DEC Officer Report

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No.: 23/00311/B Applicant: Mr Ian Geoffrey Martin Proposal: Increase driveway to include drop kerb and reorientation of existing steps and erection of fence Site Address: 42 Port E Chee Avenue Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 5ER Planning Officer: Mr Peiran Shen Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 12.06.2023

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.

• C 2. Prior to commencement, details for the drainage of the driveway shall be approved in writing by the department. The drainage solution shall be installed according to the approved details and maintained as such. Reason: in the interest of protecting highway drainage.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. This application is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan and the Residential Design Guide July 2021.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to the documents, location plans and site plans, existing and proposed floor plan, proposed elevation and photos date stamped as having been received on 15th March 2023.

_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site is the residential curtilage of 42 Port E Chee Avenue, Douglas, a two-storey semi-detached dwelling located on east of Port E Chee Avenue.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The proposal is extension of the existing driveway. The proposal also include partial demolition of the front boundary wall and reposition of the entrance staircase.

- 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 Area Plan for the East.

Strategic Policy

4.2 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application:

• o Strategic Policy 3, 5
• o General Policy 2 (b), (c), (g), (m), (n)
• o Community Policy 7, 10
• o Infrastructure Policy 5

PPS and NPD

4.3 No Planning Policy Statement or National Policy Directive is applicable 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 particularly of material relevance to the assessment of this current planning application: o Section 6.3 Front Gardens and Driveways - 6.0 REPRESENTATIONS

6.1 Douglas Borough Council has not commented at the time of the report (02.05.2023).

6.2 DoI Highway Services does not oppose this application (20.02.2023). The comment states that the proposal raises no significant road safety or highway network efficiency concerns. - 6.3 DoI Highway Drainage write in (20.03.2023) to inform the applicant that no surface water should be discharged onto a public highway.

- 7.0 ASSESSMENT

7.1 The main consideration for this application are the principle of the development, its impact on the character and street scene of the area and on highway safety. Principle of the Development

7.2 As the development 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 street. - 7.3 The road is available for parking. The proposal is to remove approx. 5.2m section available for parallel parking space, which could lead to the removal of one on-street parking space. In the meantime, it is to be noticed that the road is residential and the most frequent use are its residents, including occupiers of the application site. - 7.4 The proposal will create one parking space. The proposed parking space, along with the existing driveway, satisfies the recommendation in the Manual for Manx Roads. Therefore, it is considered that there would be no loss of on-street parking spaces. - 7.5 The next test is whether over 50% of the existing front lawn/landscaped garden will be lost. After the proposal, the lawn counts for about 50% of the front garden. It is also to be noted that the additional parking space is for the enjoyment of the applicant only. Visual Amenities - 7.6 RDG also 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". - 7.7 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? For this application, this transition is clear: road - pavement - boundary wall wall/hedge - garden - dwelling. While the remaining garden width is reduced, the remaining width is still sufficient separation between public and private space. Therefore, it is considered that there is no negative impact on the character and street scene of the area. Highway Safety - 7.8 As Highway Services does not oppose this application, it is considered that the proposal would have a neutral impact on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways and therefore is not acceptable.

- 8.0 CONCLUSION

8.1 The proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan and the Residential Design Guide July 2021. Therefore, it is recommended for an approval. - 9.0 INTEREST PERSON STATUS

9.1 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 which 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. 9.2 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 can confirm that this decision has been made by a Principal Planner 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.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 23.06.2023 Determining officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner

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