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Proposal: Revision to Planning Approval (PA:17/01254/B) for tourist facilities at Glen Helen - To replace the approved 'Tree House' accommodation with a timber lodge.
The Site: Glen Helen Glamping, Glen Helen, St. John's, Isle of Man IM4 3NP Applicant: Glen Helen Glamping Limited
1.0 The Site 2.0 Proposed revision to the Planning Approval 3.0 The New Lodge 4.0 Parking 5.0 Environmental Impact 6.0 Drainage & Flood Risk 7.0 Disability Discrimination Act and accessibility. 8.0 Privacy of Neighbour 9.0 Pre-application Planning Advice
Appendices Appendix I - Site photographs Appendix II - Extract from Tree Report by Manx Roots Ltd
The site was the location of the former Glen Helen Inn, which has now been developed as a tourist site with glamping accommodation. To the north of the site is the access lane to the Swiss House restaurant with access to the glen via a public footpath. Along this boundary there are several mature trees. To the east of the site is an open grassed area with a fountain feature that forms part of the public accessed areas of the glen. To the south of the site is a steep embankment leading to the River Neb, and to the west is a footbridge across the river.
Access to the site is off the main A3 road from St. John's leading directly into the DEFA car park serving the glen.
Planning Approval (PA:17/01254/B) was granted in April 2018 for the demolition of the former Glen Helen Inn and the erection of a single storey Welcome Centre with cafe facility, and the erection of 12 glamping pods for tourist accommodation.
The project is now well advanced with the completion of the Welcome Centre and installation of most of the standard glamping pods (Type B) - See photograph below. The business is now operational and has proved to be very successful, especially for staycations during the recent Covid lockdowns.
Glamping Pods (Type B)
The developer, Glen Helen Glamping Limited, are now proceeding with the installation of the final few glamping pods to complete the project.
As part of the original approval, it had been planned to have a bespoke Tree House (See example on next page). This was to be a 6 metre high structure with the accommodation and external decking raised approximately 2 m above the ground level. It was to be located along the riverbank, close to the existing footbridge and set within a group of three mature Coastal Redwoods as identified on the site plan.
The ongoing Covid pandemic has had a severe impact on the availability and cost of materials throughout the construction industry and the cost of manufacture and installation of the Tree House has drastically increased from the initial budget costs.
Regrettably the Tree House is no longer financially viable, and so the proposal is to replace it with a more traditional timber lodge
The replacement glamping lodge will be approximately the same floor area as the Tree House, with a living/kitchen/dining area; a shower room and a separate bedroom. It will offer more space, comfort and luxury than the other standard glamping pods on the site. The external larch cladding and shallow mono-pitched roofs reflect the design of the Welcome Centre. The roof of the lodge will be colour coated profiled metal sheet (Colour: Grey), and a small glazed pergola will create a shelter seating area along the front of the building.
There will be limited windows on the rear and side elevations to reduce overlooking from the car park and footbridge. The double glazed timber casement windows and doors will be mainly along the front elevation with views out to the river.
The lodge will be built at ground level with the maximum height of the roof being 4 metres, as opposed to the 6 metres of the Tree House. Overall the proposed lodge will be in keeping with the rest of the development in materials and scale, and is less imposing than the originally approved Tree House.
Floor Plan of the Lodge
The original approval allowed for 15 parking spaces to be allocated for glamping patrons in the main DEFA car park, with Glen Helen Glamping Limited retaining the right of access across the car park.
The proposed glamping lodge provides the same amount of accommodation as the Tree House and has no adverse impact on the parking arrangements as agreed in the original approval.
In general the glamping development has taken a low key approach to respect the location with its choice of materials, treatment of external areas and lighting to minimise the impact on the environment and wildlife. The applicant had originally been in discussions with relevant authorities and experts as well as commissioning an independent tree survey and report.
The change from the approved Tree House to the glamping lodge will follow the guidelines agreed in the original approval and therefore will have no adverse impact on the approved environmental proposals. However, as the site is located close to the River Neb and within a wooded area, we have reviewed some of the main aspects covered in the approval. 5.1 Forestry. Adjacent to the proposed glamping lodge are 3no. mature Coastal Redwood trees which are identified in a report undertaken by Manx Roots Limited in 2017. Relevant extracts of the original report are attached in Appendix II.
The report indicates their crown and root protection areas (RPA) on the site plan, as well as providing method statements for the protection of the trees during construction works. The relevant points of the report summary were:
With direct regard to the proposed replacement glamping lodge, there is a greatly reduced potential to impact on the adjacent trees. The lodge is much lower than the Tree House and therefore less likely to conflict with the crown of the adjacent trees. It's construction is similar to the other glamping pods in that it can be built off a timber or concrete base and does not require excavations for foundations, whereas the Tree House would have required substantial concrete foundations. The proposed lodge will therefore be built off the existing concrete slab previously used as a storage area for the Glen Helen Inn (See Photograph 3 in the appendix) 5.2 Watercourse Management. The River Neb flows along the south boundary of the site at the bottom of a step embankment. The proposed Welcome Centre and glamping pods are, as agreed with Manx Utilities, set back from the river by a minimum of 9.1 metres to provide a maintenance corridor.
The Inland Fisheries Development Manager was consulted during the development of the glamping scheme and provided the following comments:-
The glamping development as constructed so far has followed these guidelines to protect the wildlife and habitat. Lighting has been kept to a minimum, with no external floodlighting to the buildings. Pathways are not illuminated and LED lighting is used in the buildings to minimise the over spill of light into the surrounding area, and no lighting is directed towards the river. This approach will be continued for the proposed glamping lodge. 5.3 Bats. The Senior Biodiversity Officer for DEFA was originally contacted regarding his recommendation for the protection/encouragement of bats and proposed lighting of the site. The applicant was keen to encourage bat watching as well as promote the area as a Dark Skies site. In summary the following advise was given:-
As stated previously lighting of the site has been kept to a minimum to reduce impact on bats in the area. Following advice, bat boxes have been installed within the adjacent trees and additional boxes will be considered along the eaves of the Welcome Centre once the sedum roof has been completed.
6.1 Drainage. The existing foul drain runs along the top of the river embankment, where it crosses under the footbridge and connects a treatment plant that served the former hotel & pub. The foul waste from the glamping lodge will connect into the system as original proposed for the Tree House.
Surface water from the car park connects to a culvert which discharges into the river downstream of the footbridge. The surface water from the Lodge roof will connect into the culvert. 6.2 Floor Risk. The Department of Infrastructure Flood Risk Viewer indicates that the Glen Helen site and DEFA car park have a potential High Risk likelihood of surface water flood risk during periods of intense rainfall. However the current owner has not experienced any problems since taking over the glamping site, and the proposed lodge will not impact on surface water drainage in the area.
The development has incorporated ramped access to the Welcome Centre plus wheelchair friendly boardwalk access to the glamping pods. Due to its raised platform the Tree House was not suitable for wheelchair access, however the replacement glamping lodge will be at ground level allowing full access for all. The additional space within the lodge will accommodate wheelchair access to toilet and shower facilities.
As part of the original design, consideration was given to protect the privacy of the neighbouring property, Clyeen Cottage, located on the other side of the river and approximately 45 metres away from the development. A condition of the planning approval required the erection of 1.2 m to 1.5 m timber screens and additional screen planting to the Tree House and adjacent glamping pod. Not only did this protect the privacy of the neighbour but also provided privacy for the glamping guests from being overlooked by members of the public using the footbridge.
The newly proposed glamping lodge retains the timber screen and planting, but due the fact that it is much lower than the approved Tree House it will not feel as imposing to the neighbour.
The provisional site plan and details of the glamping lodge were sent to the Planning Department for pre-application comment. It was advised that:
This information has been included within this Design Statement to confirm that the revised tourist accommodation follows the guidelines provided by the various environmental departments and remains compliant with conditions set out in the original planning approval for the glamping site (PA:17/01254/B)
Photograph 1 – Mono pitched roof and timber cladding of the Welcome Centre/Cafe
Photograph 2 – Glamping Pods (Type B) & Welcome Centre/Cafe
Photograph 3 - Site for the proposed timber lodge. Previously used as a storage compound for the Glen Helen Inn, complete with a concrete base.
Photograph 4 - View from the proposed lodge looking over the river towards the neighbouring property.
prepared in 2017 by Manx Roots Limited
Note: The tree survey and report was carried out prior to the demolition of the former Glen Helen Inn
Former Glen Helen Hotel, Isle of Man
Mr. Ben Brooker L4 DipArb (ABC), TechArborA, PTI Consulting Arborist Manx Roots Ltd. Tel: 07624259720 Em: [email protected]
James Fennel Micro Lodges Unit 3 Whitehoe Ind. Est. Douglas Isle of Man IM2 1QD
No tree removal is required to facilitate the proposed development. Protective fencing and temporary ground protection will be used to protect the RPAs of several mature, high value trees.
Method statements will address works within the RPAs of several mature, high value trees. A programme of close monitoring will be put in place to oversee works which have the potential to adversely affect the mature, high value trees.
Appendix 1. Survey Data Table Appendix 2. Tree Constraints Plan, Tree Protection. Appendix 3. Arboricultural Impact Assessment Appendix 4. Arboricultural Method Statement Appendix 5. Photographic Record
| Common name | Quantity | Botanical name | | --- | --- | --- | | Coastal Redwood | 5 | Sequoia sempervirens | | Western Red-cedar | 4 | Thuja plicata |
Manx Roots Ltd. Eskdale, Bowring Road, Ramsey, Isle of Man, IM8 3EN T: 07624 259720 | E: [email protected] | W: www.trees.im
The following data was recorded by Mr. B. Brooker in November 2017.
| Tree ID | Common Name | Dia. (mm) | Approx. Height (m) | Crown Spread (m) | | | | Age Class | ERC (yrs) | Struc- ture | Physi- ology | Comments | Cat. | Recommendation | Pri- ority | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | N | E | S | W | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Coastal Redwood | 1300 | 30 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | M | 20+ | Good | Good | Situated on steep embankment next to river. Single upright stem. Good stem taper. Good branch structure. Moderate hanging branch over footpath. | A | Sever Ivy at ground level. Prune to remove hanging branch on west side. | 3 | | 2 | Coastal Redwood | 1000 | 30 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | M | 20+ | Fair | Good | Situated on steep embankment close to river. Access to base restricted by epicormic. Upright form. Good branch structure. Bifurcates circa 8 m , compression Union, 2 m inclusion. Well sheltered. | B | Reinspect tree with view to install brace system if land use is to change. | 4 | | 3 | Coastal Redwood | 1110 | 30 | 6.3 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 6.1 | M | 20+ | Good | Good | Situated within a retained raised bed surrounded by small Cyprus trees. No recent ground disturbance. Single upright stem to circa 20 m then bifurcates, compression Union and 1 m inclusion. Good stem taper and branch structure. Well balanced and sheltered crown. | B | Carry out aerial inspection of compression Union with view to install brace system if land use changes. | 4 | | 4 | Coastal Redwood | 1280 | 30 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6.3 | M | 20+ | Good | Good | Situated in retained raised bed and bordered by Tarmac and concrete within 1 m , no evidence of recent ground disturbance. Epicormic at base. Good stem taper. Good upright form. Some Phototropic branch congestion circa 15 m on west side, probable compression unions. View into upper crown restricted by dense foliage. Well balanced crown. | B | Pruning required to lift crown is excavator access required. Carry out aerial inspection to assess branch unions if land use is to change. | 4 | | 5 | Western Red-cedar | 1080 | 30 | 4.7 | 6.8 | 7.2 | 6.1 | M | 20+ | Good | Good | Retaining wall growing into stem on north side. Tarmac and concrete surfaces up to base on north side and within 1 m on south side. No | B | None | 4 |
[^0] [^0]: Manx Roots Ltd. Eskdale, Bowring Road, Ramsey, Isle of Man, IM8 3EN T: 07624259720 | E: [email protected] | W: www.trees.im
| Cat. 6 Tree | | | --- | --- | | and 60% | | | Cat. 6 Tree | | | and 60% | | | Pictetine Farming | | | Existing canvass | | | Woodworking | | | |
Glen Helen Micro Lodges
Tree Protection
| DWG by | DATE | | --- | --- | | BB | 6/11/17 | | SCALE | DWG No. | | 1.500 @ A3 | TP-61117 |
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