DEC Officer Report

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No.: 24/00620/B Applicant: Mr Leonard & Mrs Ruth Cowin Proposal: Widen existing driveway and vehicular access Site Address: 21 Norwood Drive Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 5HN Planning Officer: Peiran Shen Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 15.08.2024

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 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

• C 2. Prior to commencement, details for the drainage of the driveway shall be approved in writing by the Department. The drainage solution shall be installed according to the approved details and retained thereafter. Reason: in the interest of protecting highway drainage.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposed driveway has no negative impact on the character of the area.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the documents, location plan, existing plan, proposed plan, visibility splay and a photo date stamped as having been received on 15th May 2024. _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status

Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site is 21 Norwood Drive, Douglas, a semi-detached house located on the southeast of Norwood Drive. The front garden consists of a slope driveway, a harden walkway and grass area. The grass area is approx. 5.5m wide.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The proposal is the widening of the driveway by approx. 2.8m.

- 3.0 PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 There is no previous applications considered materially relevant to this application. - 4.0 PLANNING POLICY Site Specific

4.1 The site is within an area designated as Predominantly Residential in the Area Plan for the East.

Strategic Policy

4.2 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application: o General Policy 2 (b), (c), (g), (h) PPS and NPD - 4.3 No Planning Policy Statement or National Policy Directive is applicable to this application.

5.0 OTHER MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS Strategy and Guidance

5.1 The Residential Design Guide (July 2021) contains the following guidance that are considered particularly of material relevance to the assessment of this current planning application: o Section 6.3 Front Gardens and Driveways

5.2 Manual for Manx Roads provides best practise and technical details of how to ensure highways are accessible, safe, inclusive and serviceable. - 6.0 REPRESENTATIONS

6.1 Douglas Borough Council has no objection to this application (14.06.2024).

6.2 DoI Highway Services does not oppose this application (06.06.2024). The comment states that there is no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking.

6.3 DoI Highway Drainage write in (12.06.2024) to inform the applicant that no surface water should be discharged onto a public highway. - 7.0 ASSESSMENT

7.1 The main consideration for this application are the principle of the development, its impact on the character and street scene of the area and on highway safety.

Principle of the Development

7.2 As the development is to increase parking spaces, the foundation of such development is the net increase of parking spaces for the street as a whole, as indicated in the RDG. This means after the development, the sum of the number of parking spaces created off-street and the number of parking spaces remaining on-street should be more than the number of existing parking spaces available on street.

7.3 The road is available for parking. The proposal does not remove space available for parking as the dropped kerb does not change.

7.4 The proposal will create one additional parking spaces. The proposed parking space, along with the driveway, satisfy the recommendation in the Manual for Manx Roads. Therefore, it is considered that there is an increase of one parking spaces. - 7.5 The next test is whether over 50% of the existing front lawn/landscaped garden will be lost. After the proposal, the lawn still counts for 50% of the existing front garden. It is also to be noted that the additional parking space is for the use of the applicant only. Visual Amenities - 7.6 RDG also states that for the replacement of the front garden with a parking space, there is a need to weigh the benefit created to the applicant against the impact of the changed surface on the property and its surroundings. Such replacement should only be allowed when there is little negative impact, or the benefits overwhelm the negative impacts created as "front gardens provide an important physical boundary between a dwelling and the public realm". - 7.7 The most important consideration for such a proposal is whether it will shift the boundary of the public realm. If so, whether such a shift is acceptable? For this application, this transition is clear: road - pavement - garden - dwelling. While the remaining garden length is reduced, the remaining width is still sufficient separation between public and private space. Therefore, it is considered that there is no negative impact on the character and street scene of the area. Highway Safety - 7.8 As there is no objection from highway services, it is considered that the impact on highway is considered acceptable.

- 8.0 CONCLUSION

8.1 The proposed driveway has no negative impact on the character of the area. The proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan and the Residential Design Guide July 2021. Therefore, it is recommended for an approval. - 9.0 INTEREST PERSON STATUS

9.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• (a) the applicant (including an agent acting on their behalf);
• (b) any Government Department that has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (c) the Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure;
• (d) Manx National Heritage where it has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (e) Manx Utilities where it has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (f) the local authority in whose district the land which the subject of the application is situated; and
• (g) a local authority adjoining the authority referred to in paragraph (f) where that adjoining authority has made written representations that the Department considers material. 9.2 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 above who should be given Interested Person Status.

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 and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 20.08.2024 Determining officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner

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