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The application site comprises of a three-storey end of terrace property situated on the northern side of Sydney Street. The site is within a predominantly residential area. The site is not within a Conservation Area and nor is it a Registered Building. To the west of the application site is the residential property of No.5 Sydney Street and to the east is the public highway of Oxford Street. There is an on-street parking bay adjacent to the eastern boundary of the site. Parking is restricted during the hours of 8am-6pm Monday to Friday where a parking is allowed for 2 hours and no return within 2 hours.
This application is seeking planning permission for the demolition of an existing annex to No.6 Sydney Street and to erect a dwelling with associated parking. The new dwelling will have 2 bedrooms. The dwelling will be 7.6m in length and 5.25m in width. The height of the dwelling will be 7.8m to the ridge. The proposed dwelling will have a render finish.
Within the adopted Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007, the following policies are considered to be relevant in the determination of this application: General Policy 2, Environment Policy 42, Housing Policy 6, Transport Policy 7.
Environment Policy 42 states that "New development in existing settlements must be designed to take account of the particular character and identity, in terms of buildings and landscape features of the immediate locality. Inappropriate backland development, and the removal of open or green spaces which contribute to the visual amenity and sense of place of a particular area will not be permitted. Those open or green spaces which are to be preserved will be identified in Area Plans."
Housing Policy 6 states that "Development of land which is zoned for residential development must be undertaken in accordance with the brief in the relevant area plan, or, in the absence of a brief, in accordance with the criteria in paragraph 6.2 of this Plan. Briefs will encourage good and innovative design, and will not be needlessly prescriptive."
Transport Policy 7 states that "The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards."
The Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Douglas Local Plan) Order 1998 zones the area as predominantly residential.
The following previous applications are considered relevant in the consideration of this application:
15 July 2009
09/00228/B
Douglas Borough Council and the Highway Division of the Department of Transport have not objected to the application.
Standard comments have been received from the Drainage Department of Douglas Borough Council. The occupiers of No. 2 Oxford Street have objected to the application on the following grounds: 1) the development is a lot larger in length and height than the annex and would be overbearing, 2) It would be approximately the same height as No. 1 Oxford Street making the development nearly a full terrace house instead of a two-up two-down small town house 3) the proposal will overlook their property, 4) due to the length of the new dwelling it will create a new building line of annexes of the other dwellings in Sydney Street, 5) the proposal will result in an increase in on-street parking, 6) they are concerned that the asbestos roof is removed safely, 7) they will suffer from the affects of dirt and debris, 8) the development will not fit in with the general street scene, 9) they are concern that unauthorised works to No. 6 Sydney Street have been carried out, 10) the development should not have any pipework on the exterior of the building apart from rainwater pipe, 11) the proposal could set a planning precedent and it is presumed that the owners of house no. 1 to 5 Sydney Street will be able to construct mews type houses in their large back gardens.
The letter is accompanied by 12 signatures. The occupier of 33 Ballaquark, Douglas has commented that the application does not appear to provide the 1.5 parking spaces per dwelling [i.e. three spaces for two dwellings] as required by planning policy, and should therefore be unacceptable.
It is considered that there are five main issues in this case. The first is the effect of the proposed dwelling on the street scene. The second is the effect of the proposed amenity space on the residential environment of the proposed dwelling. The third is the effect of the proposed dwelling on the living conditions of the occupiers of No's 5 and 6 Sydney Street in relation to overshadowing, loss of daylight and sunlight. The fourth is the effect of the proposed dwelling on the living conditions of the occupiers on No. 2 Oxford Street in relation to outlook, overshadowing and loss of daylight and sunlight. The fifth is whether the proposal would impact on highway safety, particularly in relation to parking and driver visibility from the proposed access.
The development is compatible with the land use zoning of the area, which is zoned as predominantly residential within the Douglas Local Plan. It is considered the principle of developing the site for a residential purpose is acceptable in this location; however, there are other material considerations to be taken into account in order to determine whether the proposed development is acceptable.
In respect of the impact on the visual amenities of the street scene, Oxford Street consists mainly of two storey terraced properties, which appear to be of Victorian origin. All of them have small front gardens mainly bordered by low front walls with railings or live vegetation, thereby enhancing the prominence of their front elevations when viewed from the public highway. The proposed development has been designed to take account of this particular character and identity of the area, in terms of the surrounding buildings and landscaping features. The design of the proposed dwelling would be sympathetic to the design of the surrounding houses. The proposed dwelling would integrate well with the other properties in the locality. Overall, it is considered this proposal will not adversely affect the visual amenity of the street scene.
In respect of the living conditions for the future occupiers of the proposed dwelling, the proposed amenity space will be located to front and to the side of the dwelling. The front area can not be regarded as private amenity space, as the area will not be adequately screened due to a 1.3 m high wall/railing surrounding the area. The existing boundary treatment will not prevent any pedestrians from looking over the boundary into the garden area; however, the side amenity space will be fenced off so as to make it more private than the front area. On balance, it is considered the living conditions for the future occupiers would be acceptable
In respect of the impact on No.6 Sydney Street, the proposed dwelling will be set to the north of the existing dwelling. There are a number of windows on the rear elevation which serve habitable rooms or a staircase. A couple of the windows serve habitable rooms; however, they are not the only source of light to the rooms. This is because on the side elevation of the building there are other windows which provide an alterative source of light to the rooms. The proposal will result in the removal of the rear windows removed, as the new dwelling will be attached to the rear elevation of No.6 Sydney Street. It is considered the proposal will not cause any significant impact in terms of overshadowing or loss of light.
In respect of the impact on No. 5 Sydney Street, the application site is set to the east of the neighbouring property. There are currently a single storey and a two storey rear extension to the property of No.6 Sydney Street, which projects along the side boundary of No.5 Sydney Street. The height of the existing two storey outrigger is 6.6m. This application is proposing to demolish the existing outrigger and to build a new dwelling in its place. The proposed dwelling will be approximately 1m longer than the existing two storey outrigger and will abut the side boundary. The height of the new dwelling will be 7.8m to the ridge. The application is not proposing any windows in the west facing elevation of the dwelling so as to prevent any overlooking from occurring. The rear yard of No. 5 is relatively small and is currently overshadowed by the existing two storey outrigger. The new dwelling will only be 1.2m higher than the existing outrigger; however, the roof design of the dwelling will be considerably different to the existing roof design of the outrigger. The eaves height of the dwelling will be 6m, which has reduced the overall height of the wall when viewed from No.5 Sydney Street as the existing wall is 6.6m in height. The view from the neighbouring property would not be significantly different to the current situation. It is considered the proposal will not cause any significant harm to the residential environment of No.5 Sydney Street in terms of overshadowing, loss of daylight and loss of sunlight.
In respect of the impact on 2 Oxford Street, the application site is set to the west of No. 2 Oxford Street. There would be approximately a 20m separation gap between the two properties, which is to prevent any overlooking from occurring. It is considered the residential environment of No.2 Oxford Street will not be adversely affected from overshadowing and loss of light.
In respect of the car parking provision for the new dwellinghouse, Transport Policy 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan states that "The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards." The existing property currently has a garage to the rear which provides a car parking space for the dwelling. This parking space will be removed by the proposed development; however, the development will provide an alternative parking space within the proposed development. The development will not result in any loss of parking for the existing dwelling. It is considered the number of car parking spaces should only be assessed for the new dwelling. The car parking standard for a typical residential development is 2 spaces per unit, at least one of which is retained within the curtilage and behind the front of the dwelling. This standard is taken from Appendix 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007; however, the car parking standard for town centre and brownfield residential developments may be relaxed in accordance with paragraph A.7.1.
Paragraph A.7.1. states that "New-built residential development should be provided with two parking spaces per dwelling, at least one of which should be within the curtilage of the dwelling and behind the front of the dwelling, although the amount and location of parking will vary in respect of development such as terracing, apartments, and sheltered housing. In the case of town centre previously developed sites, the Department will consider reducing this requirement having regard to:
The site is within walking distance of local shops and a major bus route on Woodbourne Road. Furthermore, it is possible to walk from the site to the central area of Douglas. The need for car parking could be reduced in relation to these circumstances. The proposed dwelling is a two bedroom dwellinghouse. The application is proposing to provide a car parking space for the new dwellinghouse. It is considered that the car parking requirement of two parking spaces should be relaxed in this instance due to the size of the dwelling and the close proximity of the dwelling to local services. Furthermore, it is considered the proposal will not adversely affect the demand for onstreet parking within Oxford Street and Sydney Street
It should be noted that the Independent Inspector for the previous application (08/00691/B) on the application site had stated "there was insufficient evidence to show that the proposed parking arrangements would lead to highway safety problems. The arguments about parking and traffic flow were not made out." The same can be said of the objectors comment on this current application.
It is recommended that planning permission be granted subject to conditions.
The Department of Transport and the local authority are, by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, paragraph 6 (5) (c) and (d), considered "interested persons" and as such should be afforded party status.
The occupiers of 33 Ballaquark, given the distance of the objectors from the application site is not granted Interested Party Status under the provisions of Planning Circular 1/06.
The occupiers of The Cottage, No. 2 Oxford Street live directly opposite the application site and have commented on planning matters, as such they should be afforded party status in this instance.
In respect signatures to the letter of the occupiers of The Cottage No. 2 Oxford Street, the following signatures are considered to have sufficient interest in the application to be granted party status: The occupiers of 1,2,3,6, and 8 Oxford Street,
Recommended Decision: Permitted
Date of Recommendation: 21.04.2009
C 1. The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.
C 2.
This permission relates to the demolition of the existing annex and the erection of a dwelling with associated parking as shown in drawing number 0704/PL002 date stamped 13th March 2009.
C 3. The dwelling hereby permitted shall not be occupied until the vehicular and pedestrian means of access have been constructed in accordance with the approved plans. Those means of access shall thereafter be kept available at all times for their respective purpose.
C 4. The dwelling hereby permitted shall not be occupied until the car parking and manoeuvring areas have been provided in accordance with the approved plans, and those areas shall thereafter be kept available at all times for their respective purposes.
C 5. The roof(s) must be finished in dark natural slate.
C 6. The dwelling hereby permitted shall not be occupied until a scheme of screening for the grassed area between the dwelling and the car parking area has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Planning Authority and thereafter the works shall be carried out within 3 month of the approval of the scheme.
C 7. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005 (or any Order revoking or re-enacting that Order) no extensions, greenhouses, walls, gates, fences, garden sheds, summerhouses, flag poles, decking, garages, or tanks for the storage of oil for domestic heating shall be erected (other than those expressly authorised by this approval.)
I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the Town and Country (Development Procedure) 2005
Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason is required. Signing Officer to delete as appropriate
YE57NO
15 July 2009 09/00228/B Page 6 of 6
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