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Application No.: 19/00781/B Applicant: Mr & Mrs Stephen Gardner Proposal: Alterations, conversion and extension of existing detached garage and workshop to provide ancillary living accommodation and erection of detached garage Site Address: Mayfield Main Road Colby Isle Of Man IM9 4LW Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken: 13.08.2019 Site Visit: 13.08.2019 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 03.12.2019 _________________________________________________________________
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
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.
Reason: the new accommodation would share amenity space, car parking and access and would be very close to the existing dwelling such that separate occupation is not considered acceptable.
This decision relates to drawings 0 and 01 received on 15th July, 2019 and 02A 03A both received on 15th November, 2019. _______________________________________________________________
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 not mentioned in Article 6(4):
Sherragh Vane and 3, Ard Wooilley as they satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status (July 2018). _____________________________________________________________________________
Officer’s Report THE SITE
1.1 The site is the residential curtilage of an existing dwelling which fronts onto the Main Road (A7) which runs through Colby. The site has to its immediate east a footpath which runs through to Cronk Cullyn. To the west is Ingleholme, a detached dwelling which is part of the Ard Wooilley cul de sac. - 1.2 The existing house is a two storey, dashed rendered dwelling which has two single storey bay windows with monopitch slated roofs above and a glazed conservatory on the Ingleholme side. To the east is an open area which accommodates a wide driveway capable of accommodating at least 6 cars with a garage situated at the rear of the house. - 1.3 Beside the driveway is a lawned area of a further 5m in width. - 1.4 The property backs onto the rear garden of Ballabrae in Ard Wooilley and Sherragh Vane, also in Ard Wooilley, has its rear garden backing onto the side of the rear section of the applicants' garden. Ballabrae has a first floor window serving the accommodation in the roof which looks towards and is visible from the rear of the application property and Sherragh Vane has a ground floor window and rear garden facing the building which is proposed to be changed. THE PROPOSAL
2.1 Proposed is the erection of a new garage on the lawned area and the extension and conversion of the existing garage at the rear to provide additional living accommodation associated with the main house. - 2.2 The new building will have two storeys of accommodation, the ground floor given over to a garage with workshop space around it and above this a store contained within the roof and without any stairs. This building will be finished to match the main dwelling. - 2.3 The building at the rear is currently L shaped and the extension will square off the footprint. The ground floor will accommodate a kitchenette, bedroom and sitting room and the upstairs, contained within the roof other than with a two storey element with balcony on the front elevation, will accommodate a second bedroom and bathroom. This newly extended structure will be finished to match the main dwelling. This element has been amended to remove any first floor windows on the western elevation facing towards Sherragh Vane and instead installing another eaves level dormer window on the elevation facing Mayfield. - 2.4 The garage will be increased in height as follows: eaves will rise by 1.25m, ridge will rise by
2.5 The applicant explains that the property has accommodated a number of generations of the same family for some time and the proposals are intended to facilitate an elderly family member to be able to live close but with some independence and with help in accordance with the Department of Health's strategy to help people stay in their own homes and not have to move into hospital or residential care. They refer to the facilities within the village and that the new accommodation will not need separate access or amenities.
3.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Area Plan for the South as Residential. As such, the following parts of the Strategic Plan are relevant:
General Policy 2: "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:
3.2 The Department has recently published the Residential Design Guidance (July 2019) which provides advice on the design of new houses and extensions to existing property as well as how to assess the impact of such development on the living conditions of those in adjacent residential property. PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 The property has been the subject of previous applications but non is considered relevant to the consideration of the current application. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Arbory Parish Commissioners support the application (26.07.19).
5.2 The owner of Sherragh Vane objects to the application on the basis that their bedrooms and garden would be overlooked by the new upper level windows and the building would block out daylight by the additional height, particularly as his garden is 1m lower than the application site. He also feels that the building would be unsightly as viewed from his property (15.08.19 and 08.11.19) and is disappointed that whilst windows have been removed from the side elevation, the opportunity has not been taken to lower the height of the building (29.11.19). - 5.3 The owners of 3, Ard Wooilley object to the application on the basis that they see no necessity for the extra accommodation and that the two dormer windows will overlook their garden (undated and received on 04.11.19). - 5.4 Highway Services have no objection to the application as parking provision is adequate (20.08.19).
6.1 The site is designated for development so the principle of the creation of additional garaging and additional living accommodation is acceptable in principle.
6.2 The issues here are whether an additional unit of living accommodation can satisfactorily be accommodated within the site, having regard to access and parking, whether the unit would have any adverse impact on the living conditions of those in Mayfield itself, and the adjacent properties Ballabrae and Sherragh Vane (both of which have been contacted by the Planning Office for their comments) and whether the proposal could in the future be separated from the main house and if so, whether this would be unacceptable. Finally, it is also relevant to consider whether the proposed garage would have any adverse impacts on the appearance and character of the area: it is sufficiently distant from existing adjacent property which is
separated from it by the public footpath, for it not to affect the living conditions of those in neighbouring property.
6.2 There is a significant amount of car parking available on the site, enough to accommodate those who would occupy both the existing and proposed living accommodation. - 6.3 The new accommodation will be very close to Mayfield - as close as 5m with windows, albeit serving a bathroom - within this distance which is significantly less than is advocated in the RDG. However, the application is for ancillary accommodation which will be associated with the occupation of Mayfield and as such, this proximity and the fact that those occupying the new accommodation would have to pass the main house to access theirs, is considered to be acceptable. This proximity also assists preventing the new accommodation being separated in the future (see paragraph 6.4). - 6.4 It can often be an issue where "ancillary" accommodation is designed to be quite separate from any other property and where there is no shared facilities or amenities. In this case, the access and car parking will be shared and the extremely close proximity of the two habitable buildings would be almost certain to prevent the properties being occupied or owned separately. The site is designated for residential use so the principle of an additional unit of accommodation here is not objectionable. - 6.5 The proposed garage is single storey and its design, height and position are not likely to have a significant impact on the character or appearance of the area given the existing boundary treatment which will provide significant screening of this new structure. - 6.6 The upward extension of the building will make it more prominent as viewed from the two neighbours - Ballabrae and Sherragh Vane. However, Sherragh Vane has no windows in its upper floor which looks towards the gable of the building to be extended and Ballabrae sits higher with a single upper storey window looking towards the building. The building will be 14.5m from the rear of Sherragh Vane and there are now no windows in the upper floor of the proposed extension. There are no windows in the rear elevation at first floor level other than two rooflights which, due to their position on the eastern end of the roof, will not look towards the gable of Ballabrae. - 6.7 Whilst the extended building will be visible from both adjacent properties, it is at a distance of at least 14m and using the 25 degree calculation in the RDG, it is unlikely to affect light or outlook, even taking into account the slightly lower level of Sherragh Vane (1m).
7.1 The application is considered to accord with the relevant policies and is supported. 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:
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 : 05.12.2019 Determining officer
Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management
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