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21/00799/B Page 1 of 6
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 21/00799/B Applicant : Mr Colin Bird Proposal : Alterations, erection of double garage with living space above and erection of extension to lower ground floor Site Address : Geay Varrey Clay Head Road Baldrine Isle Of Man IM4 6DL
Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Photo Taken : Site Visit :
Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 10.01.2022 __
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 accommodation within the garage hereby approved shall be used only for purposes incidental to the enjoyment of 'Geay Varrey' as a dwellinghouse. No separate curtilage shall be formed and the residential annex shall at no time be used as an independent dwellinghouse.
Reason: The application has been assessed only in terms of this restricted use only and any other use would be contrary to polices in the Strategic Plan 2016 regarding new residential development in the countryside.
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 and in turn the Residential Design Guidance 2021.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 17th January 2021: o Drawing No. EX 001
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This decision also relates to the following plans and drawings, received on 22nd December 2021 o Drawing No. PA 001 Rev 2 o Drawing No. PA 002 REV 1 o Drawing No. PA 004 REV 1 o Drawing No. PA 005 REV 1 o Drawing No. PA 006 REV 2
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
None __
Officer’s Report
THE APPLICATION SITE
1.1 The application site is the curtilage of Geay Varrey, Clay Head Road, Baldine which is a split level property situated down a dead end road within the Clay Head Road area. The road serves five properties and ends with The Howe, Clay Head Road.
1.2 Due to the topography of the site, Geay Varrey is seen as a two storey property from the main road and a three storey dwelling from the rear.
1.3 Situated to the North of the property is Savannah, Clay Head Road, which is at a much lower level than Geay Varrey. To the East of the property is an empty plot of land of varying levels. To the South of the property is The Lhergy, Clay Head Road which is set at a much higher level than Geay Varrey and to the West of the property is Braeside, Clay Head Roach which is situated at around the same level as Geay Varrey.
THE PROPOSAL
2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for several items including but not limited to;
2.2 GARAGE
2.3 MAIN DWELLING
2.4 OTHER ALTERATIONS
PLANNING HISTORY
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3.1 There are several previous applications on the site of which PA11/00062/B was for "Alterations and extensions to dwelling including attached garage and store" which was Permitted.
PLANNING POLICY
4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as Predominantly Residential on the Area Plan for the East. Map 9 Baldrine. The property is not within a Conservation Area, nor a Flood Risk Zone.
4.2 Given the nature of the residential property and the land designation paragraph 8.12.1 and General Policy 2 from the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 are most relevant to its assessment which set out the general standards towards acceptable development.
4.3 The recently released Residential Design Guidance 2021 is also a material consideration particularly those parts in respect of good neighbourliness and overlooking.
4.4 Furthermore consideration shall also be given to Community Policies 7 and 11 in respect of reducing outbreak of fire and preventing criminal activity and Infrastructure Policy 5 in respect of water conservation.
REPRESENTATIONS
5.1 The following representations can be found in full online;
5.2 Highway Services have considered the proposal and state "Do not oppose." (11.08.21)
5.3 A representation was received from Garff Commissions on the 11/08/21 which objected to the proposal. Since then a revised proposal has been received and gone through a 21 day consultation. No further reply has been received.
ASSESSMENT
6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are:
6.2 CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE
6.2.1 There is a general presumption in favour of extensions or alterations to existing properties as per Paragraph 8.12.1 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, where such works would not have an adverse impact on either adjacent properties or the surrounding area in general.
6.2.2 In the case of this proposal there are two separate views of the property which could create an impact on the character and appearance of the surrounding area.
6.2.3 Firstly we have the proposed garage situated to the front elevation which will create the most impact, the proposal is to enlarge the garage to provide an extra parking space and to have accommodation situated to the rear. The first proposal received was to extend the proposed roof of the garage above the property by a large amount. The proposal now in place proposes the roof to be 0.3m higher than the main dwelling.
6.2.4 Due to where the proposed garage is situated, being seen first when driving West to East it will already create an impact upon the streetscene, the slight increase in the overall height will be encompassed within this vantage point view and should not be noticeable enough to create an impact by itself.
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6.2.5 The proposed garage itself is an alteration which would be seen within a residential environment and as such whilst larger should not create an impact upon the overall streetscene.
6.2.6 The second impact the property could have on the proposed streetscene is from the rear elevation. Due to where the property is situated upon Clay Head Road, there is open views of the property from far away views including from Beach Road and from the Main A2 road when travelling North to South.
6.2.7 The majority of the proposed property can already be seen from both of the above vantage points, the additional floor area provided from the proposed extensions, whilst could be noticeable as they are taking up more visual space should not increase this impact.
6.2.8 The proposal to add the Manx stone walling to the lower ground floor level of the property and to the ground floor level of the garage extension, when viewed from the rear, will assist in the property in moulding into the hillside.
6.2.9 It should be noted that during the officers site visit, it could be seen that there was mature hedging and planting already within the rear garden of Geay Varrey with several young trees having been planted over the past couple of years which in the future will provide a buffer zone.
6.3 NEIGHBOURING AMENITY
6.3.1 With regards to neighbouring amenity there are two properties that the proposed works could impact. Savannah which is situated to the North of the property and The Lhergy which is situated to the West of the property.
6.3.2 Savannah is a modern eco house which is situated at a lower level than Geay Varrey. When looking at just the plans, there is potential to assume that there would be massive overlooking to the property. Having visited both Savannah and Geay Varrey to assess the overlooking it can be seen that there is already substantial overlooking with Geay Varrey being able to look directly into several parts of Savannah including bedrooms and balconies from every part of the rear garden. This overlooking is replicated from Savannah which can view the whole of the rear garden of Geay Varrey.
6.3.3 Discussions with the applicants of this application brought forward that they have been planting trees and mature hedging within their garden to limit this overlooking issue for both themselves and Savannah.
6.3.4 Whilst it is undoubtable that the proposed works will create areas within the rear which will have more entertainment space which have the potential to be used more than the existing situation, due to the substantial overlooking from both properties, there is not deemed to be enough of an increased impact to warrant refusal.
6.3.5 As stated above, the owners of Geay Varrey have been planting a buffer of trees and hedging, with this in mind it would be within their own interest to maintain the buffer to create their own privacy within their entertainment spaces.
6.3.6 Turning towards The Lhergy, which is situated to the West. Having visited the site on another basis, it could be seen that there was mature hedging between each property with views being afforded between each property due to the topography of the site from the first floor windows.
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6.3.7 The proposal to erect a garage between the properties will reduce this overlooking by one window, due to there being no windows within the West elevation, as such there is not deemed enough impact on their amenity to warrant refusal.
6.4 OTHER MATTERS
6.4.1 The proposed works are alterations to an already existing dwelling, as such the proposal is not expected to create any changes or new issues in respect of criminal activity or spread of fire. Whilst the proposal is substantially increasing the surface area of the dwelling, the application form states that any water run-off will be dealt with as per the existing arrangement of the main dwelling.
6.4.2 The proposal is creasing the bathrooms within the property by one, whilst this is the case, the proposal should not increase water usage of the dwelling and therefore there are no new issues in this respect.
CONCLUSION
7.1 The proposed alterations and extensions are acceptable in terms of its form, mass and design by providing suitable alterations and extension to an existing residential property and as such complies with General Policy 2 and in turn the Residential Design Guidance 2021.
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 : 14.01.2022
Determining officer
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Signed : S BUTLER
Stephen Butler
Head of Development Management
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