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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 24/00721/B Applicant : Mr Darren Mark Kelly Proposal : Widen existing driveway in matching block paving to create a third external parking space requiring lowering of kerbs. Site Address : 29 Glebe Aalin Ballaugh Isle Of Man IM7 5BX

Planning Officer: Peiran Shen Photo Taken : Site Visit : Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 23.09.2024 __

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. The proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan and the Residential Design Guide July 2021.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to the documents, location plan, existing driveway site plan, proposed driveway site plan, visibility splay and photos which have been received on 23rd August 2024. __

Interested Person Status None __

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Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The site is 29 Glebe Aalin, Ballaugh, a detached house located in the middle of Glebe Aalin. There is an integrated garage in the front of the house. The front garden is part driveway part lawn.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The proposal is the widening of the driveway by approx. 2.4m.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 There are 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 1982 Development Plan.

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 practices and technical details of how to ensure highways are accessible, safe, inclusive and serviceable.

6.0 REPRESENTATIONS 6.1 Ballaugh Parish Commissioners has not commented at the time of the report (23.09.2024).

6.2 DoI Highway Services does not oppose this application (29.08.2024). The comment states that there is no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking.

6.3 DoI Highway Drainage writes in (11.09.2024) to inform the applicant that no surface water should be discharged onto a public highway.

7.0 ASSESSMENT 7.1 The main considerations 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

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                                      24/00721/B                                     Page  3  of  4

the number of parking spaces remaining on-street should be more than the number of existing parking spaces available on the street.

7.3 The road is available for parking. The road length available for on-street parking in front of the existing lawn is approx. 5.7m, which is lower than the recommended 6m length within the Manual for Manx Road. However, 5.7m is still sufficient for typical parking. The proposal reduces the road length available for on-street parking to 3.24m, which leads to the loss of an on-street parking space.

7.4 The proposal will create one additional parking space. The proposed parking space satisfies the recommendation in the Manual for Manx Roads. Therefore, it is considered that there is no increase in the total number of parking spaces available within the area. It is also worth noticing that the proposed parking space is only available to the applicant.

7.5 This being said, the area is residential and has very low demand for on-street parking. In the meantime, moving parked cars off-road also helps with traffic flow and safety. Therefore, it is considered that the conversion of one public parking space to one private parking space is acceptable in this instance.

7.6 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. Therefore, the proposal is considered to pass the principle test.

Visual Amenities 7.7 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".

7.8 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 - garden/driveway - 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 7.9 As there is no objection from highway services, it is considered that the impact on the 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;

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(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.

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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 and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded interested person status and/or rights to appeal.

Decision Made : Permitted

Date: 25.09.2024

Determining Officer Signed : C BALMER

Chris Balmer

Principal Planner

Customer note

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