**Document:** Planning Officer Report 08/00691/B
**Application:** 08/00691/B — Erection of a detached dwelling
**Decision:** Refused
**Decision Date:** 2008-06-24
**Parish:** Braddan
**Document Type:** report / officer_report
**Source:** https://planningportal.im/a/85422-braddan-6-sydney-street-dwelling/documents/1551909

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# Planning Officer Report 08/00691/B

**Application No.:** 08/00691/B
**Applicant:** Forest Homes Ltd
**Proposal:** Erection of a detached dwelling
**Site Address:** 6 Sydney Street Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 3JB ### Considerations Case Officer: Mr Ian Brooks
**Expected Decision Level:** Delegated Decision Senior DC Officer ### Written Representations ### Consultations

### Officer's Report

[Table omitted in markdown export]
The application site comprises of a three storey end of terrace property situated on the northern side of Sydney Street. The site is within a predominantly residential area. The site is not within a Conservation Area and nor is it a Registered Building. To the west of the application site is the residential property of No.5 Sydney Street and to the east is the public highway of Oxford Street. There is an on-street parking bay adjacent to the eastern boundary of the site. Parking is restricted during the hours of 8am-6pm Monday to Friday where is parking is allowed for 2 hours and no return within 2 hours.

### Proposed Development

This application is seeking planning permission for the demolition of an existing annex to No.6 Sydney Street and to erect a detached dwelling with associated parking. The dwelling will be 10.5m in length and 5.7m in width. A 1.1m x 3.4m two storey outrigger will be built on the east facing elevation of the dwelling. The height of the dwelling will be 8.3m to the ridge. The west facing wall of the dwelling will have no windows. The dwelling will be rendered and the outrigger will be clad in timber. The new dwelling will have 2 bedrooms.

### Planning Status And Relevant Policies

Within the adopted Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007, the following policies are considered to be relevant in the determination of this application: General Policy 2, Environment Policy 42, Housing Policy 6, Transport Policy 7

Environment Policy 42 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan states that "New development in existing settlements must be designed to take account of the particular character and identity, in terms of buildings and landscape features of the immediate locality. Inappropriate backland development, and the removal of open or green spaces which contribute to the visual amenity and sense of place of a particular area will not be permitted. Those open or green spaces which are to be preserved will be identified in Area Plans."

Housing Policy 6 of the Strategic Plan states that "Development of land which is zoned for residential development must be undertaken in accordance with the brief in the relevant area plan, or, in the absence of a brief, in accordance with the criteria in paragraph 6.2 of this Plan. Briefs will encourage good and innovative design, and will not be needlessly prescriptive."

Transport Policy 7 states that "The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards."

The Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Douglas Local Plan) Order 1998 zones the area as predominantly residential.

### Planning History

The following previous applications are considered relevant in the consideration of this application:

07/01665/B – Demolition of existing annex and erection of a detached dwelling – refused 29th November 2007

05/00799/A - Installation of roof dormers on front and rear elevations, replacement uPVC windows to front side and rear, additional side windows to replace existing doors, new back door, demolition of chimney stack and replacement garage roof – granted 27th October 2005

99/01661/B - Installation of replacement windows to rear of dwelling – granted 9th February 2000

### Representations

The Public Works Committee of Douglas Corporation has objected to the application on the grounds that the proposals would exacerbate the already difficult parking in the area.

Highways Division of the Department of Transport have objected to the application on the following grounds: “The new dwelling does not meet the strategic plan”.

Standard comments have been received from the Manx Electricity Authority, Isle of Man Water Authority and the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service.

The Oxford Street/Sydney Street Residents Association incorporating Dalton Street and Auckland Grove have objected to the application on the following grounds: the application is completely inadequate and does not give a true picture of what is going to occur on the whole site, overdevelopment, the proposal will be out of keeping with the Victorian terraced houses, it could set a planning precedent as to what could or could not be constructed in the garden of a dwellinghouse, increase in on-street parking from the development, loss of views of the Woodbourne Road Conservation Area from No.2 Oxford Street, the views of No’s 4 – 8 (evens) will have their views obstructed to a greater or lesser degree, the dwelling will detrimentally effect views into and out of a Conservation Area, the development will not provide a satisfactory living environment for the future occupiers of the dwellinghouse, the proposal does not overcome the previous reason for refusal, overlooking of No.2 Oxford Street, overshadowing of No’s 3, 4 and 5 Sydney Street, the development will be overbearing and visual intrusive to No. 5 Sydney Street.

The residents association’s letter is accompanied by 31 signatures.

The occupiers of No.66 Derby Road have objected to the application on the following grounds: the proposal will exacerbate the current parking situation, visual impact, quality of life for the new occupants, overlooking of neighbouring properties causing a lack of privacy.

### Assessment

It is considered that there are five main issues in this case. The first is the effect of the proposed dwelling on the street scene. The second is the effect of the proposed amenity space on the living conditions of future occupiers of the proposed dwelling. The third is the effect of the proposed dwelling on the living conditions of the occupiers of No’s 5 and 6 Sydney Street in relation to outlook, overshadowing and loss of daylight and sunlight. The fourth is the effect of the proposed dwelling on the living conditions of occupiers on Oxford Street in relation to outlook, overshadowing and loss of daylight and sunlight. The fifth is the impact the proposal would have on highway safety, particularly in relation to parking and driver visibility from the proposed access.

The development is compatible with the land use zoning of the area, which is predominantly residential within the Douglas Local Plan. It is considered the principle of developing the site for residential to be acceptable in this locality; however, there are other material considerations to be taken into account in order to determine whether the proposed development is acceptable.

In respect of the impact on the visual amenities of the street scene, Oxford Street consists mainly of two storey terraces, which appear to be of Victorian origin. All of them have small front gardens mainly bordered by low front walls with railings or live vegetation, thereby enhancing the prominence of their front elevations from the highway. This proposed development has been designed to take account of this particular character and identity of the area, in terms of buildings and landscape features. The design of the proposed dwelling would be sympathetic to the design of the surrounding houses. The proposal is for a detached dwelling, whereas the bulk of the properties in the area are terraced. There are no detached dwellings in the immediate vicinity and the proposed dwelling would appear as a rather obtrusive feature which does not integrate well with the other properties in the locality. Overall, it is considered this proposal would adversely affect the visual amenity of the street scene contrary to General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 42 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan.

In respect of the living conditions for the future occupiers of the dwelling, the only amenity space the occupiers of this dwelling would be located to front of the dwelling. This area can not be regarded as private amenity space, as the area will only have a 1.3m high wall/railing. The existing boundary

treatment will not prevent any users of Oxford Road to look over the boundary which will result in a loss of privacy to the future occupiers of new dwellinghouse.

In respect of the impact on No.6 Sydney Street, the proposed dwelling will be set to the north of the existing dwelling. The proposed dwelling will be located 3m away from the rear elevation of No.6 Sydney Street. There are a number of windows on the rear elevation which serve habitable rooms or a staircase. The windows which serve the rear habitable rooms do not provide the only source of light to the rooms. This is because on the side elevation of the building there are other windows which provide an alternative source of light to the rooms. Due to the orientation of the proposed dwelling in relation to No.6 Sydney Street and the fact that there are alternative sources of light to the habitable rooms on the east facing elevation, it is considered the impact from overshadowing to be minimal; however, when viewing the new dwellinghouse from the rear windows of No.6, the view would be onto a large gable end, the scale of and mass of which would be overbearing and visually intrusive due to the close proximity of the new dwelling to the rear elevation of No.6 Sydney Street.

It should be noted that the gable end facing towards No.6 Sydney Street will not contain any windows and therefore the occupiers of the new dwelling will not be able to overlook the residential property of No.6 Sydney Street.

In summary, the proposed development would adversely affect the residential environment of No.6 Sydney Street in that it will be overbearing and visually intrusive.

In respect of the impact on No. 5 Sydney Street, the application site is set to the east of the neighbouring property. There is currently a single and two storey rear extensions which project along the side boundary of No.5. The height of the existing two storey outrigger is 6.6m. This application is proposing to demolish this outrigger and to replace the extension with the new dwelling. The dwelling will be built 3m away from the rear elevation of No.5 Sydney Street. The height of the new dwelling will be 6.95m to the ridge. The dwelling will abut the side boundary and will project to the rear boundary of the application site. There are no windows being proposed on the west facing elevation of the dwelling. The rear yard of No. 5 is relatively small and is currently overshadowed by the existing outrigger. The demolition of the outrigger will help to allow more light into the rear windows of No.5 Sydney Street. The new dwelling will only be 0.35m higher than the existing outrigger. The view from the neighbouring property would not be significantly different to the current situation.

The agent had carried out a sunlight survey to analyse the impact of a new detached dwelling in relation to rear garden of No.5 Sydney Street in a previous application. The survey showed that during May a small portion of the rear garden currently gets some sunlight during the morning; however, at other times during the afternoon and the winter, the rear of the property would be in shadow. The survey showed that the proposed development would not prevent the morning sun from falling on the rear garden during the mornings around May time. The survey also showed that the proposed development will not cause any loss of sunlight during the afternoons and the wintertime. The agent has not carried out a survey for this proposal; however, it is possible to assess the impact by noting the differences between the two applications. The differences comprise of the following: the height of the dwellinghouse is significantly lower than the previous proposal, the dwelling has been sited in a different position and the dwelling is significantly smaller footprint than the previous scheme. Based on this information, it is considered the proposal would not cause any significant harm to the residential environment of No.5 Sydney Street in terms of overshadowing, loss of daylight and loss of sunlight.

In respect of the impact on 2 Oxford Street, the application site is set to the west of No. 2 Oxford Street. There would be approximately a 20m separation gap between the two properties. This is sufficient separation distance between the two properties to prevent overlooking from occurring. It is considered the residential environment of No.2 Oxford Street will not be adversely affected from overshadowing and loss of light.

In respect of the concerns regarding the loss of a view, this is not a material consideration and cannot be considered in the determination of this application.

In respect of the car parking provision for the new dwellinghouse, Transport Policy 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan states that "The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards." The existing property currently has a garage to the rear which currently provides a car parking space for the dwelling. This parking space will be removed by the proposed development; however, the development will provide an alternative on site parking space. The development will not result in any loss of parking for the existing dwelling. The number of car parking spaces should only be assessed for the new dwelling. The car parking standard for a typical residential development is 2 spaces per unit, at least one of which is retained within the curtilage and behind the front of the dwelling. This standard is taken from Appendix 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007; however, the car parking standard for town centre and brownfield residential developments may be relaxed in accordance with paragraph A.7.1.

Paragraph A.7.1. states that "New-built residential development should be provided with two parking spaces per dwelling, at one of which should be within the curtilage of the dwelling and behind the front of the dwelling, although the amount and location of parking will vary in respect of development such as terracing, apartments, and sheltered housing. In the case of town centre previously developed sites, the Department will consider reducing this requirement having regard to:

- (a) the location of the housing relative to public transport, employment and public amenities;
- (b) the size of the dwelling;
- (c) any restriction on the nature of the occupancy (such as sheltered housing); and
- (d) the impact on the character and appearance of the surrounding area."

The site is within walking distance of local shops and a major bus route on Woodbourne Road. Furthermore, it is possible to walk from the site to the central area of Douglas. The need for car parking could be reduced in relation to these circumstances. The proposed dwelling is a two bedroom dwellinghouse. The application is proposing to provide a car parking space for the new dwellinghouse. It is considered that the car parking requirement of two parking spaces should be relaxed in this instance due to the size of the dwelling and the close proximity of the dwelling to local services. Furthermore, it is considered the proposal will not adversely affect the demand for on-street parking.

### Recommendation

It is recommended that the application be refused for the above reasons.

### Party Status

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.

Whilst the Isle of Man Water Authority and the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service 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.

The occupiers of 66 Derby Road, given the distance of the objectors from the application site is not granted Interested Party Status under the provisions of Planning Circular 1/06.

In respect of the Resident's Association petition, the following signatures to the petition are considered to have sufficient interest in the application to be granted party status:

The occupiers of 1, 3 and 4 Oxford Street,

The occupiers of 3 and 5 Sydney Street

For the avoidance of doubt the following signatures are not granted party status:

The occupiers of 5, 6, 8, 17 Oxford Street

## Recommendation

**Recommended Decision:** Refused
**Date of Recommendation:** 16.06.2008

### Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal

**C:** Conditions for approval
**N:** Notes attached to conditions
**R:** Reasons for refusal
**O:** Notes attached to refusals

#### R 1.

The proposed dwellinghouse would be contrary to General Policy 2, Housing Policy 6 and Environment Policy 42 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 by reason of its design and siting would:

i) result in the introduction of a dwellinghouse which is out of keeping with the general character and appearance of the locality and would therefore cause significant harm to the visual amenities of the street scene; and ii) result in demonstrable harm to the occupiers of No.6 Sydney Street from visual intrusion and being overbearing.

#### R 2.

The proposed development would not provide a satisfactory living environment for the future occupiers of the dwellinghouse due to the inadequate provision of private amenity space.

I confirm that this decision accords with Government Circular No 31/07 (Delegation of Functions to Senior Planning Officer)

**Decision Made:** Refused
**Date:** 20.10.2008

**Signed:** [Handwritten signature]
Mrs F Mullen
Senior Planning Officer

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*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/85422-braddan-6-sydney-street-dwelling/documents/1551909*