DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 21/00945/B Applicant: Mr Graham Cormode Proposal: Erection of a block of three single garages Site Address: Land At Existing Garage Development Adjacent To Four Trees, 7 Westbourne Close Ramsey Isle Of Man Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 27.09.2021 _________________________________________________________________

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 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 29th July 2021: o Drawing No.SM21/554/1 _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should be given Interested Person Status as they are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 4(2):

No.9 Westbourne Close as they satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status. _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is Land off Westbourne Close, Ramsey which is situated to the end of Westbourne Close cul-de-sac within a site where there are already 13 garages adjacent to "Four Trees." - 1.2 The site is currently laid with concrete and it could be seen from the officer's site visit that the site is currently being used as car parking. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for the erection of three single flat roofed garages measuring as a block 9.5m by 6.22m, with an overall height of 2.3m. PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 There is one previous Planning Application on the site PA06/00464/B which was for the, "Extension to existing garage block to provide four additional single garages" and was Permitted.

3.2 The proposed garaging will differ to what is already in situ by not having windows to the rear and by having a slightly higher roof line. PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "Predominantly Residential" on the Ramsey Local Plan 1998, Map 2. The site is not within a Conservation Area nor a Flood Risk Zone.

4.2 In terms of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, paragraph 8.12.1 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." With this in mind the key policy for this application is General Policy 2, which states in part, "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;

• i) does not have an unacceptable effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways;
• j) can be provided with all necessary services;

• n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."

4.3 There are a number of other relevant policies within the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, as summarised below.

• Transport Policy 4 related to highway safety and pedestrians and Transport Policy 7 relates to parking (standards are set out in Appendix 7).

4.4 The Department has published the Residential Design Guide (2021) which, although focused on dwellings within settlements, does offer general advice regarding the impact on neighbouring amenity.

REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 The below representations can be seen online in full,

5.2 Highway Services have considered the application and "Do not oppose." (26.08.21)

5.3 Ramsey Town Commissioners have considered the application and stated they have no objection. (26.07.21)

5.4 The owner/occupier of 9 Westbourne Close has written in (30.08.21) to raise items for consideration, including but not limited to;

• - Highway Safety
• - Refuse collection.

ASSESSMENT

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

• - character and appearance
• - potential impact upon highway safety/parking provision

- 6.2 CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE

• 6.2.1 When looking at the character and appearance of the streetscene it is noted that whilst the proposed garaging will be adding additional mass of building where there is presently none, the proposed garages are situated to the end of the cul-de-sac within an area of already existing garages and as such the character and appearance of the streetscene would not be affected.
• 6.2.2 It is also relevant to note that the existing garaging measures the same as the proposed garaging which means that the garaging will add continuity within the existing block of garages.
• 6.3 POTENTIAL IMPACT UPON HIGHWAY SAFETY/PARKING PROVISIONS

• 6.3.1 In the first instance the use of the proposed garages has not clearly been defined, the representation from Highway Services states that the garaging is not long enough to comply with the Manual for Manx Road's length of 6m. Whilst this means that the garaging will not be suitable for the average modern car, this does not mean that the garages would/ could not be used as parking for smaller vehicles, motorbikes or even bicycles.
• 6.3.2 It is noted that due to where the proposed garaging is situated within the cul-de-sac that the likelihood is that they would be used mostly from people outside of the cul-de-sac. This means that there could be an increase in the use of the site. Whilst it is difficult to judge whether the level of increased activity would be such to cause harm, it needs to be remembered that the level of activity could not be adequately be controlled by condition, it would depend on how the garages were used and who by.
• 6.3.3 It is also noted that no concerns were raised during the previous application, PA06/00464/B and whilst a long time has passed since the approval ran out, nothing has changed within the overall area. This application was also for four garages not the three proposed within this application, which would be a reduction in the overall impact within the area.
• 6.3.4 During the officers site visit it was noted that there were cars parked within the proposed site and that whilst most of the properties along the upper end of Westbourne Road had a parking space in front of their properties that parking on the street was at a premium. Confirmation from the agent confirmed that the cars parked within the site were not the owners and were unknown.
• 6.3.5 The proposed garages will reduce the overall parking within Westbourne Road but it is worth noting that the cars were parked on private property without prior consent and as such, even if the garages were not built action could be taken to stop cars being parked on the site. As such the garages would have a neutral benefit to the overall parking in the area.

CONCLUSION

7.1 Overall, it is considered the proposal would be an appropriate level of development which would have no significant impacts upon the visual amenities of the area. Whilst the proposal

could be increasing the amount of traffic within the area it would be the same as if the neighbouring properties received friends or family to the area, as such the proposal is recommended for approval.

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 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: 05.10.2021 Determining officer Signed : J SINGLETON Jason Singleton Principal Planner

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