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19/00457/B Page 1 of 5
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 19/00457/B Applicant : Mr Neil Pearson Proposal : Roof and window alterations to existing rear conservatory to create a flat roof sun lounge and installation of a flue Site Address : 40 Erin Crescent Port Erin Isle Of Man IM9 6FD
Planning Officer: Mr Paul Visigah Photo Taken : 23.05.2019 Site Visit : 23.05.2019 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 31.05.2019 __
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 ceiling of the sun lounge hereby approved shall be built to a standard height of 2.4m in line with existing rooms in the property and no higher.
Reason: In the interests of the character and appearance of the site and surrounding area and to safeguard the amenities of occupiers of adjoining properties.
C 3. Notwithstanding the submitted plan, the downpipe for the sun lounge will be installed on the western side of the proposed sun lounge; away from the rear garden of 42 Erin Crescent.
Reason: To safeguard the amenities of the occupiers of adjoining properties.
C 4. The development hereby approved shall be built in accordance with the approved plans (1284-12 Rev A) and all external facing materials to be used shall match those of the existing building in respect of type, colour and texture.
Reason: To control development in the interests of the amenities of the neighbouring property and in the interests of the character and appearance of the site and surrounding area
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19/00457/B Page 2 of 5
Plans/Drawings/Information;
The approval relates to Drawing 1284-11, 1284-12 Rev A, both date stamped as received 23 April 2019
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties 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 mentioned in Article 6(4):
No.42 Erin Crescent as they satisfy all requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status (JULY 2018). __
Officer’s Report
THE APPLICATION SITE 1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of a semi-detached, two-storey dwelling of modern construction located on Erin Crescent, Port Erin. The dwelling backs onto a foot path which connects Erin Crescent to Erin Lane and Shirragh Way. The street scene is dominated by modern dwellings of a similar design and era, albeit the application dwelling's design appears to be unique in this immediate area as the views show that modifications have been made in the past.
1.2 The rear of the site forms a boundary with an elevated landscape (about 3m high) which runs parallel to the site boundary. At the east elevation of the property is a conservatory that runs almost along the boundary between it and its attached neighbour (no. 42 Erin Crescent).
1.3 The frontage of the dwelling is readily apparent from within Erin Crescent, but its rear is not readily apparent from Erin Crescent, as well as the foot path which abuts the dwelling due to the presence of a 1.8m hedge and fence of the west elevation and a 2m fence at the rear of the property.
THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Full planning approval is sought for roof and window alterations to existing rear conservatory to create a flat roof sun lounge and installation of a flue.
2.2 The sun room would be slightly wider than the existing conservatory since the chamfered edge will be built over to make the sun lounge a complete rectangle 5m by 4.9m. This sun lounge will be 2.75m high (250mm) higher than the existing conservatory. It would have a masonry finish with no windows facing towards the attached neighbour to the east, with two fairly long windows on the west and south elevations. The roof will be changed from a hipped roof to a flat roof with lantern which will measure 2.04m by 1.8m.
2.3 There would also be a stainless steel flue exiting the northern roof plane of the sun lounge. This flue will be will serve a log burning stove standing wholly on a non-combustible hearth.
PLANNING POLICY 3.1 In terms of land use designation, the application site is located within a wider area of land that is designated as "Predominantly Residential" on the Area Plan for the South (Map 7) 2013. In view of the fact that the site and surrounding land has been developed for residential use,
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19/00457/B Page 3 of 5
the provisions of the General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan 2016 will be pivotal in the assessment of this application. 3.2 General Policy 2 states that: "Development which is in accordance with the land-use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted, provided that the development: (b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them; (c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality;
3.3 Section 8.12.1 of the Strategic Development Plan will also be vital in assessing this application. It states that: As a general policy, in built up areas not controlled by Conservation Area or Registered Building policies, there will be a general presumption in favour of extensions to existing property where such extensions would not have an adverse impact on either adjacent property or the surrounding area in general.
3.4 Section 4.2: Single Storey Rear Extension 4.2.1 In relation to single storey extensions to the rear of the dwelling, generally the main issues relate to potential loss of light and/or overbearing impact upon the outlook of neighbouring properties. Extensions to terraced or semi-detached properties can have the potential for the greatest concern. With either type of property the depth (i.e. rear projection) of an extension and the position (near the shared boundary) are key in ensuring any such extension does not impinge on the amenities of neighbouring properties.
4.2.2 A "tunnelling effect" can be caused where windows are set back behind extensions projecting out either side. Ensuring an extension does not project too far from the rear of the house and/or setting an extension in from the boundary can help reduce problems of loss of daylight.
4.2.3 The acceptability of the length/depth of a single storey extension will depend on the positioning and size of neighbouring properties. For terraced houses and narrower semi- detached properties, single storey extensions are unlikely to be supported where they project more than 3 metres from the back of the house. 3.4 Section 7.3. of the Residential Design Guide 7.3.1 A development should not result in significant levels of loss of day light or overshadowing, especially to primary habitable rooms, or to private gardens. Applicants are advised to look carefully at the path of the sun throughout the day, and consider where shadows fall, using this information to help in considering the design, position and height of the extension. The impact of overshadowing will increase if the new property/extension is to the South of a neighbouring property (as the sun's orientation is East to West). When the windows affected serve habitable rooms then it will be necessary to assess the impact upon light reaching these rooms.
PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 The application site has been the subject of two previous planning applications, one of which is considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application and was granted planning permission: 04/00274/B: Erection of a conservatory on rear elevation and widening of existing driveway.
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19/00457/B Page 4 of 5
REPRESENTATIONS Copies of representations received can be viewed on the government's website. This report contains summaries only. 5.1 Representation from the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) Highways Division confirms that there is no highways interest in the letter dated 7 May 2019.
5.2 Port Erin Commissioners have commented on this application and stated that they support the application in a letter dated 15 May 2019.
5.3 The Owner of No. 42 Erin Crescent, the abutting property to the east of the dwelling have stated that they object strongly to the application to build a sun room on the space occupied by the over large conservatory erected under planning consent 04/00274/B and have made the following comments in a letter dated 9 May 2019: i. The existing conservatory comes up to the boundary fence of No. 42. It was supposed to have obscure glazing on this boundary retained in perpetuity. This was not done. Instead blinds were used which can be opened giving no privacy to No. 42's garden.
ii. The proposed sun room will also reach the boundary and will be considerably higher. It will overshadow the garden and we will lose sunlight. It will overshadow the kitchen.
iii. As the existing conservatory has no downspout at its corner, all the water drains into our garden making it unusable at times. The plans for the sun room show the downspout in the same place so even more water will drain in.
iv. Our tenants, who have small children, are entitled to "quiet enjoyment and occupation of the whole property including the garden. No access to build can be given without their agreement. Neither they nor ourselves have been approached over this matter.
v. The yellow planning notice has been displayed in the front window.
ASSESSMENT 6.1 The assessment in this case should be based on the impact of the design of the proposed sunroom on the appearance of the dwelling, and also its impact on neighbouring living conditions.
6.2 In respect of the first issue, and noting the fairly well-hidden nature of the rear of the site, it is considered that the design is acceptable. It has a simple, single-storey mass and runs across the rear width of the kitchen. While it sits on the foot print of the existing conservatory, it covers a slightly broader area due to the chamfered section being converted to straight walls to form a rectangle, and as such it is judged to have similar impact as the existing conservatory. 6.3 In terms of character and appearance the sun lounge would be proportionate to the rear elevation and designed to serve that specific purpose in terms of size, height and appearance since it will be designed to match the existing dwelling in terms of material and finishing. The masonry walls will also improve the energy saving capacity of the extension and make it more functional during the hot and cold months. Moreover, the build will be achieved without compromising any of the rear amenity space/ garden.
6.4 Turning to the impact on neighbouring living conditions, this is a rather more balanced situation. It is noted that, compared with the current conservatory, the proposed sun room would be masonry, rather than lightweight glass, which will remove the opportunity for overlooking of the neighbouring property. However, seeing the south-east wall of the proposed sun lounge will be visible from the neighbour's garden, it is expedient that the finishing be concluded within a short time frame to prevent the prevalence of unsightly views resulting from unfinished masonry.
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19/00457/B Page 5 of 5
6.5 It is, however, worth noting that the extension would be to the west of the neighbour's property at no. 42, meaning that it would reduce direct and indirect natural light to that property during summer evenings. Although this application may create some loss of light for No.42, this impact is lessened hinged on the fact that the loss of light only impacts on about 60% of the glass door which is not the only source of light to the kitchen. Additionally, the a slight raising of the eaves line by 250mm to accommodate the flat roof will only result in a slightly elevated impact on the neighbouring dwelling. The point here is that the existing structure also fails to accord with this guidance. However, what is proposed doesn't make it any worse.
6.6 It is also noted that the rate of run off from the roof will be minimized when compared with the existing conservatory with its hipped roof which increases the tendency for high run off rates when rainfall occurs. However, in order to prevent accidental overspills of runoff into the neighbouring garden, it is recommended that the drain pipe will be placed on the western elevation of the sun lounge, keeping overspills within the curtilage of the application site.
RECOMMENDATION 7.1 In view of the above, it is concluded that the application complies with the relevant parts of Strategic Development Plan and is therefore recommended for approval.
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.
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I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Principal Planner in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.
Decision Made : Permitted
Date: 27.06.2019
Determining officer
Signed : A MORGAN Abigail Morgan
Principal Planner
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