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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 17/00972/B Applicant : Mr Gareth Moore Proposal : Conversion of detached garage into music room for teaching purposes Site Address : 16 Stanley Road Peel Isle Of Man IM5 1NX
Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley Photo Taken : 22.09.2017 Site Visit : 22.09.2017 Expected Decision Level : Planning Committee
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 23.10.2017 __
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 parking spaces as shown on approved Drawing 200 Rev A (date-stamped as having been received 12th September 2017) shall be marked out using a form of visible delineation (to be agreed with the Department) prior to development commencing, and shall be retained thereafter.
Reason: To ensure the application site is adequately catered for in terms of off-street parking for both the uses operating therefrom.
C 3. The off street parking area as shown on approved Drawing 200 Rev H (date-stamped as having been received 12th September 2017) shall be solely for the purposes of parking and not used for any other reason unless approved in writing by the Department.
Reason: To ensure the application site is adequately catered for in terms of off-street parking for both the uses operating therefrom.
C 4. The music studio hereby approved shall only be used for the teaching of the piano. Not more than one student shall be taught at any time. The piano teaching hereby approved shall only take place between the hours of 15:00 and 19:00 on weekdays, and not at all during weekends.
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Reason: In the interest of protecting neighbouring residential living conditions and also protecting public amenity in terms of highway safety.
C 5. The garage door shall be replaced as shown on the approved Drawing 200 Rev H (date- stamped as having been received 12th September 2017) prior to the approved use commencing.
Reason: In the interest of protecting neighbouring living conditions.
C 6. The use hereby approved shall be for the sole benefit of the applicant, Mr Gareth Moore, and in accordance with the Planning and Design Statement (v4) date-stamped as having been received 12th September 2017.
Reason: In the interest of protecting neighbouring residential living conditions and also protecting public amenity in terms of highway safety.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
The development hereby approved relates the Planning and Design Statement (v4) and to Drawings 100 Rev A and 200 Rev H, all date-stamped as having been received 12th September 2017.
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
It is recommended that the following persons should be given Interested Person Status as they are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 6(4):
Officer’s Report
THIS APPLICATION IS BROUGHT BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR DETERMINATION AS THE COMMISSIONERS HAVE OBJECTED TO THE APPLICATION, WHICH DOES NOT RELATE TO HOUSEHOLDER DEVELOPMENT, BUT THE APPLICATION CARRIES A RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE.
1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE 1.1 The application site is defined by two distinct parcels of land, both within the ownership of the applicant: the residential curtilage of 16 Stanley Road, Peel, and an almost triangular parcel of land to the rear (north) sited on the other side of Gib Lane, which is an adopted highway bifurcating the two parcels of land.
1.2 16 Stanley Road is a two-storey, mid-terraced dwelling sited within Peel's Conservation Area. To the rear is a 30m-long garden. Within this garden is a single-width garage some 47m in length, its access door facing onto Gib Lane, albeit set back from the lane by a short driveway. The garage is currently used for storage. It has a single garage door facing Gib Lane and a pair of shallow windows within the corresponding gable wall.
1.3 The ridgeline of the garage is 1.9m higher than the garden and 3.6m higher than Gib Lane: the garage is therefore set significantly into the topography of the garden such that in some parts of the garden ground level is the same as the eaves' height. Stanley Road is on a
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slope such that the garden of the attached dwelling to the southeast (no.14) is higher than the application site's garden, with the garden of the other attached neighbour to the northwest (no.18) being lower than the application site.
1.4 The separate, almost triangular area edged red on the application drawings has no defined boundary treatment, and is in use for car parking. The submitted drawings show three cars can be parked here.
2.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICATION 2.1 Full planning approval is sought for a change to the use and appearance of the garage, along with some excavation works in the garden. Some of the comments in the architect's supporting statement seem to indicate that the use is being undertaken at present, but there is no enforcement case in respect of such a use at this site.
Use
2.2 The applicant is a music teacher who wishes to work from home; no one else is to be employed. The garage is proposed to be separated internally into three separate elements, all three coming together to provide a music studio for the teaching of piano. There would be a study and waiting area/WC at either end of the building, each taking roughly 25% of the internal floorspace, with the remaining 50% located centrally and providing for the piano room itself. The applicant's preference is for students to enter through the Gib Lane entrance rather than through the house itself.
2.3 The architect explains that:
o His client intends to teach between 3pm and 7pm on weekdays; o These hours are usually when the applicant's partner is at work, leaving two parking spaces available on Gib Lane; o Most lessons last half an hour, with about a quarter lasting an hour: a typical afternoon would comprise between one and two 1-hour sessions and between four and six 30-minute sessions, resulting in an additional 8-10 traffic movements over the four hour period mentioned; o Parents rarely attend lessons, but if they do it is usually at the end of a lesson; o Approximately 40% of current students walk to lessons, and o Payment is made termly, with communication either electronically or over the phone.
2.4 The agent explains that Highway Services sought for four off-street parking spaces to be provided as part of this proposal. He is of the view that such a request is unreasonable since there would need to be a specific set of circumstances that would result in a concomitant requirement for four parking spaces at the application site, namely:
o The applicant's partner would need to be at home during a weekday afternoon; o Both arriving and departing students would be travelling by car; o Both students' parents will have to want to park and go into the music hall, and o Somebody else will have to be driving along Gib Lane.
2.5 The applicant wishes to access the proposed music studio from the dwelling-side of the building. In order to achieve this, excavation works are required.
Appearance
2.6 These excavation works are not detailed in terms of changes to site levels. The submitted existing and proposed site plans and elevations demonstrate that the garage, at present, is significantly dug into the site's topography such that only 0.7m of the gable wall (to the eaves) sits above the garden. It is proposed that this be dug away to provide a terrace
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area measuring 5.5m in length and 8.3m in width (this latter measurement being identical to the garage's width), with steps up into the remainder of the lawned garden.
2.7 In terms of the physical alterations proposed to the building itself, the existing garage door would be removed and replaced with a domestic-style door and narrow, vertically proportioned window set within a panel, both formed of anthracite-grey PVC. To the corresponding gable wall would be inserted a window and door, each matching the aperture widths of the current, shallow windows in that wall. Two rooflights would be inserted in the roof pitch facing east.
3.0 PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 The site was the subject of a similar application earlier in the year (PA 17/00640/B), which proposed larger-scale physical alterations to the existing garage. This was withdrawn before an assessment could be made, and the architect explains that the current application is more modest in terms of the physical alterations now proposed to reflect concern raised locally to the previous application, and also to help ensure views across to Peel Castle and Peel Bay from the gardens of nos.12 and 14 Stanley Road will be maintained.
3.2 There have been, elsewhere on the Island, other applications submitted seeking approval for the use of part of a dwelling for the teaching of music. The acceptability of these applications has tended to turn on the site-specific impacts that the playing of music and the arrival / departure of students has on neighbouring residential amenity. Examples of such applications include one in Douglas (PA 09/00733/R), which was refused on grounds of the impact of vehicular traffic on residential amenity, and another in St. John's (PA 13/00401/C), which was approved subject to the following conditions:
C 1. This approval relates to the additional use of garden music studio for drumming lessons as proposed in the submitted documents which are date-stamped 3rd April 2013.
C 2. The music studio may be used for teaching purposes only on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings between 1630 and 2100 hours and on Saturdays between 0900 and 1330 hours and only Electronic Drum Kit/equipment may be used. No students may visit outside of these hours
C 3. No more than one student shall be taught in the studio at any one time and a 10 minute gap between each lesson shall be provided. The use hereby approved shall not be carried on by any person other than Mr. Nigel Johnson while he is occupying 2 The Willows, Ballacraine, St John's.
3.3 The refused application related to piano lessons; that approved related to drumming lessons.
4.0 PLANNING POLICY 4.1 The site lies within a Mixed Use zoning on the Peel Local Plan, as well as within the town's Conservation Area. As such, the application falls to be assessed against General Policy 2, Transport Policies 4, 6 and 7 (and Appendix 7), and Environment Policies 22 and 35 of the Strategic Plan.
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Highway Services of the DoI offered no objection to the application on 29th September 2017, subject to the imposition of two conditions. In view of the nature of the proposal and the other comments received in respect of the application, it is worth noting their comments here in full:
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"The proposals include a detailed statement of the operational practicalities of the site in terms of off street parking to the rear of the property. Highways would prefer 4 of street parking spaces (2 for the residents + 2 for parents dropping / picking up students). The applicant proposes 3 spaces and uses the argument that the site is sustainable with nearly half of students walking to and from the premises.
"The addition of 1 more vehicle parked on street would only be for a limited time should an overlap between parents dropping off an waiting to pick up occur. This is not considered to be detrimental to highway safety or affect the free and safe flow of traffic in the area. The proposals are therefore considered on balance to be acceptable.
"Should you be mindful to approve this application, please attach the following conditions:
"1. The parking spaces as shown on the approved plan shall be marked out using either a white line marking paint or use of some other form of visible delineation prior to development commencing.
'Reason: To ensure an efficient use of parking facilities and reduce the potential of parking on- street.
"2.The off street parking area as shown on the approved plan shall be solely for the purposes of parking and not used for any other reason unless approved in writing by the Dept."
5.2 Peel Town Commissioners objected to the application in an email received 12th October 2017 on grounds that "alternative parking provision to support this application on the opposite side of Gib Lane may not be owned by the applicant". It is not known what land is referred to in these comments but, on the assumption it is the almost triangular-shaped parcel of land described in paragraphs 1.1 and 1.4 of this report, the architect confirmed in an email of 18th October 2017 that "I have seen my client's deeds. The land belongs to 16 Stanley Road."
5.3 The owner / occupier of 18 Stanley Road, which adjoins the application site to the west, instructs Pringle Law to object on his behalf. In summary, the concerns raised in an email of 9th October 2017 are as follows:
o The noise from students' arriving, leaving and playing music for up to six hours per day may create a nuisance for neighbouring properties; o The application makes no reference to sound-proofing being installed; o Students travelling by foot via Gib Lane shall be able to look into the garden of no.18, violating privacy and detrimentally affecting enjoyment of the garden; o Gib Lane is extremely narrow and even a small increase in traffic could negatively affect the area; o It is doubtful as to whether Gib Lane could, as required by Transport Policy 4, accommodate both pedestrians and vehicles given its narrowness. Transport Policy 6 states that the needs of pedestrians will be given similar weight to that of other road-users; o It is not unreasonable to ask that the applicant plans for every eventuality to ensure that students and other road users can use Gib lane safely, and o The majority of the concerns can be addressed if the students accessed the development for their lessons via the applicant's front door [case officer note: i.e. the Stanley Road access], and it is submitted that this is the sensible way forward.
6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 Such applications as this need to be treated sensitively. The teaching of music may be wholly welcomed by some people but be considered something of a nuisance by others. Moreover, the kind of music and / or instrument being taught may be particularly offensive to some people but enjoyed by others. This is borne out in the single strong objection received to this application.
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6.2 There are three issues here: (1) is the use acceptable in terms of its impact on highway safety; (2) is the use acceptable in terms of its impact on neighbouring living conditions, and (3) are the physical changes proposed acceptable in the context of the Conservation Area?
Is the use acceptable in terms of its impact on highway safety?
6.3 Highway Services conclude that the application is acceptable (albeit apparently on balance) to them for the reasons stated. The site is fortunate to benefit from any off-street parking at all, and with three available this must be seen as a positive. The site is very sustainably located. No concern is raised with respect to the amount of parking available.
6.4 The above conclusion is reached being mindful of the conditions sought by Highway Services, which are considered necessary to attach to any approval notice.
6.5 Gib Lane is indeed narrow, and to many people would probably look more like an unadopted access lane than adopted highway. However, it is not considered that the limited use of it as would be likely to arise from the proposed music studio development would cause harmful impacts on traffic flow or pedestrian movements. The lane's narrowness and steepness are such as to mean it would be likely that vehicles would move very slowly, and visibility along the lane is good.
Is the use acceptable in terms of its impact on neighbouring living conditions?
6.6 The use of the main entrance to the music studio from Gib Lane would not affect privacy. These gardens are surrounded by tall walls such that anyone accessing the building the subject of this application cannot see into the rear gardens. This situation would not alter if this application were approved. Therefore, the main impact on neighbouring living conditions is likely to arise from the noise associated with the music lessons and students arriving for / leaving from them.
6.7 For the same reasons as those outlined above, it is not considered that the additional vehicle movements associated with the proposal would cause adverse harm to residential amenity. This is being mindful of the four hours of lessons that are proposed, not the six hours as seems to be understood by the objector. It is also true that the building being separate from the main dwelling means that the (noise) impact arising from its use will be largely felt within neighbouring gardens rather than the dwellings themselves. It is generally considered that amenity should be most strongly protected within dwellings because people generally spend most of their time inside.
6.8 In the absence of a noise assessment, or details regarding any sound-proofing that would be installed, it is difficult to be certain about the likely impacts of the development from the point of view of Environment Policy 22. The application is clear, though, that there would be some additional walling installed within the garage, and this would likely reduce the noise impact from the proposed use significantly.
6.9 The Environmental Protection Manager noted in a telephone conversation on 23rd October 2017 that, were the resource available, he would have sought for a sample of noise that reflected piano playing to be played within the existing building to understand whether or not it would be audible in the neighbouring dwellings. He welcomed that the garage door was to be replaced, and also that the roof was pitched rather than flat: garage doors and flat roofs tend to significantly amplify sounds. He also noted that, excluding the outriggers, the rear elevations of the adjacent houses were 16m away and this was a good distance in such cases as this.
6.10 It is not considered that the noise resulting from four hours of music lessons per weekday operating from this detached building would amount to a harmful impact on
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neighbouring amenity. That the use would not operate during weekends is noted and welcomed, since people tend to spend more time in their gardens during weekends than they would do during weekdays. It is difficult to control how people behave or how they use the personal space within their homes, and it is possible that someone could play music at regular intervals or at high decibel unrelated to any business operating. It is also noted that the concern raised in respect of amenity seems to be more related to the possibility of people seeing into the objector's garden rather than as a result of any noise that may be generated. (This is reflected in the final bullet point of paragraph 5.3, above.)
7.0 CONCLUSION 7.1 Had there been significant local opposition raised to the proposed development, it is considered that there would be a more clearly defined impact on residential amenity. However, that is not the case, and it is concluded that the impact arising from the development on the basis of the statements made by the architect on behalf of his clients would not be so harmful to neighbouring living conditions as to warrant refusal of this planning application.
7.2 Conditions are also required. These reflect the requests of Highway Services and also would be needed in respect of the lesson times, pupil numbers and to tie the approval to the applicant. The proposed Condition 4 is wide-ranging, but there is good reason for this. It is possible that amendments to the specific details of the music teaching may be desired (such as an additional instrument, or additional teaching hours, or additional students) in the future, and it will be easier for all parties where such a change is proposed that only that one condition needs to be altered, rather than a host of separate conditions that split the use / number of students / hours of operation.
7.3 In view of the Environmental Protection Manager's point regarding the garage door, a condition requiring that the garage door be replaced as proposed prior to the approved use is considered necessary for the purposes of protecting neighbouring living conditions.
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 confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the appropriate delegated authority.
Decision Made : Permitted
Committee Meeting Date: 30.10.2017
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Signed : E RILEY Presenting Officer
Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph to the officer report).
Signatory to delete as appropriate YES/NO See below
Customer note
This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the file copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online services/customers and archive records.
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PLANNING COMMITTEE DECISION 30.10.2017
Application No. :
17/00972/B Applicant : Mr Gareth Moore Proposal : Conversion of detached garage into music room for teaching purposes Site Address : 16 Stanley Road Peel Isle Of Man IM5 1NX
Presenting Officer : Mr Edmond Riley
Addendum to the Officer’s Report
The Planning Committee suggested an amendment to the wording of Condition 3, which was added to by the case officer, to add clarity to the approved use of the triangular parcel of land on the opposite side of Gib Lane.
Conditions of Approval
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 parking spaces as shown on approved Drawing 200 Rev A (date-stamped as having been received 12th September 2017) shall be marked out using a form of visible delineation (to be agreed with the Department) prior to development commencing, and shall be retained thereafter.
Reason: To ensure the application site is adequately catered for in terms of off-street parking for both the uses operating therefrom.
C 3. The off street parking area as shown on approved Drawing 200 Rev H (date-stamped as having been received 12th September 2017) shall be solely for the purposes of parking of vehicles and not used for any other purpose unless approved in writing by the Department.
Reason: To ensure the application site is adequately catered for in terms of off-street parking for both the uses operating therefrom.
C 4. The music studio hereby approved shall only be used for the teaching of the piano. Not more than one student shall be taught at any time. The piano teaching hereby approved shall only take place between the hours of 15:00 and 19:00 on weekdays, and not at all during weekends.
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Reason: In the interest of protecting neighbouring residential living conditions and also protecting public amenity in terms of highway safety.
C 5. The garage door shall be replaced as shown on the approved Drawing 200 Rev H (date- stamped as having been received 12th September 2017) prior to the approved use commencing.
Reason: In the interest of protecting neighbouring living conditions.
C 6. The use hereby approved shall be for the sole benefit of the applicant, Mr Gareth Moore, and in accordance with the Planning and Design Statement (v4) date-stamped as having been received 12th September 2017.
Reason: In the interest of protecting neighbouring residential living conditions and also protecting public amenity in terms of highway safety.
Plans/Drawings/Information
The development hereby approved relates the Planning and Design Statement (v4) and to Drawings 100 Rev A and 200 Rev H, all date-stamped as having been received 12th September 2017.
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