the replacement of rooflights, due to the overall height of the property the main roof is at a height that the front elevation cannot be seen from a pubic vantage point as such the addition of a rooflight would not be noticeable and will have a minimal effect on how the property is viewed. Also due to the overall height of the property the additional rooflight would not affect the neighbouring amenity of the properties surrounding 1 Armadale House.
6.6 The rear roof can be seen from the Old River Road and via the rear access road. The proposal to remove the three rooflights and replace them with two rooflights would add a positive impact on the property as a whole while adding symmetry to the property and the overall terrace of properties.
==== PAGE 4 ====
20/00726/B Page 4 of 5
6.7 During my site visit of the property it could be seen that firstly the property was undergoing renovation works and secondly that there was already a covered walkway to the rear of the property which overlooks the rear car park of apartments called "The Waterfront" and the rear service entrance to the apartment called "Isle of Alanis."
6.8 The works proposed whilst they are creating additional floor area to the rear of the property by flattening the rear extensions roof, this alteration should not increase the impact of the existing covered walkway on the neighbouring properties, especially due to the increased floor area being to the rear of the property which overlooks the existing rear alleyway.
6.9 Whilst it is noted that the covered area on the property hasn't been afforded planning permission, the area currently has several doors which are accessed via this area and as such it is already afforded with a certain amount of footfall.
6.10 When looking at the works themselves they do add a certain amount of possible overlooking thought this will be minimalised due to the proposed works which mean the area not being covered, there are also no windows within the "Isle of Alanis" which would face the additional floor area which is being created which could possibly be affected and whilst there are windows within the properties facing "The Waterfront" these are at the same elevation as the existing car park which lends itself a certain amount of overlooking already.
6.11 The removal of the chimney stack to the rear outrigger, replacement roof with the removal of rooflights whilst noticeable would not affect how the property is viewed within the streetscene and as such complies with the relevant Strategic Policies.
6.12 A note has been added to this application with regards to the ecosystems comments regarding the swift nests within the property.
CONCLUSION 7.1 For the above reasons the proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and therefore acceptable.
INTERESTED 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 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 __
==== PAGE 5 ====
20/00726/B Page 5 of 5
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: 15.12.2020
Determining officer
Signed : C BALMER
Chris Balmer
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.
Copyright in submitted documents remains with their authors. Request removal