**Document:** Officer Report **Application:** 24/91322/B — Widening of driveway, erection of fencing, shed and greenhouse and associated works **Decision:** Permitted **Decision Date:** 2025-02-25 **Parish:** Michael **Document Type:** report / officer_report **Source:** https://planningportal.im/a/33489-kirk-michael-1-slieau-dwelling-outbuilding/documents/1077808 --- # Officer Report **Application No.:** 24/91322/B **Applicant:** Mr Darren Chadwick **Proposal:** Widening of driveway, erection of fencing, shed and greenhouse and associated works **Site Address:** 1 Slieau Curn Park Kirk Michael Isle Of Man IM6 1EH **Planning Officer:** Peiran Shen **Expected Decision Level:** Officer Delegation **Recommended Decision:** Permitted **Date of Recommendation:** 18.02.2025 _________________________________________________________________ ## 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 principle is acceptable based on the previous approval. The proposal is considered to have no adverse impact on the character of the area or neighbouring amenities. It is considered to comply with General Policy 2, Environment Policy 35 and Environment Policy 36 of the Strategic Plan and the Residential Design Guide 2021. ## Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the documents, planning statement and drawing no. 20180-PL01, 20180-PL02, 20180-PL03, 20180-PL04, which have all been received on 29th November 2024. _________________________________________________________________ Right to Appeal It is recommended that the following organisations should NOT be given the Right to Appeal: DoI Highway Services - No objection _________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report ## - 1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The site is 1 Slieau Curn Park, Kir Michael, a semi-detached house located on the south of the corner of Main Road and Slieau Curn Park. The house is on a raised level compared to the Main Road. - 1.2 The house sits on the southwest boundary of the site. There are paved areas around the house. Timber fences delineate the boundary of the paved area. There are grassed areas outside of the fences. - 1.3 There is a driveway leading to the single garage that is attached to the front of the house. There is grass on both sides. 2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The proposed is landscape work around the house, widening of the driveway, and erection of a shed and a greenhouse. - 2.2 The proposed landscape work includes increasing the paved area of the side and rear of the house. The fences at the rear of the house remain, while the side fence is to be replaced with 1.4m high fences. The additional paved area on the side also needs a slight rise of ground level. - 2.3 The shed is placed on the additional paved area on the side of the house. The shed is approx. 2m wide, 4.5m long and 2.1m high. Its roof has a front overhang of approx. 0.3m. - 2.4 The glass greenhouse is placed at the north end of the site (closest to Main Road). The greenhouse is approx. 1.8m wide, 3.1m long and 2m high. The glasshouse has a pitched roof with a dormer window. - 2.5 The existing driveway is extended from 2.4m to 8m. The grass area between the driveway and the neighbouring property is reduced to a line of plants and a new 1.05m-high fence. 3.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 There is no previous application considered materially relevant to this application. 4.0 PLANNING POLICY Site Specific - 4.1 The site is within an area designated as Predominantly Residential in the Kirk Michael Local Plan. - 4.2 The north tip of the side is just within the Kirkc Michael Conservation Area. Strategic Plan - 4.3 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 (IOMSP) contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application: - o General Policy 2 (b) (c) (g) (h) (i) - o Environment Policy 35 - o Environment Policy 36 4.4 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan has no assumption in favour of new development. In decision-making, approval should usually not be granted where a planning application conflicts with the Plan. - 4.5 General Policy 2 (b) (c) and (g) set out design requirements for development, of which they should respect the character of the site itself and its immediate and not-so-immediate surroundings. 4.6 General Policy 2 (g) and (h) set out that amenities enjoyed by the site and the site around it should be protected or preserved. - 4.7 General Policy 2 (h) and (i) also set out that the proposal should satisfy the safety, efficiency and accessibility requirements, including parking provision, of all highway users whenever possible. - 4.8 Environment Policy 36 states that development close to the boundary of a conservation area would only be permitted where it will not detrimentally affect important views into and out of the Conservation Area. PPS and NPD 4.13 No planning policy statement or national policy directive is considered materially relevant to this application. - 5.0 OTHER MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS Strategy and Guidance 5.1 The Residential Design Guide (July 2021) contains the following guidance that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application: - o Chapter 5 Architectural Details - o Chapter 6 The Wider Site - o Chapter 7 Impact on Neighbouring Properties ## - 6.0 REPRESENTATIONS 6.1 Michael Commissioners has not commented at the time of the report (18.02.2025). 6.2 DoI Highway Services states there is no highway interest in this application (07.01.2025). - 7.0 ASSESSMENT Elements of Assessment 7.1 The key considerations of this application are the principle of the driveway and the development's overall impact on: - o character and appearance of the Conservation Area - o character and streetscene outside of the conservation area - o amenities of the neighbours - o highway safety Principle of the Driveway 7.2 As the proposal is to increase parking spaces, the foundation of such development is the net increase of parking spaces for the street as a whole, as indicated in the RDG. This means after the development, the sum of the number of parking spaces created off-street and the number of parking spaces remaining on-street should be more than the number of existing parking spaces available on the street. 7.3 The road is available for parking. Although the removed section is approx. 5.6m, this is near a T-junction. Therefore, the proposal is not considered to remove space available for parking. - 7.4 The proposal will create one additional parking space. The proposed parking space and driveway satisfy the recommendation in the Manual for Manx Roads. Therefore, it is considered that there will be an increase in one parking space. - 7.5 The next test is whether over 50% of the existing front lawn/landscaped garden will be lost. After the proposal, the lawn still counts for more than 50% of the existing front garden. It is also to be noted that the additional parking space is for the applicant's use only. - Character and Appearance of the Conservation Area - 7.6 The rear of the site, which fronts the Main Road, is within the Conservation Area. Given that the rear fences have not been moved and the new greenhouse is no higher than the existing fence, The proposal is considered to preserve the conservation area. - 7.7 The rest of the site is naturally considered close to the Conservation Area's boundary. The current fences around the site are of a modern residential nature. The proposal does not have an impact higher than the current fences. No vantage point is considered an important view into or out of the Kirk Michael Conservation Area. Therefore, the proposal is deemed to comply with Environment Policy 36. Character and Streetscene of the Area - 7.8 RDG states that for the replacement of the front garden with a parking space, there is a need to weigh the benefit created to the applicant against the impact of the changed surface on the property and its surroundings. Such replacement should only be allowed when there is little negative impact or the benefits overwhelm the negative impacts created as "front gardens provide an important physical boundary between a dwelling and the public realm". - 7.9 The most important consideration for such a proposal is whether it will shift the boundary of the public realm. If so, whether such a shift is acceptable? This transition is evident for this application: road - pavement - garden - house. While the remaining garden length is reduced, the remaining width still provides sufficient separation between public and private spaces. Therefore, it is considered that there is no negative impact on the character and streetscene of the area. - 7.10 The rest of the proposal is considered to have no impact on the residential character of the area. Neighbouring Amenities - 7.11 The proposal is considered to have no additional overshadowing, overbearing or overlooking impact. Highway Safety - 7.12 As there is no objection from Highway Services, the proposal is considered to have no negative impact on highway safety. ## - 8.0 CONCLUSION 8.1 The principle is acceptable based on the previous approval. The proposal is considered to have no adverse impact on the character of the area or neighbouring amenities. Therefore, it is considered to comply with General Policy 2, Environment Policy 35 and Environment Policy 36 of the Strategic Plan and the Residential Design Guide 2021 and is recommended for an approval. - 9.0 RIGHT TO APPEAL AND RIGHT TO GIVE EVIDENCE 9.1 The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 sets out the process for determining planning applications (including appeals). It sets out a Right to Appeal (i.e. to submit an appeal against a planning decision) and a Right to Give Evidence at Appeals (i.e. to participate in an appeal if one is submitted). 9.2 Article A10 sets out that the right to appeal is available to: - o applicant (in all cases); - o a Local Authority; Government Department; Manx Utilities; and Manx National Heritage that submit a relevant objection; and - o any other person who has made an objection that meets specified criteria. 9.3 Article 8(2)(a) requires that in determining an application, the Department must decide who has a right to appeal, in accordance with the criteria set out in article A10. - 9.4 The Order automatically affords the Right to Give Evidence to the following (no determination is required): - o any appellant or potential appellant (which includes the applicant); - o the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, the Department of Infrastructure and the local authority for the area; - o any other person who has submitted written representations (this can include other Government Departments and Local Authorities); and - o in the case of a petition, a single representative. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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, and/or rights to appeal. Decision Made : Permitted Date : 24.02.2025 Determining Officer Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management Customer note This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the office copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online service/ customers and archive record. --- *Data sourced from the Isle of Man public planning register under the [Isle of Man Open Government Licence](https://www.gov.im/about-this-site/open-government-licence/).* *Canonical page: https://planningportal.im/a/33489-kirk-michael-1-slieau-dwelling-outbuilding/documents/1077808*