43464

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                                                 15/01170/B
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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 15/01170/B Applicant : Mr Nathan & Mrs Brooke Cafearo Proposal : Alterations and erection of a rear extension to dwelling Site Address : Ballamenagh Moar Farm Ballamenagh Road Baldrine Isle of Man IM4 6AJ

Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley Photo Taken : 10.11.2015 Site Visit : 10.11.2015 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is a parcel of land comprising the residential curtilage of Ballamenagh Mooar Farm, which has echoes of the rarer, extended version of a traditional Manx farmhouse but also benefits from some grand detailing in the form of strong courses and render banding around the windows and doors. To the rear is a rather strangely proportioned and designed, but small, extension that provides a small porch and WC, and which appears to have been added some time after the dwelling was originally built.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL

2.1 Full planning approval is sought for the removal of the rear extension and its replacement with a flat-roofed extension measuring 3.90m by 4.91m, and would provide a utility room and WC. The walls would be finished with render to match the existing dwelling, while the windows would be uPVC and the door of composite construction. The roofing material, which would be invisible owing to the presence of a fully-surrounding parapet wall, would be a fibreglass membrane.

2.2 The application was originally submitted with a site plan that showed a large area within the red line, and raised confusion with respect to the residential curtilage. An amended plan with re- drawn red and blue lines setting out the difference between the curtilage and land also in the ownership of the applicant was provided and duly circulated to the interested parties.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 While the site and surrounding area has been the subject of quite extensive and sometimes controversial planning history, the nature of the current proposal is such that none of this history is considered to be of material relevance to the assessment of this current proposal.

4.0 THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

4.1 The site's location in an area not zoned for any particular kind of development on the Laxey and Lonan Area Plan 2005, along with the dwelling's generally traditional styling, is such that Housing Policy 15 of the Strategic Plan is the most relevant to assess the proposal against. It is also noted that the site falls within an area of High Landscape Value, and so Environment Policy 2 also applies. It falls just outside of an area zoned as Woodland on the same Plan.

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                                                 15/01170/B
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5.0 REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Highway Services of the Department of Infrastructure offered no objection to the application on 04.11.2015, while Lonan Parish Commissioners recommended the application be approved on 18.11.2015.

6.0 ASSESSMENT

6.1 Although the proposal falls within the size threshold that would normally be allowed under permitted development rights, the dwelling has been previously extended (including but not limited to the extension that is now proposed for removal) and so the submission of an application is necessary.

6.2 The proposal is considered to be fairly small in scale and form and, while a roof lantern might have been a welcome manner in reducing the starkness of the flat roof, the parapet wall is a traditional feature in itself. The proposal is considered to be suitably modest in its overall impact, and in any case could only be discerned from within the site or from a significant distance to the east. In any case, it is considered to be something of an improvement over the existing extension, which, although possessing a certain charm, is rather out of keeping with the dwelling's form, style and period.

7.0 RECOMMENDATION

7.1 The proposal would slightly improve the appearance of the dwelling overall and is therefore concluded to be in accordance with the outlined policies of the Development Plan, and is recommended for approval as a result.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS

8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, the following persons are automatically interested persons:

o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent; o 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; o The Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure; and o The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 23.11.2015

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.

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                                                 15/01170/B
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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.

The development hereby approved relates to the following plans, date-stamped as having been received 20th October 2015: 1324.1, 1324.2, 1324.3 and the 1:2500 scale Location Plan and 1324.4 received on 3rd November, 2015.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Senior Planning Officer in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted

Date: 23.11.2015

Determining officer

Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett

Senior Planning Officer

Customer note

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