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Application No.: 24/91186/B Applicant: Mr Graeme Richard Watson Proposal: Creation of off-road parking, Including dropped kerb, stone pillars and gate Site Address: 5 Cronkbourne Avenue Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 3LA Planning Officer: Peiran Shen Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 18.11.2024 _________________________________________________________________
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
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.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.
The proposal would preserve the character of the area. The proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 35 of the Strategic Plan, Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act (1999) and the Residential Design Guide July 2021.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This approval relates to the documents and drawing no. 01, 02, 03, 04 and which have been received on 17th October 2024.
Right to Appeal
It is recommended that the following organisations should NOT be given the Right to Appeal: Douglas Borough Council - No objection DoI Highway Services - No objection DoI Highway Drainage - No objection subject to conditions which have been applied
_________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report
1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site is 5 Cronkbourne Avenue, Douglas, an end-of-terrace house located on northeast Cronkbourne Avenue. The front garden consists of short stone boundary walls and hedges along the boundary and grass around the house.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The proposal is the creation of an off-road parking space. A new opening is created on the front boundary wall with new pillars and a gate for the new parking space. The parking space is approx. 6m long and 4.5m wide. The opening on the existing wall is approx. 4.7m wide.
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 Area Plan for the East.
4.2 The site is within the Selborne Drive Conservation Area. Strategic Policy - 4.3 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application:
PPS and NPD
4.4 Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man is the only adopted PPS. It provides supplementary policy on developments within any conservation area. - 4.5 Selborne Drive Conservation Area states the following regarding Selborne Drive: "Houses are set within low-walled gardens to the front … Properties maintain a uniform set back giving a sense of Edwardian elegance to the area."
5.1 Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act (1999) states: "(4) Where any area is for the time being a conservation area, special attention shall be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing its character or appearance in the exercise, with respect to any buildings or other land in the area, of any powers under this Act". This section of the Act sets out the approach to determining planning applications, which includes giving great weight to the asset's conservation when considering the impact of a proposed development on the asset.
Given that the site is within a Conservation Area, the above requirements apply, and appropriate consideration is to be given in section 7.
Strategy and Guidance
5.2 The Residential Design Guide (July 2021) contains the following guidances that are considered particularly of material relevance to the assessment of this current planning application: o Section 6.3 Front Gardens and Driveways - 5.3 Manual for Manx Roads provides best practices and technical details of how to ensure highways are accessible, safe, inclusive and serviceable.
6.1 Douglas Borough Council has no objection to this application (01.11.2024).
6.2 DoI Highway Services does not oppose this application (24.10.2024). The comment states that there is no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking the new access is on a straight, low flow, cul-de-sac with suitable visibility at the access for the speed of traffic along the road. - 6.3 DoI Highway Drainage writes in (07.11.2024) to inform the applicant that no surface water should be discharged onto a public highway.
7.1 Before assessing elements of the proposal, as it is within a Conservation Area, a test should be applied to this proposal as mentioned in 5.1. This test is whether the proposal would preserve or enhance the character of the Conservation Area.
7.2 The new pillars and the new gates are considered to preserve the appearance and character of the Area. The new gate, along with existing hedges, shields the car from public view. Therefore, the proposal is considered to preserve the character of the area and pass the test. Elements of Assessment - 7.3 The main considerations for this application are the principle of the development, its impact on the character and street scene of the area and highway safety. Principle of the Development - 7.4 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 the street.
7.3 The road is available for parking. Although the removed section is approx. 4.5m, the area is residential so there is no or little hard demand for on-street parking other than from the houses on the road. Therefore, the proposal is not considered to remove space available for parking. - 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 an increase of one parking space.
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 more than 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 - front boundary treatment - garden - dwelling. The change from a boundary wall to a gate would not shift the boundary between the public realm and the private garden. 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 the highway is considered acceptable.
8.1 The proposal would preserve the character of the area. Therefore, the proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 35 of the Strategic Plan, Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act (1999) and the Residential Design Guide July 2021 and is recommended for an approval. - 9.0 RIGHT TO APPEAL AND RIGHT TO GIVE EVIDENCE
9.1 The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 sets out the process for determining planning applications (including appeals). It sets out a Right to Appeal (i.e. to submit an appeal against a planning decision) and a Right to Give Evidence at Appeals (i.e. to participate in an appeal if one is submitted).
9.2 Article A10 sets out that the right to appeal is available to:
9.3 Article 8(2)(a) requires that in determining an application, the Department must decide who has a right to appeal, in accordance with the criteria set out in article A10. - 9.4 The Order automatically affords the Right to Give Evidence to the following (no determination is required):
I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Acting Head of Development Management 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: 21.11.2024 Determining officer
Signed : A MORGAN Abigail Morgan Acting Head of Development Management
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