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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 17/00860/B Applicant : Mr Sean Dowling Proposal : Alterations to existing garage to form games room Site Address : Dun Aisling Mount Rule Douglas Isle Of Man IM4 4HP
Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley Photo Taken : 05.09.2017 Site Visit : 05.09.2017 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 19.09.2017 __
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.
C 2. The protection measures and construction methods detailed in the Tree Survey and Report submitted with the application (date-stamped as having been received 11th August 2017) shall be adhered to in full. No tree shown as being retained on Drawing 6 (date-stamped as having been received 11th August 2017) shall be cut down, uprooted or wilfully destroyed during the development phase and thereafter within 5 years from the completion date, except as may be permitted by prior approval in writing from the Department.
Reason: In the interest of protecting the well-treed setting for the dwelling, given the land's zoning.
C 3. The games room hereby approved shall only be used as ancillary to the dwelling known as Dun Aisling, as identified on Drawings 4 and 6 (date-stamped as having been received 11th August 2017), and shall at no point be occupied independently from that dwelling.
Reason: To avoid undesirable fracture of the residential curtilage in this area of Low Density Housing in Parkland.
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Plans/Drawings/Information;
The development hereby approved relates to Drawings 1, 3, 4 and 6, and to the Manx Roots Tree Survey and Report, all date-stamped as having been received 11th August 2017.
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
None. __
Officer’s Report
1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE
1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of a detached dwelling known as 'Dun Aisling'. The dwelling is situated on the A22 Strang to Crosby highway, from which its side elevation is visible albeit screened by mature trees within the dwelling's garden. The existing, detached triple garage, which also has a utility room, sits forward (east) of the dwelling and also screens it a little, particularly from the east.
1.2 Dun Aisling is a substantial dwelling of a classical architectural style complete with slated, hipped roof and single storey sun room on the western elevation. The dwelling is fully rendered with prominent render band details throughout around the windows and doors, along with timber doors and windows in a sliding sash appearance. The main pedestrian entrance is on the eastern elevation beneath a portico. The dwelling is almost symmetrical but for the aforementioned sun room, which sits behind the front elevation on the southern (highway- facing) side. The sun room has a flat roof complete with roof lantern.
2.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICATION
2.1 Full planning approval is sought for the raising of the roof of the existing garage by 1.4m with a view to creating a games room, accessed internally via the existing ground floor utility room. The natural light to the games room, which would be used as ancillary to Dun Aisling, is proposed to be provided by way of four new pitched half-dormer windows set within the raised eaves line on the north-facing elevation and by four corresponding rooflights on the south-facing roof plane. There would also be new fenestration inserted in each new gable, with that proposed to the eastern gable being a set of double doors complete with metal guarding Juliet balcony.
2.2 The finish of the garage's walls would remain as painted render, while a raised render band detail at the existing eaves level would be introduced. The roof would be natural slate, using the existing roof tiles. The windows and their detailing would also match those on Dun Aisling.
2.3 The agent is of the view that any increase in the visual impact would be minimal relative to the existing buildings on the site, and state that the use of rooflights will reduce the visual impact from the highway. They are of the view that it is relevant that the existing trees / vegetation will be retained and that overall the works would help retain the garage's subordinate appearance in relation to the existing dwelling.
2.4 Also submitted with this application is a tree survey and report. This shows that protective fencing would be installed along the southern boundary of the site while works on
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the garage alteration progress; an arboricultural method statement is also included, which explains how the trees will be protected during those works. While there is no proposed increase in the footprint of the garage, there will be works taking place on it within root protection areas should the application be approved. One beech tree, which is poor in form, is recommended for removal to trunk level.
3.0 PLANNING HISTORY
3.1 The dwelling was built in line with PA 12/00438/B, which represented a smaller design approach to that approved two years earlier (PA 10/01512/B). The approved 2010 scheme included a flat above the triple garage. No condition was attached to the approval notice requiring this to be used in association with the dwelling, although it was stated within the application that this would be the case. In the event, however, the 2010 scheme has since expired as it is very evident that it is the 2012 scheme that has been implemented.
3.2 There is also an application, submitted concurrently, seeking approval for the creation of a new, larger sun room extension. That application (PA 17/00859/B) remains undetermined.
4.0 PLANNING POLICY
4.1 The site falls within an area zoned as Existing Low Density Housing in Parkland (LDHP) on the Braddan Parish District Local Plan.
4.2 As such, the extension proposed falls to be assessed against General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan. (Housing Policy 15 may provide some useful guidance, but the land is zoned for the purpose for which it is currently used and accordingly General Policy 2 carries the most material weight for this proposal.)
4.3 Planning Circular 8/89 also applies as per paragraph 1.3.4 of the Strategic Plan. This Circular basically requires that development within areas zoned as LDHP must comprise substantial dwellings of a high quality; existing trees should be retained.
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS
5.1 Highway Services of the DoI noted that there would be no perceived increase in traffic generation arising from the proposal, and therefore offered no objection on 14.09.2017.
5.2 Braddan Parish Commissioners offered no objection to the application the day before.
6.0 ASSESSMENT
6.1 The use of the proposed games room can be controlled, by planning condition, to that of Dun Aisling. This would be necessary to ensure it was not changed to become an independent planning unit - the land is zoned as LDHP and this means that such houses thereon should enjoy at least 0.4 hectares of its own land, and the creation of a new dwelling on this site, at roughly 0.4 hectares, would clearly reduce the amount of land available to each such property to half of what the Circular requires.
6.2 The other key issue here is the extent to which the physical alterations would be appropriate, again being mindful of the expectations of the Circular. In this case, it is not considered that the additional height would affect the quality of the environment for this dwelling as expected under the Circular, particularly if the boundary trees are kept as intended.
6.3 Similarly, the retention of those trees will help reduce the visual impact of the extended garage. There was concern that the additional height would bring a greater level of mass closer to the highway, and could potentially have the appearance of another dwelling.
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However, the use of dormer windows on only the north-facing elevation will ensure any visual impact in respect of this latter point will be minimised as the building will have no windows facing onto the highway and will appear, quite clearly, to be an ancillary building (and likely as a large garage). Therefore, it is concluded that the additional mass, though evidently visible from the highway, is acceptable relative to the setting of Dun Aisling and moreover is acceptable in terms of its impact on the streetscene / public amenity.
6.4 The loss of the sole beech tree is to be lamented to some degree since Circular 8/89 requires dwellings such as this to be set in heavily treed surroundings. However, in this case, the loss of the single tree would be limited in scale and the effect of its loss would not be unduly harmful against what remains an otherwise green and well-treed backdrop and boundary.
7.0 RECOMMENDATION
7.1 The development proposed is not concluded to be in such discord with the policies against which it has been assessed as to warrant the application's refusal. It is accordingly recommended for approval.
7.2 A condition is required with respect to ensuring the adequate protection of the southern boundary trees.
8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS
8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 Article 6(4), the following persons are automatically interested persons:
(a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent; (b) 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; (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material; (d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure, and (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.
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 in Article 6(4) who should be given Interested Person Status. __
I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Head of Development Management in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.
Decision Made : Permitted Date : 22.09.2017 Determining officer
Signed : S BUTLER
Stephen Butler
Head of Development Management
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