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16/00026/B
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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 16/00026/B Applicant : Mr James & Mrs Shirley Robertson Proposal : Widen existing driveway and vehicular access Site Address : 33 Slieau Whallian Park St Johns Isle Of Man IM4 3JJ
Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley Photo Taken : 28.01.2016 Site Visit : 28.01.2016 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Officer’s Report
1.0 THE SITE, PROPOSAL AND PLANNING HISTORY
1.1 Full planning approval is sought for the widening of the driveway at 33 Slieau Whallian Park, which is a mid-terraced, two-storey dwelling towards the end of a cul-de-sac in St Johns. The slightly angled nature of the terrace relative to the highway is such that pairs of dwellings are set back from one another in a staggered fashion. Each of the dwellings in the terrace has an integral garage. The intention is to provide an additional off-road parking space in place of the existing garden. As the proposal would result in a widened highway access, an application is required.
1.2 The front garden is at present laid with grass and bounded from the neighbour no.32 by a fairly low-level but robust hedge.
1.3 Other changes such as that now proposed have been undertaken in the estate although none of these appears to benefit from a planning approval. The site itself has not been the subject of any applications considered material to the assessment of the current proposal.
2.0 THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
2.1 The site falls within an area zoned as Residential on the St John's Local Plan 1999. General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan is judged the relevant policy given the nature of the proposal.
3.0 REPRESENTATIONS
3.1 Highway Services within the Department of Infrastructure offered no objection to the proposal on 14.01.2016, while German Parish Commissioners similarly offered no objection on 04.02.2016.
4.0 ASSESSMENT
4.1 The key issues arising from the proposal are its impact on public amenity and also highway safety.
4.2 In terms of the latter, the provision of an extra off-street parking space is to be welcomed, albeit that the property already has one space plus a garage. Highway Services are content with the proposal.
4.3 The change to the visual appearance of the site is a little unfortunate as the resulting pair of cars parking on the front drive will unlikely be especially welcome from a visual point of view. It is
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16/00026/B
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noted that there are other similar such frontages in the area and, while further proliferation of this kind of development would not be ideal, it is noted that the street is already broken up by the staggered nature of the building line. This is further added to by the occasional hedgerow. As such, the proposal would not result in an overly dominant expanse of hardstanding in the area relative to its existing appearance. It is also noted that the site lies near the end of a cul-de-sac and is unlikely to be passed by significant numbers of vehicular or pedestrian traffic.
5.0 RECOMMENDATION
5.1 The proposal is judged to be acceptable when assessed against parts (b), (c), (g), (h) and (i) of General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan. It is therefore recommended that the application be approved.
6.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS
6.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, the following persons are automatically interested persons:
o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent; o The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested; o The Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure; and o The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 09.02.2016
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 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
The development hereby approved relates to the two site plans and photographs, all date-stamped as having been received 11th January 2016.
I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Senior Planning Officer in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.
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16/00026/B
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Decision Made : Permitted
Date: 09.02.2016
Determining officer
Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett
Senior Planning Officer
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