DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 21/00213/B Applicant: Mr Stuart Storie Proposal: Erection of an extension and creation of an additional window Site Address: Lodge Cottage Ballavarry Farm Bernahara Road Andreas Isle Of Man IM7 3HH Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 06.05.2021 _________________________________________________________________

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.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposal complies with General Policy 3, Environmental Policy 1 & 3 and Housing Policy 16 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and therefore acceptable.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 18th February 2021: o Drawing No. 032/21/PL01 _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

It is considered that the following Government Department should be afforded Interested Person Status as they have raised material consideration in their representations in accordance with Article 4(2):

DOI Flood Risk Management Division _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of Lodge Cottage, Bernahara Road, Andreas which is a two storey property situated to the middle West of Bernahara Road where it goes from Regaby West Road to Andreas Road. - 1.2 The property itself is situated to the South side along Bernahara Road just of the access road for "Ballavarry Farm" which is situated further west of the property. Directly adjacent to the property to the North are two properties "Ohio House" and "Old School House." To the South and South-West of the property there is a wooded area with a large pond. - 1.3 The site originally comprised of a small cottage which has over time had further extensions of which the latter under permission PA13/91026/B has created a L shaped dwelling which is not traditional in style or shape. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval to erect an extension to the South East elevation measuring approximately 3.5m by 4.5m with an overall height of approximately - 3.9m. The proposed extension will have a rendered bottom half, white uPVC windows to the upper half and a natural slate roof to match the existing property.

2.2 Also proposed is the installation of a window to the same elevation measuring approximately 0.8m by 0.8m. - 2.3 The application does not propose the removal of any trees. PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 PA13/91026/B is relevant to the assessment of this application and was for the "Erection of a two storey extension" which was Permitted. PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as an "Area of Private Woodland or Parkland" on the 1982 Development Plan, North Map. The property isn't within a Conservation Area or a Flood Risk Zone.

4.2 In terms of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, paragraph 8.12.2 states, "As there is a general policy against development in the Island's countryside, it is important that where development exists, either in an historic or recently approved form, it should not, when altered or extended detract from the amenities of the countryside." With this in mind the key policy is Housing Policy 16, which states (in full), "The extension of non-traditional dwellings or those of poor or inappropriate form will not generally be permitted where this would increase the impact of the building as viewed by the public."

4.3 There are also a number of other relevant Strategic Policies which are relevant, as summarised below,

• - General Policy 2 sets out general 'Development Control' considerations which are arguably relevant even where a proposal is not in accordance with the land-use designation including design (respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them), wider impact (the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality) and parking/access/highway safety.
• - General Policy 3 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 indicates development will not be permitted outside of those areas which are zoned for development on the appropriate Area Plan other than a number of stated exceptions, which do not include the extension of existing dwellings.
• - Environment Policy 1 seeks to prevent development which would adversely affect the side other than in exceptional circumstances.
• - Environment Policy 3 protects woodlands

4.5 The Department has published the Residential Design Guide (2019) which, although focused on dwellings within settlements, does offer advice in relation to impact on neighbours. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Highway Services have No Highways Interest in this application (22.03.21).

5.2 No comments have been received from Andreas Commissioners at the time of writing this report. - 5.3 DOI Flood Risk Management Division have considered the application have have "No Flood Risk Management Interest." (1.04.21)

ASSESSMENT 6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are;

• - principle of development (GP3, EP1, HP16)
• - character and appearance (GP2, HP16)
• - impact on landscape and environment (EP1, EP3)
• - neighbouring amenity (GP2, RDG)

6.2 PRINCIPLE OF THE DEVELOPMENT

• 6.2.1 The site itself is zoned in an area not designated for development and doesn't meet the criteria in EP3. However, HP16 and its supporting text clearly allows for residential extensions in the countryside where they would not detract from the countryside which, in the case of the extension of non- traditional buildings means they must not increase the impact of the building as viewed by the public.

• 6.2.2 There are no public vantage points when viewing the property face on, other than when viewing the East elevation when on the Bernahara Road. The property is most likely to be viewed when travelling along the road, which may be at some speed. Due to there being a small field between the property and the Bernahara Road the proposed extension is not screened in any way.
• 6.2.3 The property itself due to its massing already has an impact on the overall countryside, the proposal whilst adding mass to this is situated to ground floor level and is an extension which would be seen within a residential setting.
• 6.2.4 Therefore, on balance, it is considered that the proposal complies with HP16. It is however necessary to consider the character and appearance of the proposed extension and whether there would be an impact on the environment/highway.

- 6.3 CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE

• 6.3.1 As stated in part 1 of this report the property is a two storey non-traditional design situated within an L shape, the South East is currently a solid walling with a doorway and window. The property when viewed from the streetscene has the backdrop of "Ohio House" which due to it's location assists "Lodge Cottage" in appearing larger within the streetscene.
• 6.3.2 The proposed extension whilst noticeable due to its location facing the roadside will help assist the building in moulding into the background more due to there being less "white space" on the dwelling and the proposed slate roof adding interest. This in turn will help assist the property in having less of an impact on the overall streetscene.

- 6.4 LANDSCAPE AND ENVIRONMENT

• 6.4.1 In terms of landscape impact, the property is situated within an Area zoned as "Private Woodland or Parkland," the proposed works are for an extension to the existing dwelling within its existing curtilage. There are trees situated to the West of the main dwelling which are not to

be impacted by the proposed works and no removal of trees has been proposed, therefore the proposal complies with EP3.

- 6.5 NEIGHBOURING AMENITY

• 6.5.1 With regards to neighbouring amenity, the proposed works are proposed to the East elevation of the property of which as stated in section one the nearest properties are to the North and West of the site, as such the proposed works should not impact the neighbouring properties, it is then not considered that there are any concerns with the proposal which would warrant refusal.

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 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 : 10.05.2021 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

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