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                                      20/01072/A                                     Page  1  of  4

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 20/01072/A Applicant : Mr Robert Jones Proposal : Approval in principle for the erection of a detached dwelling with garaging Site Address : Land To Rear Of Olinda South Cape Laxey Isle Of Man

Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Photo Taken : Site Visit : Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 26.10.2020 __

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

C 1. Application for approval of the reserved matters shall be made to the Department before the expiration of two years from the date of this approval and thereafter the development shall only be carried out in accordance with the details as approved.

Reason: To avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

C 2. Approval of the details of siting, design, external appearance of the building[s], internal layout, means of access, landscaping of the site (hereinafter called "the reserved matters") shall be obtained from the Department in writing before any development is commenced.

Reason: To comply with the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019.

N 1. There is a possibility due to records being found in the surrounding area that Dark Buck Crickets might be within the scrub and hedges as such prior to a full application please contact DEFA's Ecosystem Policy Team to request a Preliminary Assessment.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The principle of a dwelling on this site is acceptable.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 16th September 2020: o Site/Location Plan __

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                                      20/01072/A                                     Page  2  of  4

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None __

Officer’s Report

THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is a parcel of land that is accessed via a private road just off Pinfold Hill prior to Ballacollister Heights, Laxey which serves a number of properties. The land in question is situated between Olinda, South Cape and Lower Ballacollister.

THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval in principle to erect a dwelling on the application site. All matters are reserved for a future detailed planning application.

PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 There application site has been subject to a number of planning applications, several of which are considered specifically material to the assessment to this current application.

3.2 Between 1987 and 1996, three separate applications sought the approval for the erection of a dwelling of varying designs on the application site.

3.3 Between 2000 and 2016, six separate applications gained Approval in Principle for the erection of a dwelling on the application site.

3.4 The most recent application on the site PA18/00727/A is for the "Approval in principle for the erection of a detached dwelling with garaging," that was Permitted and expires on the 11th October 2022. The current application has been submitted prior to this date.

PLANNING POLICY

4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as Predominantly Residential on the Laxey and Lonan Local Plan 2005 and as such Policy L/RES/PR/1 is applicable and states, "Residential development will generally only be approved within the study area in those areas designated as proposed and existing residential. In particular, in the case of Agneash no further dwellings will be approved although, as will be the case in areas zoned as residential, alterations and extensions to existing property may be accepted if such proposals are sympathetic to the character and appearance of both the building to be altered and the surrounding area in general."

4.2 With regards to the Draft Area Plan for the East the site is designated as residential.

4.3 When looking at the site in terms of strategic plan policy, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains one policy that is considered specifically material to the assessment of this current planning application, General Policy 2 which, states in part: "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;

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                                      20/01072/A                                     Page  3  of  4

(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".

REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 No comments were received from Highway Services at the time of writing this report.

5.2 Garff Commissioners have considered the proposal and have no objection (12.10.20).

5.3 The Ecosystem Policy Officer has written in to state that whilst there are no records of Dark Bush Crickets the land in question has not been surveyed but the land surrounding it has had recordings, as such the land could potentially be a Dark Bush Crickets area. Dark Bush Crickets are a protected species listed under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife Act 1990. (20.10.20)

ASSESSMENT

6.1 The fundamental issue to consider with this application as it's an Approval in Principle is whether the principle of a dwelling on the site is acceptable.

6.2 When looking at the land designation in both the Laxey and Lonan Local Plan 2005 and the Draft Area Plan for the East the site is designated as residential, furthermore it can be seen that in section 3 of this report that several applications have been approved for a residential dwelling whether full applications or Approval in Principle's. As such, it is concluded that the basic principle of a residential dwelling on this site is acceptable.

6.3 As for site specific impacts and acceptability the application site is clearly of a size that is capable of accommodating a dwelling without causing undue harm on public or private amenity. The application site has existing vehicular access and there are no known problems with providing appropriate drainage.

6.4 With regards to the comments from the Ecosystems Policy Officer a note should be put on the application for reference if a further application is submitted.

CONCLUSION

7.1 For the above reasons the principle of a dwelling on this site is 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.

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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: 28.10.2020

Determining officer Signed : C BALMER

Chris Balmer

Principal Planner

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