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Planning and Building Control Division Murray House Mount Havelock Douglas Isle of Man IM1 2SF Tel: (01624) 685950 Fax: (01624) 686443 Email: [email protected]
Director of Planning & Building Control M.I. McCauley, M.R.T.P.I.
11/03/11
The aim of this statement is to set out the Development Plan Policies relating to the above application and makes comments on whether the proposals is in accordance with these policies. It also provides the planning history of the site.
The site represents the part of the curtilage of Gardeners Lane, which currently runs from the Lezayre Road junction in a northerly direction, towards Poylidooey Nature Reserve and the Sulby River.
The application seeks approval for the widening of highway and creation of priority junction at existing section of single carriageway (alternative to dual carriageway previously approved under PA's 03/00790, 03/01846, 10/00392).
The reasoning for the proposal is due to an ongoing ownership issue with regard to the strip of land which forms part of the old railway line which is in the ownership of the Ramsey Commissioners.
Consequently, the applicant seeks approval of an alternative access. The access is intended to serve the residential development allocated within the Ramsey Local Plan. It is acknowledged that the planning approvals that current exist for the residential development are dependent upon the construction of the former road scheme and that a further approval for these dwellings would need to be sought.
4.1 The application site is within an area recognised as being an area of 'Principle Traffic Route', under the Ramsey Local Plan. The site is not within Ramsey Conservation Area. 4.2 The following policies are therefore considered relevant in the consideration of this application:
4.3 Due to the zoning of the site the following policy is relevant for consideration:- "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: (a) is in accordance with the design brief in the Area Plan where there is such a brief; (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; (d) does not adversely affect the protected wildlife or locally important habitats on the site or adjacent land, including water courses; (e) does not affect adversely public views of the sea; (f) incorporates where possible existing topography and landscape features, particularly trees and sod banks; (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality; (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; (j) can be provided with all necessary services; (k) does not prejudice the use or development of adjoining land in accordance with the appropriate Area Plan; (l) is not on contaminated land or subject to unreasonable risk of erosion or flooding; (m) takes account of community and personal safety and security in the design of buildings and the spaces around them; and (n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy" 4.4 West Ramsey Development Framework (WRDF) adopted by the Department (March 2004). This provides an overall Development Framework to ensure that there is appropriate infrastructure, to development the area indicated as residential, industrial and open space as shown within the Ramsey Local Plan.
There following planning applications are considered relevant in the assessment and determination of this application (listed in priority of relevance):-
Residential estate development comprising of roads, plots, sewers, flood protection measures, drainage, public open space and layout for 26 semi
detached dwellings, 69 terraced dwellings, 42 apartments and 38 self build plots - 03/00790/B - East Of Gardeners Lane Between Greenlands Park And Poylldooey Nature Reserve, Off Gardeners Lane, Poylldooey, Ramsey APPROVED with the attached condition:- "Condition 10 - No dwelling shall be occupied until the distributor road has been constructed, to the satisfaction of the Planning Authority, to the full extent of the application site, as shown in drawing no. 2290.100.F South date stamped the 9th February 2005 and drawing no. 2290.101.G North date stamped the 15th November 2005."
Residential estate development comprising of roads, plots, sewers and layout for 26 semi detached dwellings, 14 terraced dwellings, 10 apartments, 1 children's nursery, 1 public house with managers accommodation and 2 lock up retail units - 03/01846/B - Land North Of Ramsey Power Station And West Of Gardeners Lane Off Gardeners Lane, Ramsey - APPROVED
Erection of Northern EMI care unit with associated parking and landscaping 10/00392/B - APPROVED - LOSS OF 16/17 DWELLINGS FROM APPLICATION 03/00790/B - with the attached condition:- "The EMI Unit shall not be occupied until the distributor road has been constructed, (as approved in applications 03/00790 and 03/01846) to the full extent of the application site up to and including the new roundabout, as shown in drawing no. 2386.02.01 date stamped the 18th March 2010."
Variation of condition 4 of PA 10/00392/B to allow revised access to approved EMI unit - 10/01805/C - APPROVED
Erection of six dwellings (to replace four previously approved under PA 03/01846/B) - Plot 11 To 14 (including 11a \& 13a), Auldyn Walk, Ramsey 10/00355/B - APPROVED - 2 ADDITIONAL DWELLINGS
Erection of 6 dwellings (to replace 4 previously approved under 03/01846B) Plots 7-10 (Including 7a \& 9a), Auldyn Walk, Ramsey - 09/01458/B APPROVED - 2 ADDITONAL DWELLINGS
Change of dwelling types and erection of additional dwelling - Plots 1 To 6 Inc. 2a) Auldyn Walk, Ramsey - 09/00247/B - APPROVED - 1 ADDITIONAL DWELLING
Erection of alternative dwelling types to allow for affordable housing provision and alteration of underground sewage pumping station - 08/01971/B - Plots 3 To 10 \& 17 To 32 \& Site Of Sewage Pumping Station Auldyn Walk, Ramsey APPROVED
Amendments to dwelling designs and dwelling/fence/driveway positions on approved residential development (PA 03/01846/B) - 08/01319/B - Land North Of Ramsey Power Station and West Of Gardeners Lane Off, Gardeners Lane, Ramsey
Approval in principle for mixed residential scheme, business/industrial park \& landscaping land at Poylldooey, Ramsey - 91/01487/A - Land At Poylldooey, Gardeners Lane, Ramsey - APPROVED
Approval in principle for mixed residential scheme, business/industrial park \& landscaping, land at Poylldooey, Ramsey - 91/00575/A - REFUSED
6.1 Department of Infrastructure Highways Division have recommended the application be approved. It is understood that the Highway Division will provide a separate statement in respect of the development. 6.2 The Ramsey Commissioners have objected on the following grounds; planning permission already exists, the new road layout is not necessary; proposal is contrary to General Policy 2 paragraphs C, F, H and I; contrary to Ramsey Local Plan paragraph 7.2; and the proposal is contrary to West Ramsey Development Framework 2004 regarding retaining existing roadside trees. 6.3 Manx National Heritage have commented on the application on the following grounds; applicant be required to carry out any tree felling and hedge clearance outside the bird breeding season to avoid disturbance to nests and young birds; and require clarification of number of trees to be removed. 6.4 The Forestry, Amenity \& Lands Directorate (Forestry Division) have made the following; no clear on the justification for the change of the road layout, which previously proposed to retain trees; tree survey woefully inadequate (initial plans, which have subsequently been updated); 20 trees to be removed not 5 ; trees are predominately Hawthorn ranging from 10 to 15 ft in height which are in relatively good health with no signs of decay or disease; In their opinion the trees have very minimal aesthetic value; the removal is unlikely to have any detrimental effect and as a result the Forestry Division will have little objection to their removal should it be absolute necessity. 6.5 The owner/occupier of 124 Greenlands Avenue, Ramsey has objected to the application on the following grounds; proposal would affect the traffic arrangements; loss of mature trees and hedging in the centre of the roads at the southern end of Gardeners Lane; and how can previous application be approved without a condition requiring a new road. 6.6 The owner/occupier of Ivy Cottage, Greenlands Lane, Ramsey has objected to the application on the following grounds; loss of trees and hedging in the centre of Greenlands Lane; highway safety concern during T.T periods when Lezayre road is closed and traffic needs to pass through Greenlands Avenue; and lane is not large enough for all new traffic. 6.7 The owners/occupiers of Glebe Cottage, Kirk Maughold have objected to the application on the following grounds; loss of trees and hedging in the centre of Greenlands Lane; highway safety concerns; and original road design must be adhered too. 6.8 The owner/occupier of Greenlands, Greenlands Lane, Ramsey has objected to the application on the following grounds; loss of trees and hedging in the centre of Greenlands Lane; road is not required; flooding concerns of previously approved sites; new distributor road should be constructed instead of Greenlands Lane being used; contrary to General Policy 2, Ramsey Local Plan, West Ramsey Development Framework 2004 given the loss of trees and hedgerows. 6.9 The owner/occupier of 9 Gardeners Lane, Ramsey has objected to the application on the following grounds; loss of trees and hedging; increase in
noise and traffic speeds due to proposal; contrary to General Policy 2, Ramsey Local Plan, West Ramsey Development Framework 2004 given the loss of trees and hedgerows. 6.10 The owner/occupier of 10 Gardeners Lane, Ramsey has objected to the application on the following grounds; loss of trees and hedging. 6.11 The owner/occupier of 3 Gardeners Lane, Ramsey has objected to the application on the following grounds; loss of trees and hedging and impact on wildlife. 6.12 The owner/occupier of 8 Gardeners Lane, Ramsey has objected to the application on the following grounds; loss of trees and hedging would give a unsightly view of the power station; and loss of flora and forna. 6.13 The owner/occupier of 2 Gardeners Lane, Ramsey has objected to the application on the following grounds; and loss of flora and forna; loss of trees and hedging; loss of privacy. 6.14 The owners/occupiers of 7 Gardeners Lane, Ramsey has objected to the application on the following grounds; loss of trees and hedging; potential damage to properties by proposed works. 6.15 The owners/occupiers of 1 Gardeners Lane, Ramsey has objected to the application on the following grounds; loss of trees and hedging; loss of privacy and increase in noise due to the builders centre and power station as trees act as a barrier; highway safety concerns; and the new access road should be constructed instead of Gardeners Lane being used. 6.16 The Manx Electricity Authority make no merits to the application but ask an informative note be attached to any given approval.
7.1 There are two main issues with the proposals. Firstly the potential highway implications by the development on the existing highway, including the implications on current extant applications, namely application 03/00790/B for the erection of 26 semi detached dwellings, 69 terraced dwellings, 42 apartments and 38 self build plots (total 175 dwellings). It should be noted that due to the approval of the EMI unit and subsequent commencement, there is a reduction of 16 dwellings (175-16=159) as these have been replaced by the EMI unit. 7.2 The second issue to consider is the visual impacts of the proposal by the removal of some of the proposed hawthorn trees which currently line the eastern boundary this section of Gardeners Lane. 7.3 Turning to the first issue and the potential highway implications, taking all applications (listed within history section of this report) into account, there are a total of 214 dwellings and a EMI Unit which have been granted permission so far, or sites 2, 3 and 4 as shown on the West Ramsey Development Framework 2004 (WRDF) map. These permission are subject to the road being implemented in accordance with the relevant approved plans that accompanied the applications. 7.4 Although there was a requirement to construct the road, planning permission 03/01846/B allowed for the development of initially 51 dwellings (now 55) and
the shopping/commercial area, which also showed the construction of a new roundabout and the creation of a dual carriageway from the southern existing section of Gardeners Lane to the proposed roundabout. No condition was attached with this approval relating to the construction of the dual carriageway or roundabout. A total of 55 have/or close to being completed, all within area 4 (Auldyn Walk) of the WRDF. 7.5 As part of the WRDF which the phasing section (17.0) paragraph 17.1.2 states:- "The development of areas 2, 3 \& 4 as shown on the key diagram, must include highway and infrastructure to support the level of development proposed and make provision to ensure that the distribution road links into the development of area 1, as shown on the key diagram, and the remaining land to the west of the Auldyn River, as noted ass 5 \& 6 on the key diagram." 7.6 This indicates that and development of these areas must "include highway and infrastructure to support the level of development". This leaves flexibility for potential highway schemes and does not limit to one particular scheme, i.e. the previously (03 / 00790 / B) approved dual carriageway scheme. This statement requires any development should ensure the highway and infrastructure is to the required standard and capacity to support any proposed development. 7.7 Currently, a total of 55 dwellings on the Auldyn Walk have either been finished or very near completion. Consequently, there is extant planning permission for 159 dwellings on areas . 7.8 Both the applicant and highway division have indicated the proposed new road layout scheme would provide capacity for 100 dwellings and the EMI unit. As 55 have been already been constructed a further 45 dwellings could be served by the proposed access on areas 2 and/or 3, albeit subject to a new planning permission given the previous approval specified the access arrangements and housing layout. 7.9 If the approved dual carriageway is constructed in accordance with application 03/00790/B, then all the remaining 159 dwellings could be erected as approved. 7.10 The applicants have submitted an Access Statement to support their case. This has been considered by the Highway Division. 7.11 The Highway Division have given a detailed response which states:- "The application under consideration will result in a road layout that is not suitable to serve all the properties that have planning permission. A road constructed to Major road residential standards with a single point of access to the distributor road network (Lezayre Road) narrowed to 3.5 m is not suitable to serve some 225 properties (correction 214 properties) and an EMI care unit. The Division advises that the dual carriageway (or a suitably designed and approved alternative) between Lezayre Road and the roundabout at the north end of Gardeners Lane is required to serve a development of this size as conditioned in PA 03/00790/B." 7.12 The Highway Division indicate that the updated Access Statement ref 10/137/003.F dated January 2011; "sets out an acceptable justification for the design of the proposal within the context of local policies and industry accepted design guidance. Furthermore within this Access Statement, it is indicated that the justification sets out to classify Gardeners Lane as a local access road rather
than distributor road. The classification of any road will be dependent on its function rather than its design; the function of a road can change over time particularly where the function is development lead as in this case." 7.13 In conclusion the Highway Division state:- "This proposal provides a local access road to service a specific level of development and has been designed accordingly. The function of Gardeners lane will change once future development takes place and its future layout has been designed to take account of the level of traffic generation, its place within the distribution network and the existing environmental factors, and is approved within PA 03/00790/B." 7.14 As indicated previously, a new application will be required to be submitted to develop either site 2 and/or 3, as a condition attached to the application 03/00790/B requires; "No dwelling shall be occupied until the distributor road has been constructed, to the satisfaction of the Planning Authority, to the full extent of the application site, as shown in drawing no. 2290.100.F South date stamped the 9th February 2005 and drawing no. 2290.101.G North date stamped the 15th November 2005." 7.15 These plans showed the full extent of the approved dual carriageway which extended and enlarged Gardeners Lane up to the approved roundabout. 7.16 It should also be noted that the design of the road layout as shown in drawing GL1.02 REV A is designed to ensure the previously approved dual carriageway can still be implemented, if the ownership issue can be resolved, and in no way does the proposal prevent the approved dual carriageway from being constructed as approved. 7.17 In summary, the Highway Division are in agreement with the applicant that the proposed new layout has a total capacity of 100 dwellings (which includes the existing dwellings in Auldyn Walk, therefore 45 additional dwellings) and the EMI Unit, without having a significant adverse traffic impact, and providing a suitable access to the development that it is proposed to serve. 7.18 Turning to the issue of the visual impact of the proposal by the removal of the proposed hawthorn trees which currently line the eastern boundary this section of Gardeners Lane. 7.19 It is perhaps relevant to note that a number of objection from local residents seem to be objecting to the removal of the large mature trees which make up the central reservation of the eastern part of Gardeners Road (i.e. south of the junction with Greenlands Avenue). 7.20 There was confusion with the initial submitted plans which did not make any reference to the trees, other than a single line to indicate the separation of the roads. Following discussions with the applicant, a new plan was submitted which shows the central reservation and all trees within this area are to remain unaffected by the proposals. 7.21 However, the proposals do involve the removal of a total of 20 Hawthorn trees along the eastern boundary of Gardeners Lane, which is to provide the additional width of the proposed new/upgrading Gardeners Lane. 7.22 The WRDF in paragraph 13.3 states:-
"Gardeners Lane should be suitably improved between the former railway line and the new junction with the new distribution road. The existing roadside trees should, where possible, be retained and incorporated into a central reservation. North of the new distribution road the attractive rural character of Gardeners Lane should be retained." 7.23 The majority of Hawthorn trees would be also lost due to the required for the new access and to provide the required visibility splays from the new EMI Units access (southern most access). 7.24 The proposed scheme does involve new tree planting to the verge and central reservation behind the required visibility splays for the EMI Unit. 7.25 The details of the proposed landscaping are not shown in detail; however, a condition could be attached which require such a condition, to ensure the impact of the loss of the Hawthorn trees is limited. It should be important to note that if such a landscaping condition is appropriate, it should ensure these would not be impacted by the possible future creation of the approved dual carriageway scheme, and be retained. 7.26 The comments from the Forestry Division are important, that the existing Hawthorn trees proposed to be removed, ". have very minimal aesthetic value..." and ".the removal is unlikely to have any detrimental effect and as a result the Forestry Division will have little objection to their removal should it be absolute necessity."
8.1 It would clearly be preferable for the residential development and access road be implemented as previously approved, rather than the scheme submitted which would not, in itself meet the long term needs of the wider development. However, there are genuine reasons this cannot be achieved at this stage and the design solution represents an acceptable interim design solution which does not prejudice the long term plans and allows for some residential development to occur at this stage, in particular the EMI unit for which there is an acknowledged need.
9.1 If the Inspector is minded to recommend to the Council of Ministers that the application is approved, the Planning Authority would suggest that the following conditions are attached to the approval notice:-
and these works shall be carried out as approved. Details of the soft landscaping works include additional planting along the eastern side of the altered Gardeners Lane. The landscaping should ensure such planting is not affected by the approved dual carriageway scheme. All planting shall be carried out in accordance the approved details in the first planting and seeding seasons following that first occupation. Any trees or shrub which within 5 years from the completion of the development dies, is removed or becomes seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced in the next planting season with another of similar size and species unless the planning authority gives written consent to any variation.
This statement has been prepared by Mr Chris Balmer, MA Hons, MTCP, MRTPI Planning Officer, on behalf of the Planning Division of the Department of Infrastructure.
Signed ................................................. Date .................................................
Mr Chris Balmer
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