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                                      23/01055/B                                     Page  1  of  5

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No. : 23/01055/B Applicant : Mr Gary Wolno Proposal : Conversion of garage to ancillary accommodation Site Address : 2 Marguerite Cottages Glen Road Laxey Isle Of Man IM4 7AN

Planning Officer: Ms Jill Nixon Photo Taken : Site Visit : Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 29.01.2024 __

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. The proposed mitigation measures set out in the approved Flood Risk assessment dated 8/1/24 and submitted on 11/1/24 shall be fully implemented/ in place prior to first occupation and retained at all times thereafter.

Reason In the interest of safety from flooding.

C 3. The proposed window in the north west elevation shall be glazed with obscure glass to Pilkington Level 5 or equivalent and permanently retained as such.

Reason: To safeguard the amenities of adjoining occupiers from overlooking and loss of privacy.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. This application is considered to comply with General Policy of the Strategic Plan and Planning Policy 1/01.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following plans/drawings

Location Plan (received 1.9..23)

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Proposed Site Plan W/718/3 (received 1.9.23) Existing and Proposed Plans W/718/1 (received 1.9.23) Flood Risk Assessment dated 8/1/24 __

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None __

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The application relates to a detached garage within the residential curtilage of 2 Marguerite Cottages, Glen Road, Laxey, a two-storey semi-detached dwelling located on the southwest of Glen Road.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Planning permission is sought for the conversion of the garage into a granny annex that would be ancillary to the main dwelling. It is proposed to extend the existing building by 1.3 metres to the front to facilitate the conversion.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 22/00529/B Installation of a roof light (retrospective) - Approved

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 Laxey Conservation Area.

4.3 The site is within a Flood Risk Zone.

Strategic Policy 4.4 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application: Strategic Policy 4 (a), 5 General Policy 2 (b) (c) (g) (m) (n) Environment Policy 10, 35 Community Policy 7 and 10

PPS and NPD 4.5 Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man is the only adopted PPS at the moment. It provides supplementary policy on developments within any conservation area.

4.6 Planning Circular 1/98 - The Alteration and Replacement of Windows Set

5.0 OTHER MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS Legislation 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 sets out the approach to be taken in determining planning applications, which includes giving great weight to the

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                                      23/01055/B                                     Page  3  of  5

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 will be given in section 7.

6.0 REPRESENTATIONS 6.1 Garff Commissioners- Resolved that the Commission would not object to the application (11/10/23).

6.2 Flood Risk Management - Do not support the creation of bedrooms on the ground floor (11/01/24)

6.3 Manx Utilities Authority (Drainage) - No Comments received

6.4 Highway Services- No comments received

6.5 Manx National Heritage- No comments received

6.6 Registered Building Officer- No comments received

6.7 DEFA, fisheries - No objection in principle (17/10/23)

7.0 ASSESSMENT Conservation Areas Statutory Test 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 is whether the proposal would preserve or protect the character of the Conservation Area.

7.2 The proposed alterations include an extension to the front of the existing garage by 1.3m and some changes to the fenestration. Once extended the garage annex would still be sited over 19.5 metres back from Glen Road. As the structure is not readily visible to the public the proposal is considered to preserve the character of the area and pass the test.

Elements of Assessment 7.3 The key considerations of this application are the principle, visual impact, residential amenity and the site's location within an area of Flood Risk.

Principle 7.4 The proposal is located within an area zoned for residential and does not propose to subdivide the curtilage (which would in itself require a separate application) and as such the principle is considered acceptable, although the detailed matters still need to be considered.

Design 7.5 The proposed changes to the garage include an extension to the front which would tie into the existing roof and side elevations in materials that match the existing building. There would be a window in the front elevation, a window for an en-suite installed in the side elevation facing the communal boundary with the adjacent property Wychwood and the window on the rear elevation would be replaced with a door and window. The existing door and window on the elevation facing the main house would be retained. All the proposed windows and doors would be white UPVC which matches the existing.

7.6 It is considered that the scale of the proposed alterations to the existing garage are relatively minor and that their design will match that of the existing structure. As previously stated the garage is not readily visible from the street scene. It is therefore considered that the design of the proposal is acceptable in this location.

Residential Amenity

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7.7 The existing garage is sited just off the communal boundary with the adjacent dwelling Wychwood. The proposed extension would project to the front of Wychwood and the application dwelling 2 Marguerite Cottages. It is considered that given the scale of the proposed extension and the orientation of Wychwood that the extension would not result in diminished amenity to the occupiers of existing dwellings adjacent to the proposed annexe.

7.8 It is also proposed to install an en-suite window in the existing part of the building on the side elevation facing Wychwood. As this is a small obscurely glazed window, it is not considered it will result in any loss of amenity to the occupiers of the adjacent dwelling.

Flood Risk 7.9 In accordance with the requirements of Environmental Policy 10, a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) was requested and submitted. The Flood Risk Management Team reviewed the FRA which they confirmed contained all the information pertinent to the proposal

7.10 The Flood Risk Team have objected to the proposal as it is they do not support the creation of ground floor sleeping accommodation in a flood zone. It should be noted this is not a site specific policy but one the Team has adopted in relation to all such development within a flood zone regardless of any third part flood defences in situ or proposed mitigations. There is no adopted planning policy in place to support this approach

7.11 The submitted FRA does include some mitigation measures which could be secured by condition. The submission complies with adopted Environmental Policy 10 and the supporting information in Annex 4 of The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016. Given no site specific reasons for refusal have been presented for the Flood Risk Teams objection it is not considered on balance that there are planning grounds to refuse the application on flood risk grounds

8.0 CONCLUSION 8.1 The proposal is considered to comply with all the relevant adopted planning policies and is therefore 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; (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 the 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

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 30.01.2024

Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER

Stephen Butler

Head of Development Management

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