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The site represents part of a field located between an existing dwelling, "Gardenfield", and greenhouses to the rear of the houses fronting onto the western side of Malew Road, together with a small triangle of land at the southern end of the garden of "Irwell". The curtilage of "Gardenfield" is edged in blue.
The larger site is designated on the Castletown Local Plan of 1991 as Open Space: the smaller triangle alongside "Irwell" is part of the Residential designation encompassing the properties on the western side of Malew Road. "Gardenfield" is designated as "Residential"
The larger site is designated as Proposed Residential, along with the greenhouses site. The Written Statement contains reference to this, suggesting that the site "may well be capable of accommodating two detached dwellings, each one single storey and set in generous gardens to reflect the character of Gardenfield" (paragraph 5.58). The Development Brief goes on to identify the Public Safety Zone which excises a large part of the site - most of that on which the greenhouses are erected and to require that any development proposals include the improvement of access to the site from Malew Road.
There have been two attempts to gain permission for residential development of this site.
PA 02/2133 sought approval in principle for the principle of two dwellings on the site and was refused on appeal for reasons relating to access.
The Inspector commented that "significant weight should be given to the proposal to designate the land for two dwellings" on the basis of the stage of the draft plan and rejected a claim that the proposal was premature as the plan had not been adopted. He recommended that the application be refused on the grounds that the access onto Malew Road was inadequate and incapable of improvement without significant additional changes.
PA 04/0349 proposed the principle of two residential plots with access onto the By-pass. Again, the Inspector notes the emerging draft Area plan and notes that "some 13 years has elapsed since this plan was adopted and therefore its importance has diminished with the passage of time and changing circumstance. The emerging plan for Castletown states that two single storey dwellings may be accommodated on the site outside the public safety zone but this is predicated on improvement of the access and onto Malew Road" (paragraph 18). He then goes on to recommend refusal on the grounds that the proposed access was not acceptable. He noted that the Planning Committee's grounds for refusal did not include any reference to prematurity.
On the basis of these two decisions, it would be inappropriate to recommend refusal to this application on the basis of prematurity or that the land is not designated for residential development on the adopted local plan, even though it isn't. The outstanding matter is access to the site and this application contains provision for improvement of the existing access onto Malew Road. The application includes a letter from Department of Transport dated February, 2006 which confirms acceptance of the proposed visibility improvements and also mentions that the lane "can be widened to permit the passage of two way traffic" although this is not proposed in the application.
Department of Transport recommend that conditions be attached to require the following: sight lines of 2 metres by 70 metres shall be provided, the access lane shall be widened to 4.1 metres to permit the passage of two way traffic and that off street parking and a turning facility shall be provided within the curtilage of the proposed dwellings in accordance with Department of Transport requirements. The visibility splays are shown on the proposed plans and the site of the dwellings is clearly of a size to be able to permit the parking and turning required. The local plan requires the provision of 1.5 spaces preferably behind the building line: the emerging Strategic Plan requires 2 spaces and the draft Castletown Area Plan requires 3 spaces.
The views of the Manx Electricity Authority regarding the cables should be included as a condition for the reserved matters. The recommendation of the Isle of Man Water Authority should be addressed as a note as it refers to working practices.
The Department of Transport and the local authority are, by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, paragraph 6 (5) (c) and (d), considered "interested persons" and as such should be afforded party status.
Manx Electricity Authority represents a statutory authority and their concerns relate to material considerations relevant to the application for reserved matters.
Whilst Isle of Man Water Authority represents a statutory authority, the points raised in correspondence relate to Building Control matters and not planning and as such should not be afforded party status in this instance.
Recommended Decision: Permitted
Date of Recommendation: 31.10.2006
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal
This approval is in principle only and will remain valid for a period of two years within which time no development may take place until such time as details of the reserved matters (siting, design, external appearance, internal layout, means of access, landscaping) have been approved by the Planning Authority. Such reserved matters should form the subject of a single application.
The application for reserved matters must also include plans which demonstrate that:
a) parking for at least 2 vehicles per dwelling is provided together with turning facilities which enable vehicles to enter and leave the site in a forward gear, b) visibility splays of 70m by 2m will be available to drivers of vehicles emerging onto Malew Road and how this will be provided c) the lane between the development site and Malew Road is widened to 4.1m to enable two vehicles to pass each other and d) the existing 11kv electricity cable and a low voltage overhead line which are present in the area of the application will not be damaged either during or after the course of development and that such supplies will be diverted if necessary.
This permission relates to the principle of the erection of two single storey dwellings on the land edged red alongside "Gardenfield" together with access improvements all as shown in drawing reference 06/73/01 received on 19th September, 2006.
No built development may be undertaken within the Airport Public Safety Zone. The applicant is advised to consult the Airport in this respect prior to the submission of any application for reserved matters.
N 1.
For water connections that comprise more than a single connection to a water main or service, or where new water mains and hydrants will be required, the applicant should contact the Isle of Man Water Authority Planning and Projects Section, telephone 695958.
I confirm that this decision accords with Government Circular Nos 44/05 (Delegation of Functions to Director of Planning and Building Control) and 47/05 (Delegation of Functions to Senior Planning Officer)
Decision Made : Permitted Date: 3.11.06
Signed: M. I. McCauley Director of Planning and Building Control M. I. McCauley Director.
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