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21/00772/B Page 1 of 5
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 21/00772/B Applicant : Christina Rawlinson Proposal : Erection of a fence (retrospective) Site Address : 14 Aspen Drive Ballawattleworth Peel Isle Of Man IM5 1WT
Planning Officer: Miss Lucy Kinrade Photo Taken : 24.09.2021 Site Visit : 24.09.2021 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 11.02.2022 __
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. The planting hereby approved shall be carried out in full accordance with the approved details as shown on drawing ref: '1:100@A4' date received 25/10/2021. The planting shall be carried out in the first available planting season and retained thereafter. Any trees or plants indicated on the approved scheme which, within a period of five years from the date of planting, die, are removed or become seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced during the next planting season with other trees or plants of a similar species and retained thereafter.
Reason: To ensure the provision of an appropriate landscape setting to the development.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. Subject to a planting condition the application is considered to have an acceptable visual and highway safety impact in accordance with parts b, c, g, h and i of General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the following: Block plan drawing number 3 date stamped and received 25/06/2021; Location Plan drawing number 4 date stamped and received 25/06/2021; Photographs date stamped and received 25/06/2021; Drawing ref: '1:100@A4' date received 25/10/2021, and Laurel hedge info and photo date received 25/10/2021.
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not 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 6(4):
16 Oak Road, Peel - as they are not within 20m of the application site and the development is not automatically required to be the subject of an EIA by Appendix 5 of the Strategic Plan, in accordance with paragraph 2B of the Policy, they do not refer to the relevant issues in accordance with paragraph 2C of the Policy and they have not explained how the development would impact the lawful use of land owned or occupied by them and in relation to the relevant issues identified in paragraph 2C of the Policy, as is required by paragraph 2D of the Policy. __
Officer’s Report
1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The site is the residential curtilage of an existing dwelling at No. 14 Aspen Drive, Ballawattleworth, Peel which is within a relatively new estate on the eastern side of Peel.
1.2 As you enter Aspen Drive from the main estate road the houses are two storey semi- detached dwellings facing over the road to each other. As you travel through the road bends southwards past the side gable and rear garden of No. 12 Aspen Drive and terminates at a small cul-de-sac made up of six detached two storey dwellings, the first of the dwellings in this cul-de-sac being the application property No. 14.
1.3 These detached dwellings sit on the western side of the cul-de-sac with a front garden, driveway and front elevation facing eastwards over the road and over to the agricultural fields abutting the estate.
1.4 Due to the arrangement of the estate and the dwellings within it, particularly those on corner plots or alongside public foot paths, means that there are a number of garden fences visible from the public roads and paths as you travel through. While some of these are mitigated by soft landscape planting - others are quite visible and evident.
1.5 No.12 Aspen Drive has an existing timber fence running along their end gable and enclosing the rear garden, this fence bounds with the edge of the cul-de-sac road. There is soft planting along the verge limiting views of the fence.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The application seeks planning approval for erection of a timber fence to the front of No. 14 and enclosing the front garden. This fence run in line with that at the rear of No.12 and has already been installed as shown in photographs submitted as part of the application (retrospective). There are also 8 x honey suckle plants planted and climbing the fence along the road edge.
2.2 Further information and a drawing was submitted detailing further planting of 17 x laurel hedging interspersed amongst the existing honey suckle
PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 The property has recently been approved for a two storey side extension and a number of window/door alterations to the main dwelling and the installation of a flue under 21/00129/B.
4.0 PLANNING POLICY
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4.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Peel Local Plan of 1989 as Predominantly Residential and the site is not within a Conservation Area. The site is not within a flood risk zone. Given the nature of the proposal General Policy 2 is most relevant in determining whether there are any visual, amenity or highway safety impacts as a result of the proposal. The Residential Design Guide 2021 is also relevant in the assessment and parts of this are referred to in the assessment below.
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS Copies of representations received can be viewed on the government's website. This report contains summaries only.
5.1 Peel Town Commissioners - no comments received as of 09/02/2022
5.2 Department of Infrastructure Highway Services -No Highway Interest (26/10/2021).
5.3 The Owners/Occupants of 16 Oak Road, Ballawattleworth, Peel - objection (13/07/2021) state that deeds prevent the erection of any fence at the front of their property and so don't understand why they can erect a fence at this house.
6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 A neighbour has raised concern in respect of a legal deed of covenant on their property which prevents them erecting any fence to the front of their property and that the current application proposal goes against these deeds. When it comes to making a decision on planning applications only certain issues are taken into account and these are referred to as 'material planning considerations'. These considerations ensure that the decisions being made are rational ones, based on assessment against planning policy rather than personal opinion and bias. Regard will also be had to the characteristics of the site, other relevant strategies and evidence base, and other material considerations, such as the Residential Design Guide 2021 residential developments. Examples of material planning considerations are; planning policy, previous appeals, highway safety concerns or visual appearance. Examples of non-material planning considerations are changes to property value, land/boundary disputes or legal deeds of covenant. In the case of the latter land ownership or deeds this would be a civil or legal matter to be dealt with outside the planning process.
6.2 Therefore, the fundamental material planning considerations to consider here are whether the erection of the fence will alter the character and appearance of the area and whether there would be any impact with regards to highway safety or neighbouring amenity.
CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE 6.2 The Residential Design Guide 2021 gives advice stating:
"6.1.2 The suitability of the boundary treatment to the front of a property or facing the road should take account of the context of the area. For open plan estates it is normally better for there to be no walls or fences, with gardens delineated through their use of low level plants. For more urban areas there may be a predominance of low garden walls with railings above. In rural areas, sod banks or hedging is more likely to be appropriate, unless there are stone walls present.
6.1.3 Unless circumstances dictate otherwise, generally no walls or fences should be higher than 1m where they face a highway. Boundary features to the side and rear boundaries can generally be higher (2m) without causing concerns. However, there are circumstances where there is a need for lower boundary heights in particular on corner plots, or it there is a public highway to the side and/or rear of the site."
6.3 When travelling through the estate on a site visit it became evident that there was a prevalent use of timber fencing enclosing rear gardens and defining edges along footpaths and corner plots. Many of these fences particularly those on corner plots were shielded behind fairly
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mature soft landscape planting (likely planted during the original development of the estate). Although some sporadic views achievable above lower shrub or in breaks where planting had failed or perhaps been removed over time.
6.4 In this case, the specific layout and arrangement of the application dwelling and its neighbour No. 12 being around the corner junction means that the rear garden fence of No.12 runs along the cul-de-sac pavement and road edge and flush into the front boundary line of No.14.
6.5 The Permitted Development Order allows for some fencing or walling at the fronts of properties so long as it's no taller than 1m. Front boundary fences however are not common features in this estate. But, in this specific situation due to the arrangement of the dwellings around the corner, there is a level of flexibility in the continuation of the fencing line without it appearing an alien feature within the streetscene. The timber material and the finished style also best mimicking the existing fence of No. 12.
6.6 Further detail submitted for the application also seeks to reinforce the honeysuckle planting along the road edge with additional laurel planting which will, in the long term, both mature to provide a soft landscaped edge minimising direct views of the fence and marrying with the neighbour's fence and hedging and those soft landscapes areas established in the surrounding area and wider estate. The proposed fence by reason of its siting, timber material finish, height, design style and including of planting it is considered to have an acceptable visual impact on the character and appearance of the streetscene and wider estate.
HIGHWAY SAFETY 6.7 The existing dwelling is one of six properties within the small cul-de-sac where speed and traffic levels are likely to be low. The fence is set back slightly from the pavement over which views can be achieved back to the cul-de-sac entrance. Given this situation and the low traffic levels and speeds the proposal is not expected to result in any adverse or harmful highway safety issues to warrant a refusal.
7.0 CONCLUSION 7.1 Minded of the specific layout and arrangement of the application dwelling and its neighbour No,12, the proposed fence by reason of its siting along the line of the neighbours rear fence, the timber material finish, height and design style mimicking the timber fencing in the surrounding area and the inclusion of hedge planting along the road edge it is considered to result in an overall acceptable visual impact on the character and appearance of the streetscene and surrounding area and by reason of its siting and position to have an acceptable highway safety impact.
7.2 Suitably worded condition will be added to ensure the planting is installed and retained thereafter.
7.3 While there is an objection from No. 16 Oak Road and they are within the 20m distance as referred to within the IPS operational policy, their comments do not refer to any relevant material planning issues and have not explained how it would impact the lawful use of their land in relation to these relevant issues and therefore will not be granted IPS.
8.0 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;
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(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: 11.02.2022
Determining officer Signed : J SINGLETON
Jason Singleton
Principal Planner
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