Officer Report 8 January 2013

Application No.:	12/01125/B
Applicant:	Mr Frank Sweeney
Proposal:	Residential development of six detached dwellings with garages
Site Address:	Land Adjacent To Ginger Hall Hotel Ballamanagh Road Sulby Isle Of Man
Case Officer:	Mr A Holmes
Photo Taken:
Site Visit:
Expected Decision Level:	Planning Committee

Officer's Report

THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AT THE REQUEST OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PLANNING COMMITTEE.

The Application Site

1. The application site comprises a parcel of land located between the Ginger Hall Hotel and Carrick Park in Sulby, Lezayre. The site has frontage onto the Main Road (A3) and Ballamanagh Road (B8), although vehicular access is solely from the Ballamanagh Road. The land contained within the application site generally falls away from the B8 to a drainage ditch to the rear of the site.

The Proposal

1. The proposal comprises residential development of six detached dwellings with garages on the application site. The proposed design of the six dwellings and garages are identical. Vehicular access is via the Ballamanagh Road.

1. In order to address errors and deficiencies within the initial submission a full set of amended drawings has been submitted. The receipt of these amended drawings was duly advertised and opportunity given for further representations to be made.

Planning History

1. The application site has been the subject of a number of previous planning applications, the following of which are considered specifically material to the assessment of this current planning application:

1. Planning application 11/00155/B sought planning approval for residential development comprising four detached dwellings and garages on land adjacent to Ginger Hall Hotel, Ballamanagh Road, Sulby. This previous planning application was approved on the 1st April 2011 and is valid until the 1st April 2015 subject to the following conditions:

Condition 1: "The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice."

Condition 2: "This approval relates to the residential development comprising four detached dwellings and garages as proposed in the submitted documents and drawings 09 0513/2, 09 0513/4A, 09 051305, 09 051306, 09 051307, 09 051308, 09 051309, and 09 0513/10 all received on 7th February 2011."

Condition 3:

"No development shall take place until full details of both hard and soft landscaping works have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Planning Authority and these works shall be carried out as approved. Details of the hard landscaping works include footpaths and hard surfacing materials. The hard landscaping works shall be completed in full accordance with the approved details prior to the first occupation of any of the proposed dwellings hereby permitted. All planting shall be carried out in accordance the approved details in the first planting and seeding seasons following that first occupation. Any trees or shrub which within 5 years from the completion of the development dies, is removed or becomes seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced in the next planting season with another of similar size and species unless the planning authority gives written consent to any variation."

Condition 4: "The roof(s) must be finished in dark natural slate."

Condition 5: "Prior to the commencement of construction of any dwellings on the site a traffic mirror shall have been erected in accordance with details which will have been first agreed in writing with the Planning Authority. The mirror shall be retained and maintained in good order thereafter."

Condition 6: "Prior to the commencement of construction of any dwellings on the site, the access arrangements as indicated on drawing 09 0513/4 REV A are to be implemented and completed to provide the required visibility sprays."

A copy of the decision notice and the site layout drawing (drawing no. 1051306) from this previous planning application have been placed on the file for the current planning application.

1. Planning application 09/00504/B sought planning approval for residential layout for four building plots on land adjacent to Ginger Hall Hotel, Ballamanagh Road, Sulby. This previous planning application was approved on the 12th May 2012. A subsequent appeal against the approval was upheld, with the appeal refusal decision issued on the 23rd September 2012. The stated reason refusal was:

"On the one hand, two-storey dwellings would result in overlooking and loss of privacy to existing dwellings, and would be generally unsympathetic to the modern nearby development; on the other hand, it has not been demonstrated that four single-storey dwellings could be provided on the site along with the necessary replacement amenity tree-planting, a surface-water attenuation scheme, and adequate private amenity space around the individual dwellings; the application thus fails to demonstrate that the site could be satisfactorily developed as four residential buildings plots."

A copy of the decision notice and the site layout drawing (drawing no. 090513/1) from this previous planning application have been placed on the file for the current planning application.

1. Planning application 99/02118/B sought planning approval for the erection of two detached bungalows on land adjacent to Ginger Hall Hotel, Ballamanagh Road, Sulby. This previous planning application was approved on the 10th August 2000 and following a number of extensions of time lapsed without implementation on the 18th July 2007.

1. Planning application 95/01092/A sought planning approval in principle for the layout of two building plots, roads, and sewers on land adjacent to Ginger Hall Hotel, Sulby. This previous planning application was approved initially, approved at review and approved at appeal on the 3rd September 1996.

1. Planning application 91/00838/A sought planning approval in principle for the layout of roads, sewers and five plots on land adjacent to Ginger Hall Hotel, Sulby. This previous planning application was refused.

1. Planning application 90/01993/A sought planning approval in principle for plot layout for residential development on land adjacent to Ginger Hall Hotel, Sulby. This previous planning application was refused.

1. Planning application 89/00755/A sought planning approval in principle to erect dwelling plus single storey annexe on land adjacent to Ginger Hall, Sulby. This previous planning application was approved at review but was never implemented.

1. Planning application 88/01528/A sought planning approval in principle to erect four detached dwellings with integral garages on land adjacent to Ginger Hall Hotel, Sulby. This previous planning application was refused.

Planning Policy

1. In terms of land use designation the application is designated for residential development (Proposed Development Area 5) under the Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Sulby Local Plan) (No. 2) Order 1998.

1. Planning Circular 1/99, which constitutes the written statement accompanying the local plan, contains the following policies and paragraphs that are considered specifically material to the assessment of the planning application:

1. Policy RES/P/2 states:

"All new residential development within proposed development areas 2 to 5 shall be undertaken in accordance with the residential development briefs outlined above."

1. Policy OS/P/1 states:

"Other than those areas specifically designated for development and identifies on the scheme order, no other areas should be released for new development during the lifetime of this local plan. If during the next review of this local plan it is considered appropriate to retain the development designations or release further land for development, these issues should be addressed and determined at that time."

1. Paragraph 3.14 identifies the site as Area 5. West of the Ginger Hall Hotel, it states:

"The western half of this area was zoned a combination of Woodland and Area of High Landscape Value in the 1982 Development Plan Order. The hotel has relatively recently been sold off separate from the piece of land to the east and planning permission has recently been granted for the development of the remaining two dwellings (PA 95/1092)."

1. Paragraph 3.15 sets out a development brief for the site, it states:

"It is recommended that the development of this area shall be undertaken in accordance with the following brief.

1. The residential development of this area shall be limited to two single storey dwellings with plot boundaries designed to allow the maximisation of car parking space for use by the hotel.

1. Any future development shall ensure the retention of the existing trees along the boundary with Claddagh Road. (B8).

1. Vehicular access for any residential development shall be from the B8.

1. Any development proposals, whether for detached house or hotel car parking, shall include a landscape buffer along the boundaries of the property.

1. The dwellings must be connected to the main foul sewer and no tree planting should be introduced over any part of the foul sewer which crosses the site."

1. In terms of strategic plan policy, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 contains the following policies that are considered specifically material to the assessment of this current planning application:

1. Strategic Policy 1 states:

"Development should make the best use of resources by:

• (a) optimising the use of previously developed land, redundant buildings, unused and under-used land and buildings, and re-using scarce indigenous building materials;