DLGE Planning Statement Ballure Road

Planning statement on behalf of The Department of Local Government and the Environment in respect of proposed residential development at Ballure Road and Walpole Drive, Ramsey.

1. The application site is located on the corner of Ballure Road and Walpole Drive in Ramsey. The site is generally flat and currently contains a single storey squash court building and a small lean-to store. The adjacent Ballure Road and Walpole Drive are 4-storey Victorian terraces of differing materials.

Planning History

1. There have been a number of previous planning applications that relate to the site.

• 89/0931 - Approval in principle for demolition of squash courts and erection of residential property, land adjacent to 'Lanterns', Ballure Road, Ramsey. The applicant withdrew this application before any decision was made, a copy of all relevant correspondence is enclosed as appendix 1.

• 92/0931 - Internal and external alterations, Ramsey Squash Courts, Ballure Road, Ramsey. The application was approved on the 3rd November 1992 and the decision notice issued on the 9th November 1992. A copy of the decision notice is enclosed as appendix 2.

• 92/1296A - Provision of advertising, Squash Court Building, Walpole Court Building, Walpole Drive/Ballure Road, Ramsey. The consent was permitted on the 5th February 1993. A copy of the consent is enclosed as appendix 3.

• 95/0508 - Approval in principle for the erection of 4 storey block of flats with associated car parking, site adjacent to The Lanterns, Ballure Road, Ramsey. The application was initially refused on the 4th August 1995 and the decision notice issued on the 17th August 1995. The Planning Committee confirmed the refusal at review on the 1st May 1996 and the review decision notice issued on the 10th May 1996. The decision was confirmed on appeal. A copy of the decision notices and Planning Inspector's report is enclosed as appendix 4.

• 95/1172 - Approval in principle for conversion of existing building into a community church with associated facilities, former Beach Hotel Squash Courts. The application was approved on the 15th December 1995 and the decision notice issued on the 12th January 1996. A copy of the decision notice is enclosed as appendix 5.

• 96/1195 - Approval in principle for demolition of existing building and erection of eleven flats with associated parking, Squash Courts site adjacent to Lanterns, Ballure Road, Ramsey. The application was approved on the 29th November 1996 and the decision notice issued on the 18th December 1996. A copy of the decision notice is enclosed as appendix 6.

• 03/01979/B - Erection of block of seventeen flats with associated parking to replace form squash courts, Walpole Drive, Ramsey. As the applicant was the Department of Local Government and the Environment the application was automatically dealt with by an appointed Planning Inspector and determined by the Governor in Council. The application was refused on the 14th May 2004 by the Governor in Council who accepted

the recommendation of the appointed Planning Inspector. A copy of the Planning Inspector's report and an extract of one of the drawings are enclosed as appendix 7.

Local Plan Policies

1. The application site is located within the Ramsey Local Plan, which was approved by Tynwald on 17th November 1998 and came into effect on 1st December 1998. The site is within an area identified as predominantly residential and is not specifically allocated for any purpose. As no policies within Ramsey Local Plan directly relate to the proposed development it is considered that the proposal must be assessed on its individual merit and against its impact on the neighbouring properties.

The Application

1. The application proposes the erection of a residential apartment block comprising of 17 units ( 5 no. 2 bedroom/3 person units \& 12 no. 2 bedroom/4 person units). It is has been designed for Ramsey Town Commissioners as part of the relocation of existing tenants arising from the regeneration of the Lezayre Estate, Ramsey.
2. There are no specific car parking requirements within the Ramsey Local Plan and the proposed provision of one parking space per residential unit is considered to be acceptable for the location. It is also recognised that the level of car ownership amongst the households to be relocated from the Lezayre Estate is lower than average for the Island. It is understood that the access from Walpole Drive has been discussed with the Department of Transport and is also acceptable.
3. The design of the proposed development has evolved following an examination of the report of the appointed Planning Inspector into PA 03/01979/B. In their report they concluded that the principle of the development of the site to the density proposed was acceptable but that the contemporary design was unacceptable. The architecture of this proposed development has attempted to take account of the conclusions of the appointed Planning Inspector and has been designed to reflect the rhythm of the Ballure Road \& Walpole Drive and the style of the opposite Ascog Hall. This rationale is further expanded upon within the Architect's Design Statement and is agreed with.

Recommendation

1. The development of the application site by the means proposed is considered to be acceptable, addresses a previous reason for refusal and is supported by the Department. As such, the Department would request that this application is approved subject to standard conditions relating to the length of time permissible for development works to commence and any other conditions that are considered appropriate.

This statement has been prepared by Mr A Holmes BA(Hons) DipTP(UC) MRTPI on behalf of the Department of Local Government and the Environment.

Signed Date