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24/00529/CON Page 1 of 4
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Application No. : 24/00529/CON Applicant : Mr & Mrs Thomas Hampden & Ms Lara Elizabeth Inskip Proposal : Registered building consent for construction of retaining wall and terrace on west elevation RB 269 (in association with 24/00527/GB) Site Address : Lorne House Douglas Street Castletown Isle Of Man IM9 1AZ
Technical Officer: Thomas Sinden Photo Taken : Site Visit : Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 20.06.2024 __
Conditions and Notes for Approval
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
C 1. The works hereby granted registered building consent shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this consent.
Reason: To comply with paragraph 2(2)(a) of schedule 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented registered building consents.
C 2. Prior to the undertaking of any works physically connected to the existing building, details of all junctions with the building's historic fabric are to be submitted to and approved in writing by the Department. Thereafter, the works are to be carried out in accordance with the approved details.
Reason: To ensure that the special interest of the registered building is preserved.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The application is judged to be in accordance with section 16 of the Town and Country Act 1999, planning policy statement 1/01, and Environment Policy 32 and Strategic Policy 4 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016 as the special interest and setting of the Registered Building are being preserved and partly enhanced. It is therefore judged that the application is acceptable.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This decision relates to drawings 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 received on 16th May 2024.
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24/00529/CON Page 2 of 4
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
None __
Officer’s Report
1.0 THE SITE
1.1 The site is Lorne House, a registered building (RB 269). The property is a large Georgian house set in substantial grounds to the north of the harbour in Castletown. The house was built in 1826-7 and has been attributed as the work of notable architect Thomas Brine (1766-1840), although there is no currently known documentary evidence to confirm this. The house is perhaps best known as being the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor between 1834 and 1860. The house has undergone numerous alterations and extensions and was for a time used as offices and flats.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL
2.1 This seeks registered building consent for the construction of retaining walls and terrace on the west elevation of the property. The application is concurrent with application 24/00527/GB.
2.2 The works proposed within the application (and the concurrent planning application) are part of a wider scheme of alterations to return the property to a single residential dwelling. The terrace now proposed is in the area previously occupied by a non-historic extension, and would be smaller in size to the terrace approved under the applications in 2022.
3.0 PLANNING POLICY
3.1 TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1999 S16 Registered buildings: supplementary provisions (3) In considering - (a) whether to grant planning approval for development which affects a registered building or its setting, or (b) whether to grant registered building consent for any works, the relevant Department shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses.
3.2 National policy: THE ISLE OF MAN STRATEGIC PLAN 2016
Strategic Policy 4 Environment Policy 32 & 34
3.3 Planning Policy Statements: 1/01 Policy and Guidance Notes for the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man
POLICY RB/3 POLICY RB/5
4.0 PLANNING HISTORY
4.1 There are over 30 applications on the Lorne House site since 1985. The most pertinent applications are the approvals relating to the most recent alterations, which are as follows:-
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24/00529/CON Page 3 of 4
22/00280/CON & 22/00281/GB - Demolition of north east wing; external material alterations to north west wing; internal alterations to create family room; other minor internal alterations; partial demolition of non-historic garden wall to accommodate site access and reinstatement of same following construction works.
22/01523/GB & 22/01524/CON - Internal and external alterations including external door and window alterations, new external soil and rainwater pipes, replacement external steps, internal remodelling, removal of entrance hall panelling, replacement of metal entrance gates and demolition of modern stone garden wall.
23/00468/B - Construct a tennis court in the garden North West side of the house; Construct a soakaway in the south garden.
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS No representations have been received.
6.0 ASSESSMENT
Statutory Test 6.1 Section 16 of the Act states that the "Department shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses." In this instance, the application proposes to construct a terrace on the west elevation, providing access to sash opening doors in the kitchen. The form and size of the proposed terrace is similar to the existing arrangement on the east elevation where a terrace and steps gives access to the building's principal entrance. The ground either side is proposed to be graded down and landscaped from ground level down to the dwarf walls that contain the basement terrace. As mentioned in section 2.2, applications 22/01523/GB and 22/01524/CON approved a significantly larger terrace than the one now proposed. The introduction of a terrace in the form and size that is now proposed is judged to be positive, as it would provide balance with the arrangement on the east elevation. It is also judged that the current proposals would result in no harm the existing historic fabric or the building's setting, and could be considered to offer an enhancement when compared with the previous modern extension and the previously approved larger terrace. With the above factors in mind, it is judged that the proposals would preserve and partly enhance the special interest of the building and its setting.
Policy Tests 6.2 The application proposes to construct a terrace on the west elevation, providing access to sash opening doors in the kitchen. The form and size of the proposed terrace is similar to the existing arrangement on the east elevation where a terrace and steps gives access to the building's principal entrance. The ground either side is proposed to be graded down and landscaped from ground level down to the dwarf walls that contain the basement terrace. As mentioned in section 2.2, applications 22/01523/GB and 22/01524/CON approved a significantly larger terrace than the one now proposed. The introduction of a terrace in the form and size that is now proposed is judged to be positive, as it would provide balance with the arrangement on the east elevation. It is also judged that the current proposals would result in no harm the existing historic fabric or the building's setting, and could be considered to offer an enhancement when compared with the previous modern extension and the previously approved larger terrace. With the above factors in mind, it is judged that the proposals would preserve, protect and partly enhance the special interest of the building and its setting.
6.3 As these works propose to connect and fix in to parts of the historic fabric, it is recommended that a condition be attached to any approved that requires details of these junctions to be submitted to and approved by the Department prior to the works being undertaken.
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24/00529/CON Page 4 of 4
7.0 CONCLUSION
7.1 The application is judged to be in accordance with section 16 of the Town and Country Act 1999, planning policy statement 1/01, and environment policy 32 and strategic policy 4 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016 as the special interest and setting of the registered building are being preserved and partly enhanced. It is therefore recommended that the application be approved.
8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS
8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Registered Buildings) Regulations 2013 (As Amended), the following are automatically interested persons:
o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent; o Manx National Heritage, and o The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.
8.2 In addition to those above, the Regulation 9(3) requires the Department to decide which persons (if any) who have made representations with respect to the application, should be treated as having sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings relating to the application. __
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: 20.06.2024
Determining officer Signed : J SINGLETON
Jason Singleton
Principal Planner
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