Officer Report

Application No.: 15/00561/B Applicant: Mr Charles & Mrs Daphne Corden Proposal: Extension to residential curtilage Site Address: Land Adjacent To 10 Mourne View Peel Isle Of Man Case Officer : Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken: 03.06.2015 Site Visit: 03.06.2015 Expected Decision Level: Planning Committee

Officer’s Report

THE APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AS THE USE IS NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAND USE DESIGNATION OF THE SITE

THE SITE

1.1 The site is a piece of land which lies to the south of 10, Mourne View and is part of a former quarry which sits between properties within Mourne View, St. Patrick's View and Battery Road. The quarry has not been used as such for some considerable time and prior to the submission of this application, views were sought from Department of Economic Development and Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture on the mineral and ecological value of the quarry. These views were that an up to date survey of the site for ecological interest would be appropriate but that whatever value the site may have for wildlife could most probably be secured by management rather than a refusal of any application. In terms of the value of the site as a future mineral source, DED advised that the likelihood of mineral (sandstone) being required from this site is extremely low, due to poor access, the quality of the stone itself and limited ranges of use (the stone can be used in historically important repair and maintain buildings but this material can also be gathered from recovery, existing dormant quarries or off-Island) and the environmental impact of re-opening a quarry where one has not operated for a significant time. - 1.2 Access to this site presently and the quarry more generally is from Battery Road to the north of Cliff Cottage. This access wraps around Cliff Cottage and ends abruptly. Vehicular access is not possible into the quarry. The quarry is visually separate from the application site which is higher and grassed with some gorse at the outer edges. The site has a trough at the western end which runs more steeply than the adjacent garden of 10, Mourne View. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 Proposed is the incorporation of a strip of around 15m by 60m of the former quarry into the garden of 10, Mourne View which runs alongside to the north. Also proposed is maintenance work which includes the building up of land in the western corner of the site. No details of this have been provided other than its location and dimensions (7m by 13m at its longest and widest). PLANNING STATUS AND POLICY

3.1 The site is designated as Reclamation on the Peel Local Plan of 1989. The area for reclamation does not appear to follow any ground feature at this point and was designated prior to the development of the Mourne View housing. PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 No planning applications have been considered for this site. However, in the consideration of 10/00219/A for the erection of a dwelling alongside Cliff Cottage, a number of observations are made by the inspector which are relevant to this case:

• i) The applicant reports that an independent assessment of the potential for bats and lizards has been commissioned which showed that there is no evidence of the site being of interest (paragraph 17)
• ii) The inspector concludes in respect of wildlife that he did not fin convincing any arguments for part of the site to be set aside for wildlife on the basis that enforcement would be difficult, there is no real evidence to support such a move and that there is ample undisturbed habitat in the adjacent quarry and nearby cliff edges. He also notes that it is often the case that gardens provide a wider range of wildlife attractions than open land (paragraph 25).
• iii) The inspector comments that whilst the quarry is designated for restoration on the local plan, its wildlife interest may well preclude that and he was not convinced that access to the quarry was of planning significance rather a private consideration.
• iv) That application was approved and subsequently the subject of a successful application for the reserved matters - PA 12/00720/REM.

REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Department of Infrastructure Highway Services indicate that they do not oppose the application (05.06.15). ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The site is not particularly visible from a public perspective and the general view is one out across the sea rather than towards Mourne View. In any case, what is visible is presently a grassed area which is distinct from the quarry itself. Discussion with DEFA and DED prior to the submission of the application would indicate that the application site has limited, if any value as a source of mineral or wildlife interest. As the inspector notes in the case of PA 10/00219/A wildlife interest can be maintained in a managed garden, including tree sparrows which can and do nest in domestic nest boxes as well as managing in the wild.

6.2 There is no information about the profile of the finished infilled area and how the edge of the filled area will be treated. The principle of levelling this land to match the garden alongside but it is important to know the full details of the completed project and how it relates to the surrounding area and this should be required by condition. PARTY STATUS - 7.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• (a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• (b) The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested;
• (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material, in this case Department of Infrastructure and (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

With effect from 1 June 2015, the Transfer of Planning & Building Control Functions Order 2015 amends the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 to give effect to the meaning of the word 'Department' to be the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture unless otherwise directed by that Order.

Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation:

22.06.2015

Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal

C : Conditions for approval

• N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal
• O : Notes attached to refusals

• 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 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

• C 2. Prior to the undertaking of any works which would alter the level of the land, further details must be provided of the finished level of the land in relation to that alongside and the scheme must be undertaken in accordance with these details. Reason: to ensure that the infilling works is sympathetic to the appearance of the area.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This approval relates to drawings received on 15th May, 2015.

I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the appropriate delegated authority.

Decision Made : APPROVED Committee Meeting Date:…13.07.2015

Signed : Sarah Corlett

Presenting Officer

Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph).

Signatory to delete as appropriate YES/NO