23 July 2012 · Secretary to the Planning Committee
The Warehouse Bargrill, Harbour Road, Onchan, Isle Of Man, IM3 1bg
Margil Ltd proposed to build seven detached dwellings and an access road on the cleared former Follies Cabaret Restaurant site in Onchan. The site is sloped, bordered by residential properties with short rear gardens, and has trees along boundaries.
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No formal decision or officer reasoning provided as the application was withdrawn prior to determination. The case officer (Steven Stanley) contacted the agent multiple times regarding consultee conce…
recommend approval subject to reorientation of Plot 3 for sympathetic streetscape
express interest, request contact for cables/lines and electricity supply
Mixed responses including objection from Water and Sewerage Authority due to inadequate foul drainage demonstration, deferral requests from Highways Division and Water Authority, standard conditions from Manx Electricity Authority, support with condition from Onchan Commissioners, and resident comment on trees.
Key concern: failed to demonstrate how the foul sewage from the development will be adequately disposed
Manx Electricity Authority
Conditional No ObjectionThere are Underground Cables/Overhead Lines present in the area indicated in you Planning Application.; Please contact our Network Operations Department, Manx Electricity Authority, (Tel. 687687) to discuss working practices around Cables and Overhead Lines which may be required to be diverted before any work can be carried out on site.; a condition of planning be that the applicant must contact the Authority.
Conditions requested: applicant must contact the Authority; Contact our Network Operations Department (Tel. 687687) to discuss working practices around Cables and Overhead Lines which may be required to be diverted before any work can be carried out on site; Contact the M.E.A. for Electrical Site Safety 5 documents (Tel. 687766), before any work is carried out on site; All work to be carried out with reference to Health and Safety Executive Guidance Notes HS(G)47 & GS6; Contact the M.E.A. Planning Department (Tel. 687781), to discuss the electricity supply for this application; MEA requires 24 hours unrestricted access to the cables in the Public Highway
Isle of Man Water and Sewerage Authority
ObjectionDefer: - subject to the following conditions:-; the applicant has failed to demonstrate how the foul sewage from the development will be adequately disposed.; If the Planning Committee cannot defer the application until such time as this information has been provided or an alternative drainage scheme agreed, the Authority would like to lodge an objection
Conditions requested: defer as the applicant investigates the route of the foul drain from the land and confirms its suitability for this scheme; or an alternative drainage scheme agreed
Highways Division
Defer; Drawings provided do not illustrate the required visibility splays as discussed.
Conditions requested: Defer
Onchan District Commissioners
Conditional No ObjectionThe Commissioners would recommend that the application be APPROVED for planning purposes subject to the following condition:- "Subject to the orientation of Plot 3 being turned through 90° so as to provide a more sympathetic streetscape."
Conditions requested: Subject to the orientation of Plot 3 being turned through 90° so as to provide a more sympathetic streetscape.
The original planning application for 24 sheltered apartments, warden's flat, and ancillary accommodation on the cleared former Follies Cabaret Restaurant site was granted permission by the Planning Committee despite prior refusals and appeal dismissals for earlier schemes due to neighbour amenity impacts. Neighbour appellants argued overdevelopment, overbearing impact, loss of privacy, overlooking, and incongruous design compared to local bungalows. The Planning Authority and applicant defended the revised design as addressing previous inspector concerns on separation distances, overlooking, and scale, achieving acceptable impacts on amenities and street scene. The inspector found the entrance block acceptable in the street scene under General Policy 2, with neighbour impacts acceptable on balance due to separations, levels, and design mitigations, rejecting overlooking claims. The appeals were recommended dismissed, upholding the permission with minor condition amendments.
Precedent Value
This appeal shows persistence with design iterations can overcome repeated prior refusals by precisely addressing inspector critiques on amenity relationships. Future applicants should prioritise 20m+ separations, level analysis, and GP2-compliant massing breaks in constrained urban sites near neighbours.
Inspector: David Ward
