DEC Officer Report

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No.: 23/01317/B Applicant: Mr Andy & Mrs Steph Hollis Proposal: Change of use from residential to additional use as part tourism / self catered accommodation, together with new double doors and access with new steps and terraced area, with carport below Site Address: Stoneycroft Glen Vine Road Glen Vine Isle Of Man IM4 4HF Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 22.02.2024

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 use hereby approved shall be used only for family and friends of those occupying the main dwelling as ancillary accommodation or as additional self contained tourist accommodation. The part of the building shall not be occupied as an independent dwelling unit.

Reason: To ensure proper control of the development and to avoid any future undesirable fragmentation of the curtilage.

• C 3. The additional tourist accommodation hereby approved shall not be occupied by the same person(s) for a single period or cumulative periods exceeding 28 days in any calendar year.

Reason: To ensure that the development is only used and occupied as short let holiday accommodation and to prevent the creation of an unjustified separate dwelling in the countryside.

• C 4. The use hereby approved relates only to the floor area as shown on drawing 05P (floor plan as proposed) only. Reason: For the avoidance of doubt.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposal complies with General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 17th November 2023;

• o Drawing No. 01P
• o Drawing No. 02P
• o Drawing No. 03P
• o Drawing No. 04P
• o Drawing No. 05P
• o Drawing No. 06P _______________________________________________________________

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):

"Woodlands," Glen Vine Road as they satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status. _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is within the curtilage of Stoneycroft, Glen Vine Road, Glen Vine which is a large detached dwelling situated within its own ground to the East of Glen Vine Road. - 1.2 The dwelling is located on and set back from the Glen Vine Road neighboured by the property "Woodlands" to the south and 75 Ballagarey Road to the north. To the rear of the property are the gardens of 73, 71, 69, 67 and 65 Ballagarey Road. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for alterations to the main dwelling to create ancillary accommodation and additional use as tourist accommodation. - 2.2 The specific alterations are conversion of the first floor within the existing garage (which is to be used as parking for the tourist accommodation), to provide an open plan kitchen/lounge and separated bedroom. With the specific additional tourist being confined to the first floor of the existing garage. - 2.3 The proposal also includes the removal of the existing staircase and the addition of a car port which is to measure 6.140m by 3.625m, which is to have a staircase to the rear that leads

• up to a terrace at first floor level which encompasses the whole of the roof of the carport. Double doors are also installed to the first floor level as part of these works.
• 2.4 The proposed ancillary/ tourist accommodation is to be separated by a fire exist door only and is only to be used as a secondary escape route. PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 The garage which is the specific part of the property which this application is based on was originally approved under PA07/01173/B, which was for, "Alterations, erection of a sun room and kitchen extension, installation of dormer windows and an external staircase," which was Permitted. PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as Predominantly Residential on the Area Plan for the East, Map 10 - Crosby/Glen Vine. The property is not within a Conservation Area or a Flood Risk Zone.

4.2 Given the nature of the residential property and the land designation, firstly due to the proposed extensions and alterations paragraph 8.12.1 and General Policy 2 from the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 are most relevant to its assessment which set out the general standards towards acceptable development, secondly due to the proposed tourist use of the site, Business Policy 13, which sets out a general presumption in support of additional use of private dwellings for tourist accommodation provided it does not compromise the amenity of the neighbours and Environment Policy 23 which seeks to addresses changes to neighbouring amenity as a result of development are relevant. - 4.3 Furthermore consideration shall also be given to Community Policies 7 and 11 in respect of reducing outbreak of fire and preventing criminal activity and Infrastructure Policy 5 in respect of water conservation. 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 "- After reviewing this Application, Highway Services HDC finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking." (24.11.23)

5.3 Marown Parish Commissioners have written in to state they have no objections (22.12.23 & - 06.02.23)

5.4 The owner/occupier of Woodlands, Glen Vine Road has written in to object to the proposal and to raise concerns regarding the application which include a list of house rules which should be applicable and the issue with regards to the sewerage system in place. (14.12.23) ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are:

• - character and appearance
• - highway safety and parking provisions
• - severability
• - tourist use / neighbouring amenity
• - other matters

- 6.2 CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE

• 6.2.1 First it is necessary to assess the proposed alteration works and the extension proposed to the site. 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.

• 6.2.2 The proposed addition of a carport with terrace above whilst introducing a larger built form to the dwelling, the proposal in itself is considered to be proportionate to the main dwelling and is not deemed to impact the character and appearance of the property nor the surrounding streetscene. The proposed alteration are also deemed not to impact the character and appearance of the property nor the overall streetscene and deemed acceptable.

- 6.3 HIGHWAY SAFETY AND PARKING PROVISIONS

6.3.1 Turning towards whether there is enough parking situated upon the site and whether there would be any impacts upon Highway Safety. The dwelling has a large parking area, which the proposal not only including the proposed garage as parking for the tourist units but the addition of a car port for the home owners. As such with the above in mind there is more than enough parking available on the site and the proposal is deemed to comply with Transport Policy 7 in connection with Appendix 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

- 6.4 SEVERABILITY

6.4.1 With applications such as this, issues can arise with the possibility that the proposal over time could be severed from the main dwelling and in turn creates a separate dwelling, especially as the proposal is a self-contained unit.

• 6.4.2 There is some case law that has accepted fully self- contained accommodation, such as the proposed, as being ancillary to the principal residence, i.e. when they have been occupied by a dependant relative or disabled child, or even a servant, and certainly who pays the bills is a factor. However in most cases the test of whether it is a separate planning unit rests upon its severability; i.e. if the alleged ancillary use could practically and viably operate on its own were the primary use of the premises cease or ceases to be in the ownership of the same person.
• 6.4.3 When taking the above into account and being mindful that several parts of both the main dwelling and the ancillary accommodation would be shared such as the car parking and access, it is deemed that the severability of the proposal would be minimal and as such is deemed acceptable.

- 6.5 TOURIST USE / NEIGHBOURING AMENITY

• 6.5.1 Turning towards the additional use of the site as tourist, generally it is difficult to assess how an individual person would behave whether they be a tourist or permanent resident. As a tourist, a person may be out a lot of the time, but may also have greater late nights and be disruptive on return. On the other hand, permanent residents may be at home more of the time, but be more likely to invite friends or family over for dinner or parties that may be noisy. In general terms, however, the majority of people tend to behave well and raise no concerns, although there will always be a percentage that might not, whether they are a permanent resident or otherwise.

• 6.5.2 Whilst the above is the case, due to the location of the proposed unit, it would be in the owner's best interest to make sure that there is a lack of disturbance from visitors.
• 6.5.3 It is noted that there have been comments raised from the neighbouring property, "Woodlands" with regards to the impact of the existing site on their neighbouring amenity. The

queries raised are issues which would be a civil dispute between themselves and the owners of the site and if they are an issue would be raised via other means such as the Police via the Noise Act 2006.

- 6.6 OTHER MATTERS

• 6.6.1 The proposed works are an extension to an already existing dwelling, 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.

• 6.6.2 There has been comments raised from the neighbouring property "Woodlands" regarding foul drainage and how it is going to be dealt with. The issue of foul drainage is not something which can be dealt with within this application and will be dealt with, within the Building Control application, which the proposed works would require. 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 the principles of the Residential Design Guide. 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 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 : 22.02.2024 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

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