DEC Officer Report

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No.: 23/01359/B Applicant: Mr Nick Daly Proposal: Erection of a two storey side extension Site Address: Knock Rushen House Scarlett Castletown Isle Of Man IM9 1TA Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Planning Committee Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 14.03.2024

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 development shall commence until a schedule of materials and finishes and samples 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.
• C 3. The two storey extension hereby approved shall only be used in association with Knock Rushen House and for purposes incidental to the use of Knock Rushen House for the purposes of dayroom, seating and external terrace as shown on drawing no. 23-052-03, and must not be used for sleeping accommodation nor be occupied as an independent dwelling unit and must only be used in accordance with the internal layout show on drawing no. 23-052-03, dated received 22nd November 2023.

Reason: the property has permission for both residential and tourist use, with the application only being considered acceptable for the reasons identified within this application. The application does not propose any additional tourist accommodation or a separate units of accommodation within the site, as such it has only been considered on the basis that no extra parking would be required.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The planning application accords with the provisions set out in General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 22 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 22nd November 2023;

• o Drawing No. 23-052-02
• o Drawing No. 23-052-03
• o Drawing No. 23-052-04
• o Planning Statement _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status

Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

THE PLANNING APPLICATION IS BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AT THE REQUEST OF THE HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT

THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is within the curtilage of Knock Rushen House, which is a large detached house situated to the North West of Scarlett Road which is set within its own grounds and is currently functioning as a three storey B&B, with spa facilities on the ground floor. - 1.2 The property is the last property within the skutch of dwellings along the Northern side of Scarlett Road. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for the erection of a two storey extension to be used in connection with the tourist element of the site to the side elevation which is to have a monopitched roof. The proposal is to measure 8m by 13.145m with an overall height of

• 5.978m.

2.2 The character and appearance of the proposal is modern in design with the front elevation being a mixture of glazing from the sliding doors to the frameless glazed terrace, the South West and North West elevations are to be a mixture of full height windows with timber style cladding. - 2.3 Other details include a decorative brise soilel/ solar shading to the ground floor of the first floor level, standing seam or similar style roof covering and a dark coloured aluminium fascia to the roof. - 2.4 Also proposed is a dark coloured stainless steel flue which is for a multi fuel stove. PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 The application site has been extended quite drastically from the original farmhouse, whilst that is the case, the following are the most recent applications upon the site; PA20/00880/B - Creation of a fire door to rear elevation and additional use of second floor rooms as tourist living accommodation - PERMITTED

PA19/01133/B - Removal of a rear doorway (retrospective) and additional use of guest house as a spa - PERMITTED PA12/00909/A - Approval in principle for re-development of site for residential purposes PERMITTED PA10/00898/B - Erection of a detached dwelling with associated alterations to the site, entrance and curtilage of the existing dwelling - APPROVAL extended by one year to 13/8/15. PA08/00706/A - Approval in principle to erect a detached dwelling within grounds of APPROVED AT APPEAL PA06/01931/B - Alterations to three rear facing windows - PERMITTED PA06/00911/B - Demolition of existing garage and construction of a new larger garage with link to dwelling house - PERMITTED PA06/00729/B - Installation of uPVC windows and doors to front porch and basement to match existing and erection of a replacement entrance gate - PERMITTED PA05/01129/A - Approval in principle to convert existing building into six residential units with associated parking - PERMITTED PA05/00158/B - Erection of a garden wall - PERMITTED PA04/02404/A - Approval in principle for the conversion of existing building into 12 residential units with associated parking - REFUSED ON REVIEW PA04/01405/A - Approval in principle for the extension and conversion of existing building into twelve apartments with associated parking - REFUSED ON REVIEW PA03/00597/A - Approval in principle for the erection of two dwellings on - REFUSED ON REVIEW PA02/01715/A - Approval in principle for the erection of building comprising nine apartments with associated parking - REFUSED PA01/02441/B - Erection of greenhouse - PERMITTED PA01/00811/B - Widening of driveway - PERMITTED PA01/00783/B - Erection of childrens play equipment - PERMITTED PA00/01697/B - Installation of replacement windows - PERMITTED PA84/01014/B - Construction of swimming pool and rebuilding of coach house, Knockrushen House, Castletown - PERMITTED

PLANNING POLICY

4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "Proposed Residential" on the Area Plan for the South, Map 5 - Castletown. The site is not with a Conservation Area, nor a Flood Risk Zone

4.2 Given the nature of the site and the land designation, the most relevant Isle of Man Strategic Plan policies would be General Policy 2 which sets out the general standards towards acceptable development, followed by Transport Policy 7 in connection with Appendix 7 which sets out the relevant parking standards and Environment Policy 22 which sets out the prevention of unacceptable harm to the environment and/or the amenity of neighbouring properties.

4.3 The recently released Residential Design Guidance 2021 is also a material consideration, particularly in respect of design and impact upon neighbours. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 The following representations can be found in full online, below is a short summary;

5.2 Highway Services have considered the proposal and state, "No Highways Interest." (01.12.23)

5.3 No comments have been received by Castletown Commissioners at the time of writing this report.

5.4 Environmental Protection Unit has been consulted with regards to the installation of a flue (05.02.24), of which no comments or objections to the proposal have been received.

• PREAMBLE
• 6.1 It should be noted that a large majority of the site is has additional use for tourist accommodation, with part of the ground floor being used as a spa, with space on the first floor being used as Managers accommodation, as such whilst the application form states Residential as the existing and proposed use, the use of the site is Residential/Tourist.

ASSESSMENT

6.2 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are:

• - character and appearance (GP2, b,c & RDG)
• - impact on neighbouring amenity (GP2, g)
• - highway safety (TP7)
• - installation of flue (EP22)
• - other matters (CP7, 11 & IP5)

- 6.3 CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE

• 6.3.1 There is a general presumption in favour of extensions or alterations to existing properties as per Paragraph 8.12.1 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, where such works would not have an adverse impact on either adjacent properties or the surrounding area in general.

• 6.3.2 The site is situated within an area within a very public vantage point along Scarlett Road, as such it's necessary that any proposal would not increase the overall impact of the site within the streetscene. It can be seen that the main dwelling has been extended above and beyond the original property, as such architecturally the site has lost a lot of its original features and relatively plain.
• 6.3.3 The proposal is to add a two storey monopitched extension on to the side elevation, generally applications should match the original property in style to limit the impact upon the overall streetscene, whilst this is the case, modern additions should also be accepted. The proposal within this application is a generic two storey monopitched extension with a large amount of glazing and timber style panels.
• 6.3.4 Extensions such as this but in single storey are popular within residential environments, as such the addition of a two storey one, upon this site when taking into account the overall size of the property and its grounds, would be seen as a "residential" extension within a residential appearing site. As such the overall appearance of the proposal over time would have a minimal impact upon the main dwelling and the overall streetscene as a whole.
• 6.3.5 It is noted that the drawings provide a material and then state, "or similar" this is very unambiguous and depending on the materials used, the appearance of the proposal can change, as such a condition to state that the materials proposed must be approved prior to commencement is required for the character and appearance of the overall streetscene and to make sure that the higher end products are used..

- 6.4 NEIGHBOURING AMENITY

• 6.4.1 The main neighbours who could be impacted by the works are situated to the North West of the main dwelling, No.1 Knock Rushen, of which the rear elevation proposed does not have any additional glazing. There is mature hedging separating both the sites and whilst the proposed extension will be bringing the property closer to No.1 Knock Rushen it is deemed that the level and scale of the proposed development is judged not to cause harm to the enjoyment of No.1 Knock Rushen nor to create any additional perceived or actual overlooking, or overshadowing of the dwelling.

6.5 HIGHWAY SAFETY

• 6.5.1 Turning towards whether the proposal would have an impact upon the Highway Safety of the site. As stated in the preamble of this recommendation, the site itself has additional use as

tourist accommodation. Whilst the proposal is to increase the floor area and would not be adding additional bedrooms, internal alterations can be done without Planning Permission. The previously approved application, PA20/00880/B discussed the existing parking available on site and how it was acceptable to accept 16 car parking spaces, based on a 75% occupancy of the site.

• 6.5.2 To assist in there being no additional impacts from the proposed works, a condition should be attached to the application to state that the extension has to be used as per the drawings provided only.

6.6 INSTALLATION OF FLUE

• 6.6.1 The proposal has also included the installation of a flue to the side elevation, whilst the proposed flue will be seen within the overall streetscene due to its location, the proposed flue is not a feature which would have a significant visual impact upon the overall streetscene given its size and given that flue's are not an unusual feature seen within residential properties. Accordingly, it is considered the proposal would be an appropriate form of development within the street scene and to the individual property.

• 6.6.2 Turning to whether the proposal would have an impact upon the amenity of the neighbouring properties, especially to No.1 Knock Rushen who would be the closest to the proposed flue. Given the location of the flue pipe on the side of the property and its height up to ridge level, it is considered to be of sufficient distance away for adequate discharge of the smoke following combustion. This is considered not to be detrimental to either of the neighbouring properties.
• 6.7 OTHER MATTERS 6.7.1 The proposed works are an extension to an already existing property, as such the proposal is not expected to create any changes or new issues in respect of criminal actively or spread of fire. The proposal whilst increasing the surface area of the dwelling, any water runoff will be dealt with as per the existing arrangement of the main dwelling. The proposed extension will not increase water usage of the dwelling and therefore there are no new issues in this respect.

CONCLUSION

7.1 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 and would comply with General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 22 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan. 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;
• (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:…25.03.2024

Signed :…………V PORTER………………………….. 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 Customer note This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the file copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online services/customers and archive records.