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23/01029/B Page 1 of 9
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Application No. : 23/01029/B Applicant : Jim Limited Proposal : Proposed demolition of Waterfall Hotel and erection of 4 terraced dwellings on site with associated parking and amenity space Site Address : Waterfall Hotel Shore Road Glen Maye Isle Of Man IM5 3BG
Senior Planning Officer: Jason Singleton Photo Taken : Site Visit : Expected Decision Level : Planning Committee
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 21.03.2024 __
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. No works, including demolition, shall take place until a bat survey has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Planning Authority. Where any bats are identified as being present the bat survey shall identify impacts on bat species together with appropriate avoidance and mitigation, where appropriate, including a timetable for its implementation. The development shall not be carried out unless in accordance with the approved details.
Reason: To provide adequate safeguards for the bats if present
C 3. Prior to the commencement of development the applicant shall submit a plan demonstrating the following and shall be agreed in writing by the department and retained in perpetuity.
REASON For highway safety
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C 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2012 (or any Order revoking and/or re-enacting that Order with or without modification), no development shall be undertaken under the following classes of Schedule 1 of the Order at any time: Class 13 - Greenhouses and polytunnels Class 14 - Extension of dwellinghouse Class 15 - Garden sheds and summer-houses Class 16 - Fences, walls and gates Class 17 - Private garages and car ports Class 21 - Decking
Reason: To control future development on the site.
C 5. Prior to the erection of the new dwelling, a schedule of materials and finishes and samples or trade literature of the materials to be used in the construction of the external surfaces, including roofs, have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Department. The development shall not be carried out unless in accordance with the approved details.
Reason: In the interests of the character and appearance of the site and surrounding area.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The planning application would be an acceptable form of development that has been designed to ensure that it would not harm the use and enjoyment of neighbouring properties, has no detrimental visual impact on the character of the area and would comply with the aforementioned planning policies of the Strategic Plan 2016.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to drawing and supporting information received on 7th September 2023, referenced; PL01 PL02 PL03 __
Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should be given Interested Person Status as they are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 4(2):
2 Glen Close Waterfall cottage
as they satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status.
It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 4(2):
21 Creggan Ashen 95 Malew Street Kinsale, Dalby Inner Ballakirkey Shore Road
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are not within 20m of the application site and the development is not automatically required to be the subject of an EIA by Appendix 5 of the Strategic Plan, in accordance with paragraph 2B of the Policy __
Officer’s Report
THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE DUE TO THE NUMBER OF REPRESENTATIONS MADE RAISING MATERIAL PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS.
1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The site is the existing curtilage of a detached building referred to as the waterfall Hotel and the land and car park opposite. The property is accessed of the A27 Glen Maye Road. The present building represents a pair of traditional, semi-detached Manx cottage and was formerly (currently closed) public house with accommodation at the first floor level. Opposite the site is a large car park that is used for the parking of vehicles and storage of vehicles, essentially visitors using the glen and beach beyond.
1.2 To the north of the property is a small cul-de-sac of residential properties facing toward the rear of the application site referred to as Glen Close.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the demolition of Waterfall Hotel building and in its place the erection of 4 terraced dwellings on site with associated parking and amenity space.
2.2 The agent notes that the; "proposed terrace dwellings would be set over three floor levels but with a minimal height increase of 0.8 metres with the upper floor being located within the roof space. Each dwelling would house 3-4 bedrooms, living space and integral garage and be approx. 129m2 internally each".
2.3 The design of the replacement building would be read as a terrace of four properties at two stories in height under a pitched roof bookended with chimney stacks. To the front elevation each unit would feature a protruding bay box window under a parapet roof design over the bay. Within the roof space are heritage style Velux windows and tiled roof (solar panel slates integrated into the front elevation) and concrete verge capping to the edges of the roof with an interim chimney stack in the centre of the ridge line. The internal layout would offer three floors of accommodation allowing for bedroom accommodation in the roof space.
2.4 The properties would be finished in smooth painted render and the box bay windows in stone work. The fenestration details would see the use of black powder coated aluminium windows and doors with matching black Upvc fascia's, guttering's and down pipes. Render banding would be used around the windows at first floor level and around the door ways on the ground floor.
2.5 Each dwelling would have a small front garden and a long thin rear gardens that would be terraced into two equal sections with independent soak-aways and ground- frame mounted solar panels. The rear gardens would retain the existing 1.1m timber fencing and natural shrubs and hedging on the boundary to the northern perimeter. Internally to the site there would be 1.8m high timber fencing bisecting the plots.
2.6 The proposal involves the demolition and removal of the existing building referred to as the Waterfall public house.
2.7 In addition to the use of solar panels, each property would utilised solar powered hot water system (TherminoiPV). The agent's notes; "the proposal would create dwellings that far
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exceed the U-value requirements set out in building standards. They would be thermally efficient and work alongside modern energy systems to completely minimise energy consumption both electrical and heating".
3.0 PLANNING POLICY LOCAL PLAN 3.1 The application site is within an area designated as Predominately Residential on the 1982 Development Plan (south) and also identified as within an area of high landscape or coastal value and scenic significance.
3.2 On the emerging draft area plan for the north and west (Map 18- Glen Maye), the site is identified as being within the settlement boundary and designated as; "Mixed use". The surrounding areas are all zoned as residential.
3.3 The site is not within a conservation area or within an area identified as being at flood risk. There are no registered trees or tree groups
STRATEGIC PLAN 3.4 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered specifically material to the assessment of this application;
Strategic Policy 1 Development should make the best use of resources (a-c) 2 Priority for new development to identified towns and villages 3(b) To respect the character of our towns and villages
5 Design and visual impact
10 Sustainable transport 11 Housing Needs
Spatial Policy 4 Glen Maye is identified as a village for needs of employment and housing
General Policy 2 General Development Considerations
Environment Policy
42 Designed to respect the character and identity of the locality
Housing Policy 1 general need for additional housing from 2001 -2026 2 supply of designated housing land available 3 Defined housing provision per area 4 Location of new housing and exceptions 6 Development in accordance with Area Plan or Dev. Briefs.
Community Policy 4 Loss of community shops and local public houses
Transport Policies 1 Proximity to existing public transportation services 4 Highway Safety 7 Parking Provisions
OTHER MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS;
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3.5 Residential Design Guidance provides advice on the design of new houses and extensions to existing property as well as how to assess the impact of such development on the living conditions of those in adjacent residential property.
3.6 Our Island Plan (January 2022, updated in 2024) This broadly sets out the framework of six defined and strategic priorities for the current administration, in terms of housing (Building Great Communities) they seek an additional 1000 homes; "In 2024-25 we will progress redevelopment of key brownfield sites, including three that are publicly-owned via the Manx Development Corporation. We will continue to work on the feasibility and implementation of a Housing Association; continue supporting the private development of brownfield sites via initiatives such as the Island Infrastructure Scheme; and we will bring forward ways to transition empty properties and derelict sites back into practical use".
3.7 Climate Change Act 2021 - sets out the legal requirement; "to make provision for the setting of interim targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; to make provision about the mitigation of climate change and the enhancement of natural carbon storage; to impose climate change duties on public bodies; to make provision for energy generation and energy use and for the reduction and recycling of waste; and for connected purposes".
3.8 Climate change plan 2022-2027 - Statutory document for climate change which seeks to reduce greenhouse gasses across the Island to become a carbon neutral Island by 2050 and meet interim targets of a 35% reduction in emissions by 2030 and 45% by 2035 and is expected to affect various economic, social and environmental factors.
4.0 PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 The application site benefits from the following planning history; 20/00605/B - Demolition of existing hotel and erection of four terraced dwellings with associated parking and amenity space. Refused 1st March 2023.
"R1. It has been demonstrated that use of the building as a public house/hotel is no longer commercially viable and cannot be made commercially viable. Loss of the premises is therefore justified in terms of Community Policy 4 of the Strategic Plan. However, whilst there would be no harm as a consequence of the proportions or much of the design of the dwellings proposed, the uncharacteristic use of dormer windows would have an unacceptable impact on the character and appearance of this sensitive area at the head of a National Glen, contrary to the relevant development plan policies".
4.2 22/00361/B - Proposed demolition of existing public house and erection of six dwellings and one commercial building to the site with associated parking and amenity space. Pending.
4.3 20/00967/C - Liverpool Arms Main Road Baldrine - Change of use from Public House (class 1.3) to residential property (class 3.3) - Approved at Appeal.
5.0 CONSULTATIONS (this report only contain summaries - full reps can be read online) 5.1 Patrick Commissioners (13/10/23) Object on the historic value of the property, prefer a conversion to a pair of semis; Over development of the site; land ownership and management of the car park; Not demonstrated that the existing building cannot be used and contrary to GP2a,b,c,g.
5.2 DoI Highways Services commented (20/09/23) seek alterations to the plans to allow for; o Allocation and marking of resident spaces within the car park; o Identification of suitable bicycle storage at one space per bedroom; and
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o Reduction of boundary wall to a max. height of 0.6m.
5.3 MUA (Drainage) (04/01/24) require overgrowth to be cleared to survey the location of the sewer and object due to the lack of information.
5.4 DEFA Biodiversity (10/10/23) seeks a bat survey prior -to condition if approved.
6.0 REPRESENTATIONS (this report only contain summaries - full reps can be read online) 6.1 There are a number of comments that have been received from residents of the area, (namely; Inner Ballakirkey; Waterfall Cottage; Kinsale; 21 Creggan Ashen; 2 Glen Close; 95 Malew Street) who OBJECT to the proposals and between them raise the following material planning considerations that have been thematically categorised; o Loss of historic community facility to the area o Damage to neighbouring property o Neglect to the building o Light pollution o Highways and access o No replacement commercial premises o No amenities for families o Design of roof lights no in keeping o Inflated asking price for a derelict property o Loss of a land mark building o Sets a dangerous precedent o Other properties nearby have been sympathetically restored o Signed petition seeks its protection and not demolition o Car park has a covenant on for DEFA to park o Car park issues during school holiday times with visitors to the glen. o Other remote pubs manage to succeed o On a strategic route to or from Peel and nearby attractions o Removal of employment opportunities o Loss to the Islands heritage and historic building stock o Too dense development for this site o Should be converted back to two houses
7.0 ASSESSMENT (this report only contain summaries - full reps can be read online) 7.1 The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are;
Principle The starting point for this application is the land use designation and in this case the only defined use is residential as per the 1982 Development plan. The broad principle of building residential in an area zoned for residential would be acceptable in accordance with the land use plan. Furthermore it is noted that the site sits within the defined village of Glen Maye.
It must be noted at the time of writing the draft area plan for the North and West is not formally adopted and is only, at this stage a broad direction of how planning policy is reviewing the areas. Their proposals can still be challenged at a public enquiry where an inspector could reach a different opinion to the drafts. The final draft would also need to be ratified by COMIN.
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This means that the 1982 development plan remains the correct land use designation and no material weight is given to the draft area plan for the North and West.
We then turn to the Strategic Plan to ascertain how the proposals fit within the adopted policies. Here it is noted the proposals would be acceptable to Spatial Policy 4 as Glen Maye is an identified village in the settlement hierarchy. As the site is zoned for development and not in the open countryside, the principle would further align with Strategic Policy 2.
Therefore the principle for development of this site would be acceptable where the proposal is read in accordance with the land use designation / area plan and would be supported in accordance with the defined policies of SP4 and STP2.
Loss of public housing Turning to the contentious or emotive aspect of the proposals and the loss of the building as a community facility, significant material weight is given to the previous applications, appeal decision and it is noted the independent planning inspector and also supported by the Departmental Minister, that the loss of the building had been demonstrated and should not be a barrier to further development. The inspector specifically noted in their reason for refusal; "It has been demonstrated that use of the building as a public house/hotel is no longer commercially viable and cannot be made commercially viable. Loss of the premises is therefore justified in terms of Community Policy 4 of the Strategic Plan".
Given this narrative and noting the building is not a registered building and is not within a conservation area that would offer the property greater protection and also noting that the status quo remains the same in terms of planning policies and how the building is presented, the loss of the public housing would be acceptable as would its demolition.
Provision of housing With regard to the proposal to provide additional four residential properties to the area STP11 identified the need for creating additional dwellings during the period of the Strategic plan (2026) which is further echoed in Housing Policy 1, 2,3 and is part of the overall strategic objective of the Island Plan by COMIN. Housing Policy 4 seeks that any new development for dwellings is carried out in existing towns and villages, as such the proposal would accord in this instance as Glen Maye is a defined Village as per SP4 and zoned for residential on the development plan. Given the broad support through the aforementioned Housing Policies on zoned land, we proceed to HP6 which ensures residential development must follow the criteria of paragraph 6.2, which is General Policy 2 and examined further below.
Design and Visual Impact It is noted there is discernible difference between the former application and this current proposals except the dormer windows have been removed in lieu of smaller "conservation" style velux type windows. Turning to the appeal decision, which carries a lot of material weight, it is noted the inspector concluded on the design and visual impact as; "whilst there would be no harm as a consequence of the proportions or much of the design of the dwellings proposed, the uncharacteristic use of dormer windows would have an unacceptable impact on the character and appearance of this sensitive area".
Reading into this, as this application has been submitted to address the reasons for refusal, i.e. the dormers, the omission of those uncharacteristic additions to the front roofscape would now ensure the proposed design and any visual impact better reflects a more traditional roof form that is also bookended with chimney stacks (central stack included) and on the edge of the roof verge slabs on the gable concrete edge capping to emphasis a more traditional build. As such the proposal would now be acceptable and would be read in accordance with STP1,3,5; GP2 and EP42.
Impact upon neighbouring amenity
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In terms of the potential impacts upon neighbouring amenities (loss of light, overbearing impact upon outlooks and/or overlooking). The level and scale of development proposed here would be very different to the existing, however, the use as residential would be compatible with the use of the wider area so would not be introducing a new use in that sense.
When considering whether there would be any loss of light or overshadowing from the built form of the proposals, given the built form largely reflects the current siting and massing and given the distance from the neighbouring properties to the north, by the very nature of the proposal it would not be considered to have an overbearing effect, nor would the height of the proposals result in any loss of light over and above the existing levels given the properties orientation and the distances involved.
The immediate neighbours to the north along the cul-de-sac of Glen Close and the adjacent neighbour Waterfall House, would not be considered to be detrimentally affected through any loss of privacy through any overlooking from the rear of the proposals given the distances and orientations of the properties involve and differences in ground levels. On balance, these aspects would be considered to be compliant with those sections of General Policy 2(g).
Highway Safety The application site was previously considered for the highways safety aspects where the proposed access arrangements were deemed acceptable. In this application, Highway Services have considered the merits of the proposal, access to and from the site from the highway noting the proposed visibility splays, as well as parking and highway safety. As the transport professionals their comments are heavily relied upon and as they do not object, but seeks amendments as noted in para 5.2. These amendments are minor in scale and can be addressed though a suitable worded condition. As such the proposal would be considered to align with the principles of Transport Policy 1,4,7 and General Policy 2h&I in terms of highways safety.
Other considerations With regard to the comments from the Drainage authority and the location of the sewers, this is a matter that can be addressed on site once the clearance works commence and a suitable engineered solution can be designed, as such this is not a strong enough reason to refuse the application and would feature as a condition on any approval.
The comments from the Biodiversity officer on the potential presence of bats in the existing building are noted. A detailed bat survey can be conditioned as part of any approval to be undertaken and consulted on before demolition of the property occurs. As such a suitable worded condition can be applied in this instance.
7.0 CONCLUSION 7.1 The planning application has been heavily influenced by the former decision and in this instance would be an acceptable form of development that has been designed to ensure that it would not harm the use and enjoyment of neighbouring properties, has no detrimental visual impact on the character of the area and would comply with the aforementioned planning policies.
8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 8.1 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 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.
8.2 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 confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to that body by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Committee has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status.
Decision Made : Permitted
Committee Meeting Date: 08.04.2024
Signed : P VISIGAH
Presenting Officer
Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph to the officer report).
Signatory to delete as appropriate YES/NO See below
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