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MILLCROFT, GLEN ROAD, COLBY January 2026 ARCHITECT’S DESIGN STATEMENT Creation of a new vehicular access with on-site parking for a private dwelling at Millcroft, Glen Road, Colby, Isle of Man Contents 1.0 Existing Property & Site 2.0 The Proposal 3.0 Highway Services 4.0 Stormwater Drainage 5.0 Tree/Planting 6.0 Other Works 7.0 Pre-application Advice 8.0 Summary Appendix I - Photographs

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1.0 Existing Property & Site Millcroft is a traditional two storey semi-detached property located along Glen Road, Colby, and is within the Colby Conservation Area. The house has stood empty for many years and has fallen into a poor state of repair and requires substantial investment to renovate it. It has a large, but very overgrown, garden to the front (south) elevation but no land to the rear or sides. Its eastern boundary wall is directly onto the main road, and a small lane directly behind the site leads to a collection of properties with allocated parking areas. Glen Road is a narrow winding road with a 20mph speed limit and has several pinch points along the route. Most properties have low stone boundary walls with parking or garaging directly off the road. Visibility in may cases is limited due to the winding nature of the road and properties blocking the view, and so vehicles drive accordingly with an expectation of other vehicles emerging from driveways. There is no pedestrian pavement along this section of the road. There is no provision for parking on the Millcroft site and the nearest safe roadside parking areas are located 80metres to the south on Glen Road, or 70metres to the north on the Costain Close estate. As there are no pavements, the owners of the property need to walk along the roadside from these parking areas which presents a safety issue during the day and especially during the hours of darkness. The property has been advertised for sale for several years but the main issue which has impacted on selling the building, or its renovation by the current owner, is the severe lack of roadside and on-site parking. 2.0 The Proposal The proposal is to provide safe and accessible on-site parking and so the current owner wishes to create a new vehicular access with parking for two vehicles. Having reviewed the site, the best location for an access point is at the bottom of the garden where visibility is most favourable and the recommended 25 metres visibility splays are achievable with some modifications to the stone boundary wall. The height of the wall varies along its length from 1.0m to 1.2m high, and so the proposal is to modify it so that it is no higher than 1.05m. This can be easily achieved without impacting on the character of the property within the conservation area. The proposed vehicular entrance will be 4.5m wide with 2.4m pedestrian visibility splays provided on either side. There is sufficient space in the garden to create parking for two vehicles with the ability to manoeuvre the vehicles and leave the site in a forward facing direction. 2no. small trees (sycamore and hawthorn) along the roadside will be felled to form the new entrance but these will be replaced with new hawthorn trees. Planting and hedging within the visibility splays will be removed or trimmed and maintained to be no higher than 1.05m. The creation of the entrance and parking area will not require a changes in ground levels. The first 5 metres onto the site will have a bound surface (Tarmac) with a slight fall away from the road to prevent surface water flowing onto the highway. A concrete hump will be provided across the entrance to direct the existing stormwater down the road and prevent it from entering the site.

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A charging point will be provided in the parking area for electric vehicles and the scheme will also renovate the existing stone outbuilding to provide a secure store for bicycles. 3.0 Highway Services The proposal was sent for pre-application advice to the Highway Services for comment. They confirmed that visibility splays should be 25m in either direction setback 2.5m from the roadside. All walls within the visibility splays are to be below 1.05m high, and similarly all planting within the splays are to removed or cut back and maintained at the same height of 1.05m. Sufficient space should be provided on-site for vehicles to turnaround so that they can enter and exit the site in a forward gear. They advised that the proposed vehicular entrance should be 4.5m wide and that no gates should be erected across the entrance so that vehicles do not have to stop and block the road while opening or closing the gates. The scheme retains the original stone pillar and gate adjacent to the house, but the main pedestrian access from the parking area is via the garden through a new low picket fence and garden gate set well within the site boundary. The first 5 metres of the driveway onto the site will be of a bound surface (Tarmac) with a slight fall away from the road, not exceeding 1:25, to prevent surface water from the site draining onto the highway. 4.0 Stormwater Drainage There is no proprietary drainage channel along this section of the highway and so stormwater flows down the road against the gable and boundary walls of Millcroft and other properties. A shallow concrete hump across the lane at the rear of Millcroft directs the stormwater along Glen Road to prevent the lane flooding. It is proposed to provide a similar hump across the new vehicular entrance to keep the stormwater on its normal course and prevent it entering the site The new parking area will be finished with well compacted self-draining gravel to avoid the need for a soakaway. 5.0 Trees/Planting As the property has been empty for many years the garden has become very overgrown with bushes, brambles etc. The planting has made it difficult to survey the site, however general planting and trees have been indicated on the drawings as accurately as possible. Work has recently been undertaken to clear part of the site to return it to a domestic garden. Along the boundary is an overgrown fuchsia hedge which will be removed or cut back to be below 1.05m high to maintain clear visibility along the highway. Near to the proposed entrance is a mature sycamore tree which is to be retained, and a smaller sycamore and hawthorn that will be removed to form the access. These will be replaced with new hawthorn trees planted further into the site and outside of the visibility splay. On the site and adjacent to the stone outbuilding is a laburnum tree which is to be retained. On the neighbours side of the boundary wall are two mature ash trees, one of

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which is in a poorer state than the other. These trees are unaffected by the proposed works but it is assumed that they may have to be felled at some point in the near future due to ash dieback. 6.0 Other works Stone outbuilding: The existing outbuilding, located in the front garden, was overgrown with ivy which has now been removed as much as possible. It is of stone construction with a mono-pitch corrugated roof and timber door, all of which are in a poor state of repair. The proposal is to fully renovate it to its original state by repointing the stone wall, replacing the timber door and re-roofing with natural slates. New picket fence: The garden will be separated from the parking area and vehicular entrance by a low timber picket fence, maximum 1.05m in height, across the site which will create a safe enclosed garden area for children and pets. 7.0 Pre-application Advice The provisional scheme was submitted for pre-application advice prior to making a full planning application. Due to the works only impacting on the boundary wall and the property being in a Conservation Area, the proposals were reviewed by the Registered Buildings Officer. Generally there were no significant concerns raised, but it was advised that the picket fence between the proposed car park and garden would need to be included in the planning application. An application for Registered Building Consent would also be needed for the alterations and part demolition of the stone boundary wall. 8.0 Summary The creation of a new vehicular access to the site will overcome the current issue with limited roadside parking being located some distance away from the property. This improves road safety as it reduces the risk to the owner of having to walk along the main road with no pedestrian pavement. The parking would also accommodate any contractors vehicles and skips during the renovation work to the property and therefore prevent temporary obstruction of the road. The approval would make the property more marketable and justify the substantial investment to fully renovate the building. This rescues the building from further decay and as a result protects and enhances the character of the Conservation Area. The proposal has been reviewed by the Highway Services and the Registered Buildings Officer with no significant concerns raised.

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Appendix I - Photographs January 2026 Photograph 1 - South (front/garden) Elevation of Millcroft Photograph 2 - View of Millcroft and boundary wall looking north up Glen Road

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     Photograph 3 - View of Millcroft boundary wall looking south down Glen Road
     Photograph 4 - Stone outbuilding (Front Elevation)

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     Photograph 5 - Stone outbuilding (Side Elevation)
     Photograph 6 - Lane to the rear of Millcroft with concrete hump at the junction to
       direct stormwater down Glen Road

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     Photograph 7 - Example of the proposed picket fence between the parking area & garden

(Maximum height = 1.0metre)