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20/01509/B Page 1 of 4
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 20/01509/B Applicant : Mr David Quirk Proposal : Alterations and erection of an extension to rear elevation Site Address : Pine Lodge Baldhoon Road Laxey Isle Of Man IM4 7NA
Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Photo Taken :
Site Visit :
Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 04.03.2021 __
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. Prior to the creation of the proposed extension and balcony hereby approved, details of the appearance and materials of the privacy screen to a height of 1.8m must be approved in writing by the Department and prior to the use of the balcony area as hereby approved, the privacy screen must be in place and retained as such thereafter.
Reason: to ensure the living conditions of those in "Shanti Ne Ketan" are not adversely affected by the proposed development.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposed works complies with General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan and also the Residential Design Guide 2019.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 28th December 2020: o Drawing No. PL_01 o Drawing No. PL_03 o Drawing No. PL_04 __
Interested Person Status - Additional Persons None
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Officer’s Report
THE APPLICATION SITE 1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of Pine Lodge, Baldhoon Road, Laxey. The property is a detached bungalow finished in stone rash rendered walls and a pitch tiled roof. The dwellinghouse has an attached flat roof car port and sunroom to the west elevation.
1.2 The property sits within a small hamlet comprised of detached properties within their own plots of land on both side of the road. The application site and those properties to the south of the main road are accessed off a separate service lane running parallel with the main road and set at a much lower level. The properties elevations facing the road could be viewed as the back of the property with the main elevation being to the south with views out and across the valley.
THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The current planning application seeks approval to remove the existing balcony to the rear and extend the lower ground floor level by 3.6m to the length of the main dwelling (14.35m) with a proposed balcony measuring the same width and length. The overall finish of the proposed lower ground floor level will be painted sand cement render with the balcony having a painted guard balustrade.
2.2 Proposed with this extension are several alterations to the main dwelling which include the alteration to the front elevation to add cedar cladding detail and a new front door with side lights and the installation of a new window. Proposed to the west elevation is the installation of cedar cladding over the existing blockwork and the removal of a window to the lower ground floor level. To the south elevation is the installation of cedar cladding over the existing blockwork to the ground floor level and the installation of sliding doors to the east of the elevation.
PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 The previous planning applications are not considered to be specifically material in the assessment of the current application.
PLANNING POLICY 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as Predominantly Residential on the Area Plan for the East, Map 7, Laxey.
4.2 Of specific relevance to the assessment of this application is General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 which states "Development which is in accordance with the land-use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted, provided that the development: b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them; c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality;"
4.3 Paragraph 8.12.1 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 is also relevant and states, "As a general policy, in built up areas not controlled by Conservation Area or Registered Building policies, there will be a general presumption in favour of extensions to existing property where such extensions would not have an adverse impact on either adjacent property or the surrounding area in general."
4.4 The Residential Design Guidance 2016 is also relevant in this application of which the parts which are relevant are below in the assessment of this application.
REPRESENTATIONS
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5.1 Highway Services have considered the application and do not oppose stating, "After reviewing this application, Highway Services find it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network efficiency and/or parking." (27.01.21).
5.2 No comments have been received from Garff Commissioners at the time of writing this report.
5.3 DOI Flood Risk Management Division have considered the proposal and have no objection (19.02.21)
ASSESSMENT 6.1 The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application is the potential impact of the proposal on the character and appearance of the property and the wider streetscene and whether there would be an impact on the neighbouring properties.
CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE 6.2 When looking at the character and appearance of an extension The Residential Design Guidance 2019 lends some guidance by stating, "3.1.4 All extensions and alterations, particularly those incorporating modern design approaches, should be considered holistically with the original/main building and its setting in the landscape/townscape to avoid an awkward jarring of materials and forms. However, well-judged modern design using contemporary and sustainable materials will be welcomed, as the Department does not wish to restrict creative designs where they can be integrated successfully into their context. Such approaches, where well designed, can serve to both improve the sustainability of buildings and significantly improve the appearance of buildings to the general benefit of the streetscene."
6.3 With the above in mind the main aspects are whether the extension would be suitable in terms of its design, form, size and finishes. Baldhoon Road is a mix of traditional properties to more modern properties and as such there is a not a distinctive characteristic. When looking at "Pine Lodge" in relation to the properties surrounding it, it is relatively plain from an architectural point of view. The proposed works whilst being viewable in part from the main Baldhoon Road will add interest within the area with the proposed cedar cladding and due to the extension being situated to the lower ground floor there would be an overall minimal impact on the streetscene as a whole.
NEIGHBOURING AMENITY 6.4 Another factor when looking at extensions such as this with the erection of a balcony to the first floor level is the potential impact on the neighbouring properties. Due to "Pine Lodge" being the last house within the existing cluster the only property which would be impacted is "Shanti Ne Ketan" which is situated to the north east of "Pine Lodge."
6.5 The Residential Design Guidance 2019 lends advice regarding balconies and states, "4.7.2 In most instances, roof terraces on terraced or semi detached properties are unlikely to be acceptable. For detached properties they can be acceptable where they are carefully designed to avoid unreasonable overlooking of neighbouring properties (including gardens). Large separation distances to neighbouring boundaries and habitable room windows will help to avoid such issues. Strategically placed solid screens/obscure glazed screens may sometimes help where it is not otherwise possible to avoid overlooking. However, the use of such screens needs to be combined with careful design as such screening may result in a loss of light and/or be an overbearing and dominating feature to the outlook of the neighbouring properties/street scene. Balconies should not result in views into the rear windows of neighbouring properties at a distance of less than 20 metres." 6.6 With the above in mind when looking at the existing balcony in relation to "Shanti Ne Ketan" there is overlooking to the rear garden and within the existing conservatory, as such with the erection of a longer and closer mitigation would be required so that there is no additional overlooking/perceived overlooking and if possible to remove the overlooking element entirely.
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6.7 As no mitigation has been shown within the existing plans, discussions with the applicant have taken place in which it has been stated that the neighbours at "Shanti Ne Ketan" have been informed of the proposed works and that they didn't have any issues. Whilst this might be the case mitigation is still required for further occupants of the property and as such a condition should be placed on the application for a 1.8m mitigation to the north east corner of the proposed balcony which will remove any potential overlooking to the rear of "Shanti Ne Ketan."
CONCLUSION 7.1 For the above reasons the proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and therefore acceptable.
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 __
I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Principal Planner 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: 05.03.2021
Determining officer
Signed : C BALMER
Chris Balmer
Principal Planner
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.
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