3 February 2012 · Delegated - Director of Planning and Building Control (Michael Gallagher); Senior Planning Officer (Sarah Corlett)
Flat 1, 18, North Shore Road, Ramsey, Isle Of Man, IM8 3dy
The site is an end-terraced three-storey residential property in Ramsey, backing onto gas works and adjacent to a motorcycle showroom, within a Light Industrial area per the Ramsey Local Plan. The proposal involved demolishing the existing six-bedroom house and erecting a replacement building of matching front height a…
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The officer concluded the proposal represented overdevelopment due to the amount of built form and number of apartments on the limited site, resulting in inadequate amenities for occupants including n…
General Policy 2
Requires development to respect site/surroundings in siting/layout/scale/form/design/landscaping; not adversely affect townscape/amenity/character; provide satisfactory standards including adequate parking without harming road safety. Officer found proposal failed on scale/intensity (overdevelopment), amenity (poor outlook/no space), parking/highway impacts despite acceptable streetscene replication; no relaxation justified outside town centre.
Housing Policy 17
Permits flat conversions in residential areas if adequate space for drying/refuse/amenity/parking; pleasant clear outlook from principal rooms. Applied analogously to new build; failed due to no amenity space beyond bins, two units' sole rear outlook over unpleasant lane/gas works (not 'pleasant/clear'). Three apartments would comply with more space/better dual aspect.
Appendix 7
Requires 1 space per 1-bed apartment, 2 per 2+ bed (total 8); relaxations for town centre/previously developed sites near transport if no unacceptable on-street parking. Site out-of-centre; no on-site parking possible; on-street limited to ~2 spaces causing conflict; adjacent No.16 conversion precedent but this adds further demand without demonstrated no-harm.
No objection but seek clarification on bin storage and access; refer to Sewerage Act for drainage
Existing services near site to be considered; consult on electricity supply (not material planning considerations)
The original application (11/01766/B) to demolish a six-bedroom house and replace it with five apartments was refused primarily for over-intensive development, poor outlook from rear apartments over Gas Works, and lack of parking. The appellant argued the design replicates the existing building, complies with General Policy 2, provides modern standards, and parking can be on-street as in nearby approvals. The inspector found the rear flats would have a poor outlook over Gas Works and limited amenity space, breaching Housing Policy 17, and the increased parking demand (from 2-3 to 8 spaces) would harm road safety despite Appendix 7 allowances. Design was acceptable but outweighed by these issues, concluding over-development. The appeal was dismissed on 4 June 2012.
Precedent Value
This appeal emphasises strict application of Housing Policy 17 for principal room outlooks and Appendix 7 parking tests; applicants must demonstrate current living standards and on-street capacity at site visit conditions, not just precedents or future hopes.
Inspector: David G Hollis
