**Document:** DEC Officer Report **Application:** 20/00770/C — Use of summer house within garden as gym for one to one exercise classes (retrospective) **Decision:** Permitted **Decision Date:** 2020-11-06 **Parish:** Lonan **Document Type:** report / officer_report **Source:** https://planningportal.im/a/13296-baldrine-stoneycroft-dwelling/documents/999001 --- # DEC Officer Report **Application No.:** 20/00770/C **Applicant:** Christine Barker **Proposal:** Use of summer house within garden as gym for one to one exercise classes (retrospective) **Site Address:** Stoneycroft Clay Head Close Baldrine Isle Of Man IM4 6DW **Planning Officer:** Mrs Vanessa Porter **Expected Decision Level:** Planning Committee **Recommended Decision:** Refused **Date of Recommendation:** 26.10.2020 _________________________________________________________________ Reasons for Refusal R 1. The proposal is considered not to comply with General Policy 2 (g), (h) and (i). _______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should be given Interested Person Status as they are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 6(4): "Mouette," Clay Head Road as they satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status (January 2020). It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should not be given Interested Person is not within 20m of the application site and the development is not automatically required to be the subject of an EIA by Appendix 5 of the Strategic Plan, in accordance with paragraph 2B of the Policy and are not mentioned in Article 6(4): Snaefell, Clay Head Close Woodlea, Clay Head Close Green Oak, Baldrine Pine Lodge, Clay Head Road Jubilee House, Clay Head Road Lindholme Lodge, Clay Head Road Garwick, Clay Head Road Garden House, Clay Head Road Ramillies, Clay Head Road Crag Lea, Clay Head Road Moose Lodge, Clay Head Road Geay Varrey, Clay Head Road Cornerstones, 1 Hillcroft Rise, Douglas The Vickerage, Willow Lane, Eairy 36 Westbourne Drive, Douglas Shonest Farm, Baldrine Road Corley Rock, South Cape, Laxey 2 Manor View, Farmhill 40 Springfield Avenue, Spring Valley, Douglas 19 St Catherine's Drive, Douglas 32A Ard Reayrt, Laxey Ashton, 130 Royal Avenue, Onchan 16 Raad Bridjeen, Reayrt Ny Cronk 8 Robert Stephen Close, Douglas 14 Windermere Avenue, Onchan The Winnats, Woodlands Avenue, Douglas 13 Barrule Drive, Onchan 49 Royal Park, Ramsey 82 Keppel Road, Douglas 93 Hillside Avenue, Douglas _____________________________________________________________________________ #### Officer’s Report THE PLANNING APPLICATION IS BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AT THE REQUEST OF THE PRINCIPAL PLANNER ## THE APPLICATION SITE 1.1 The site is the residential curtilage of 'Stoneycroft', Baldrine. The site forms part of the small cul-de-sac of Clay Head Close, at the junction with Clay Head Road. It sits on an area of relatively steep topography, with a sloped front garden and the properties to the north sitting substantially lower. - 1.2 The site dwelling itself is a bungalow of modest appearance, similar in size to the others in Clay Head Close. The frontages of the properties along the Close typically feature front gardens with mature hedging and trees around boundary areas. The corner plot opposite the site is well screened by vegetation with hedging which bounds the site with 'Mouette' to the south west. - 1.3 To the site frontage there is a recently altered driveway with a raised concrete platform (which requires Planning Permission and is not part of this application) at the side of a 3 metre wide driveway. - 1.4 There is a garage which was constructed on part of the driveway during the time of this application which is not part of this application. When discussed with the applicants the garage currently does not fit within our Permitted Development order. The applicants have proposed that works will be done to the garage so that it fits within Permitted Development and if not the applicants have stated they will put an additional application in for this. - 1.5 In response to an objection from Highway Services, part of the staircase attached to a ramp has been removed to provide an additional car parking space to the north east of the property. Whilst this does add an additional parking space it is below the requirements of a parking space within the Manual for Manx Roads. ## THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The current planning application seeks approval to do one on one training sessions from the summerhouse situated in the rear of the property. The summerhouse measures 5m by 3m with a height of 2.4m. - 2.2 The proposed times of operation are 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 12pm on a Saturday. There are to be no extra staff and a maximum of 5 people per day. PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 There are several applications on the site of which the most recent is the most relevant. PA19/01042/B was for the erection of a shed to the front of the property and was refused for the following reasoning, "It is considered that the proposal does not accord with General Policy 2 (b,c&g) or the best practice approach outlined in the Residential Design Guidance due to the overall mass and siting of the shed - particularly when viewed from the roadside adjacent to the site. The visual impact of the shed would detract from the street scene of Clay Head Close and from the nature of the semi-rural Clay Head Road, as well as the appearance of the site itself." PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as Predominantly Residential on the Laxey and Lonan Local Plan 2005, Lonan Map. 4.2 Given the nature of the application it is appropriate to consider General Policy 2, Business Policy 1 and Business Policy 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016. - 4.3 General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 states "Development which is in accordance with the land-use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted, provided that the development: - b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them; - c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; - g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality; - h) provides satisfactory amenity standards in itself, including where appropriate safe and convent access for all highway users, together with adequate parking, servicing and manoeuvring space; - i) does not have an unacceptable effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways' - j) can be provided with all necessary services; 4.4 Business Policy 1 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 states; "The growth of employment opportunities throughout the Island will be encouraged provided that development proposals accord with the policies of this Plan." - 4.5 Transport Policy 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 states; "The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards." - 4.6 Appendix A.7.6 of the Isle of Man Strategic plan 2016 should also be noted which stipulates that, for a typical residential development, two (2) spaces should be provided per unit, at least one of which is retained within the curtilage and behind the front of the dwelling. REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Highway Services have sent in two responses to this application, on the 4.08.20 Highways wrote in to state that they have No Highways Interest the application. - 5.1.1 Further correspondence was received on the 22.10.20 after receiving additional drawings to show the garage on the driveway in which Highway Services are now objecting to the application. Highway Services have stated the following, "The revised driveway layout has insufficient and inadequate space for three vehicles indicated within the submission with two to serve the existing use and one for a customer to undertake the one to one tuition at the gym. There is space for one vehicle on the original part of the drive; although a second vehicle is shown parking on the area of the concrete base, it is a small car which is atypical of the design car uses to meet parking standards. Additionally, a driver would have to undertake an awkward manoeuvre to and from it due to the change in levels. Furthermore, its side and front are unprotected adding to the safety risk. This is likely to lead to further safety hazards from parking on the existing highway in close proximity to the junction with Clay Hill Road potentially obstructing lines of sight as well as the mouth of the junction compounded by the narrowness of Clay Hill Road." 5.2 Garff Commissioners have considered the proposal and object to the proposal for the following reasons, "Members considered this application very carefully. It was noted that this was a retrospective application and that traffic movements & parking were matters of concern. Members also noted the concerns that had been raised in regard to noise disturbance in this residential area. The Board Resolved to Object to this application" (13.08.20). - 5.2.1 Further correspondence was received from Garff Commissioners regarding the erection of a garage on the site and stated "PA20/00770/C states that there are three car parking spaces on the driveway, this is now not the case"(23.09.20) - 5.2.1.1 An amendment was received from the applicant which shows the available parking and the garage in place. - 5.2.2 Further comments were received from Garff Commissioners making note of the previously refused application and stated, "The clerks were instructed to seek further clarification of the capacity for parking on the site from the planners and to seek clarification of the Planning Officer's decision to include the new wooden structure in the amendment to the application rather than requesting a separate application. It was noted that the structure may not meet the criteria of Permitted Development." (12.10.20) 5.4 The following properties have written in to support the application stating that they have no issues with the application and/or do not think there will be an issue with highway safety. - 5.4.1 Snaefell, Clay Head Close (11.08.20) - 5.4.2 Woodlea, Clay Head Close (10.08.20) - 5.4.3 Green Oak, Baldrine have written in to object to the proposal on the 4th August 2020 but then retracted the objection on the 7th August 2020. - 5.4.4 Pine Lodge, Clay Head Road (19.08.20) - 5.4.6 Jubilee House, Clay Head Road (25.08.20) - 5.4.7 Lindholme Lodge, Clay Head Road (01.09.20) - 5.4.8 Garwick, Clay Head Road (17.08.20) 5.5 The following properties have written in to object to the application on the grounds of the type of business, noise and highway safety. - 5.5.1 Mouette, Clay Head Road (21.08.20) - 5.5.2 Garden House, Clay Head Road (4.08.20 & 10.08.20) - 5.5.3 Ramillies, Clay Head Road (19.08.20) 5.6 The following properties have written in to object to the application on the grounds of noise and highway safety. - 5.6.1 Crag Lea, Clay Head Road (21.08.20) - 5.6.2 Moose Lodge, Clay Head Road (05.08.20) 5.7 The following properties have written in to support the application as clients of the gym. - 5.7.1 Geay Varrey, Clay Head Road (19.08.20) - 5.7.2 Cornerstones, 1 Hillcroft Rise, Douglas (05.08.20) - 5.7.3 The Vickerage, Willow Lane, Eairy (06.08.20) - 5.7.4 36 Westbourne Drive, Douglas (06.08.20) - 5.7.5 Shonest Farm, Baldrine Road (07.08.20) - 5.7.6 Corley Rock, South Cape, Laxey (10.08.20) - 5.7.7 2 Manor View, Farmhill (07.08.20) - 5.7.8 40 Springfield Avenue, Spring Valley, Douglas (07.08.20) - 5.7.9 19 St Catherine's Drive, Douglas (10.08.20) - 5.7.10 32A Ard Reayrt, Laxey (05.08.20) - 5.7.11 Ashton, 130 Royal Avenue, Onchan (07.08.20) - 5.7.12 16 Raad Bridjeen, Reayrt Ny Cronk (11.08.20) - 5.7.13 8 Robert Stephen Close, Douglas (12.08.20) - 5.7.14 14 Windermere Avenue, Onchan (05.08.20) - 5.7.15 The Winnats, Woodlands Avenue, Douglas (05.08.20) - 5.7.16 13 Barrule Drive, Onchan (05.08.20) - 5.7.17 49 Royal Park, Ramsey (05.08.20) - 5.7.18 82 Keppel Road, Douglas (05.08.20 & 18.08.20) - 5.7.19 93 Hillside Avenue, Douglas (05.08.20) ASSESSMENT 4.1 The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of the planning application is the principle of the use within a residential setting, impact on neighbouring amenities and highway safety. THE PRINCIPLE OF OPERATING A BUSINESS FROM THE SITE - 4.2 In the first instance The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2019 acknowledges the positive impact that sport and recreation has on the quality of Island life, and which feeds into the objectives of the Strategic Plan and the overarching Government aims in making our Island a special place to live and work. Gyms are not uses that readily fall into any existing use class and as such can be found across various parts of the Island. As such when looking at the principle of the additional use it should be acknowledged that permission has been approved and refused for the operation of general businesses from a residential property, throughout the Island. Whilst these are normally for uses such as beauty and treatment, gyms have been approved recently specifically PA17/01295/B (124 Fairways Drive, Mount Murray) and PA20/00961/C (9 The Abbey Woods, Douglas). - 4.3 "Stoneycroft" is within a site zoned as 'predominantly residential' and as such the change of use of the rear shed would not comply with the land use designation in 3.1, however the majority of the application site will stay as a dwellinghouse which means the proposed use is an ancillary use of the dwelling and not a use in its own right. The impact of the shed itself is minimal, considering General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 due to the shed where the proposed gym will be accommodated, fitting within Permitted Development. - 4.4 It should be noted that "Stoneycroft" is not close to a town centre or commercial area by being situated between the main town centres of Onchan and Laxey and with the proposal being for one to one classes, as such the impact of the proposed change of use is unlikely to draw materially harmful levels of trade away from the town or village centres around the Island. - NEIGHBOURING AMENITIES - 4.5 When looking at proposals where the applicants are proposing to work from home one of the main aspects is whether there is an impact on the neighbouring amenities. - 4.6 Clay Head Road can be characterised as large detached dwellings in large plots, whilst the houses along Clay Head Close are closer together and in less large plots the same basis applies and due to the topography and location within Baldrine the setting itself has a certain level of tranquillity. This was especially apparent during my site visit where the cul-de-sac had the character of being within the countryside. - 4.7 The proposed gym is within an already existing shed which is situated to the rear of the property, adjacent to the boundary fence of Mouette, Clay Head Road. When looking at this proposal against the previously approved applications for a gym within a residential curtilage there are several differences the first being that within both of the previously approved applications both were within already existing attached garages which lent themselves to a certain amount of soundproofing. It was noted during my site visit that there was no soundproofing within the shed, with the only soundproofing being the flooring which was of a suitable thickness. - 4.8 One of the main issues which has been raised by the neighbouring properties is with regards to the noise that the gym could potentially create. Whilst the proposal is for one to one classes there is no information on what type of classes these would be. From my site visit it could be ascertained that they would be more personal fitness based than exercise class based due to the equipment on the site. This does not mean that one to one exercise classes would not be offered from the site. - 4.9 The issue with possible noise was raised by the Local Authority within their first objection to the application, stating that concerns had already been raised in regards to noise disturbance in the residential area. - 4.10 It is worth noting at this point that from around January 2020 to when the application was submitted, the applicant was doing classes from the site on a one on one basis and group classes which were based within the gym and outside in the applicant's rear garden which could potentially have create a noise nuisance to the neighbouring properties. The difference between what the applicants were doing during the previous months and what the applicant is proposing now is that the applicants have requested only for one to one classes with no group classes. - 4.11 Whilst the proposal is for one to one classes, there is still the potential that this could cause a noise disturbance and whilst weight could be put on putting conditions on the application which would suggest soundproofing be put up on the elevations of the shed where there is currently not any, this would still not help assist the proposed gym if the doors were open on a sunny day to let in ventilation or even if the class was done within the rear garden due to the shed being of a small size with the equipment it has. A condition could be put on to keep the use to just the shed but this would not be sufficiently enforceable. - 4.12 Balance also needs to be given for the circumstances that the Island and world is currently in, in that the likelihood that someone within the street would be working from home is likely and as such as a Department we cannot necessarily assume that during the working day no one would be within the surrounding properties and that whilst the Department has approved several working from home applications, these are normally for a therapy, hairdressing or the provisions of beauty treatments which wouldn't necessarily create additional noise. Working from home where there are no customers or staff calling at the property does not need planning approval under the Permitted Development and Changes of Use Amendment Order 2020, Class 5 Schedule 1. 4.13 It could be argued that due to the proposed use of the gym being between 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 12pm on a Saturday with a maximum of 5 people per day that the use would not have any more impact than if someone decided to do weight training/exercise classes within their own property for 5 hours at a time. The actual likelihood of anyone apart from professional athletes doing this daily would be slim and when taking into account of the specific quiet location of "Stoneycroft" it could be suggested that if this was done, it would still be a noise nuisance albeit that planning approval would not be required. HIGHWAY SAFETY - 4.14 Concerns with proposals of working at home such as this application can be raised with regards to the highway safety, specifically relating to the impact upon on-street parking provisions and traffic implications. During the time of the application a garage was built to the side of the property on the existing driveway - 4.15 During the time that the application was being assessed a shed/garage structure was constructed on the existing driveway and subsequently a site visit was done to ascertain what parking was available on the site. It was then that an amended plan was requested to show the actual parking on the site due to the driveway to the north east of the site being a pathway with stairs and the main driveway has the concrete platform to the front elevation which was built for PA19/01042/B which was refused. - 4.16 Further to this amended plan Highway Services have submitted an objection to the application on the basis of Highway Safety stating that "the revised driveway layout has insufficient and inadequate space for three vehicles indicated within the submission with two to serve the existing use and one for a customer to undertake the one to one tuition at the gym." - 4.17 Clay Head Close is a cul-de-sac which doesn't have a turning circle at the end and "Stoneycroft" is situated on a corner plot to the south of the junction where Clay Head Road meets Clay Head Close, with the main driveway being just shy of directly upon the junction because of this Highway Safety is a main concern. - 4.18 When looking at the existing parking provision on the site, there is the possibility that the site has three parking spaces. There is possibility a parking space within the garage, a space in front of the garage and due to the objection from Highway Services the applicant has done work to the ramp & stairs to the north east of the site to remove part of the stairs to create a parking space. - 4.19 When looking at the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, appendix 7, two car parking spaces are what is required for a residential development. With the proposed gym use an extra car parking space would be required. Whilst the site has the possibility of three parking spaces, the newly created car parking space is not of the recommended size within the Manual for Manx Roads. - 4.20 Parking standards for applications such as this could be reduced following certain criteria of which none would apply in this case, it could be said that there is a bus stop around 10 minutes away (831m) which could be used as a reasoning to not have an additional car parking space but Clay Head Road is a single track road with a lack of street lighting and as such it wouldn't be safe to assume once winter comes with a lack of sunlight that customers would not use their own cars. - 4.21 As such the most logical would be that customers would park on the street outside the property straddling the footpath, of which a client of the applicant states that during certain circumstances this is done in their comment. 4.22 Whilst there is the possibility that the driveway could be conditioned to state that the driveway is kept free and unobstructed at all times, this wouldn't be practical with the likelihood that both occupants of the property would have a vehicle and as such one of the applicants would be parking on the main roadway. - 4.23 With both of these options the property as stated above is directly close to the junction of the cul-de-sac and as such parking a vehicle on the road/pavement could cause a highway safety issue. CONCLUSION 7.1 For the above reasons the proposal is considered not to comply with General Policy 2 (g), (h) and (i). 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 confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the appropriate delegated authority. Decision Made : …Permitted……….... Committee Meeting Date:…02.11.2020 Signed :……………V PORTER…………………….. Presenting Officer Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph to the officerreport). Signatory to delete as appropriate YES/NO See below ## Customer note ## This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the file copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our onlineservices/customers and archive records. ### Planning Committee Decision 02.11.2020 Application No. : 20/00770/C Applicant : Christine Barker Proposal : Use of summer house within garden as gym for one to one exercise classes (retrospective) Site Address : Stoneycroft Clay Head Close Baldrine Isle Of Man IM4 6DW Planning Officer : Mrs Vanessa Porter Presenting Officer As above Addendum to the Officer’s Report The Planning Committee did not agree to the officers recommendation for refusal, and determined to approve the application for the following reasoning, "The proposal is considered to comply with Business Policy 1 by supporting the opportunity of healthy active lifestyles," on the basis of the following conditions C1. 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. C2. The use hereby approved shall only be undertaken between 08:00 and 20:00 on weekdays and 09:00 and 12:00 on Saturdays. The use shall not be undertaken at any time on Sundays or Public Holidays. Reason: To ensure that the development is undertaken in accordance with the application details and in the interest of protecting neighbouring living conditions. C3. There must be no more than one customer/client using the gym at any one time Reason: In the interest of highway safety and residential amenity. C4. The main driveway and access shall be kept available and unobstructed for visitor parking at all times during which the development hereby approved is in operation. Reason: To ensure construction of a satisfactory access and in the interests of highway safety. C5. The use approved shall only be for the benefit of Christine Barker while in full time residence at the application site. Should the use cease or should Christine Barker no longer be full time resident, the gym must be restored to its previous use. Reason: The development hereby approved is only acceptable in this location because of the special circumstance of the applicant and their small scale business. C6. The area of the building to be used for personal training service shall be limited to the rear summerhouse and the use hereby permitted shall not extend into any other part of the premises. Reason: To minimise the disturbance to adjacent residential occupiers and to protect the residential character of the locality. The case officer altered the interested person status to state that "Snaefell" and "Garwick" were not over 20m away but did not afford Interested Person Status due to not meeting paragraph 2C of the Interested Person Status Policy. This decision relates to a site location map and details on the shed received 17th July 2020. This decision also relates to amended drawings of the site showing the site dated 30th September 2020. --- *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/13296-baldrine-stoneycroft-dwelling/documents/999001*