Planning Officer Report

Part 1 ## Planning Officer Report And Recommendations {{table:324057}}

Officer's Report

1. It is recommended that this application be determined by the Planning Committee due to the number of objections and as the Local Authority object to the proposal which has a recommendation for approval.

The Site

1. The site is a parcel of land located between Balladoyne estate and Station Road, St Johns. Collectively the land is made up of the majority of Area 1 (312909 and 314758) and all of Area 6 as set out by the St Johns Local Plan. Area 1 is an irregular shape and is formed of Fields 312854, 312909 and 314758 which are to the west and south of Balladoyne estate. Area 6 is to the south of the old St Johns Primary School and can be accessed from Station Road. The Heritage Trail runs to the south of the site beyond which is St Johns Primary School. Currently Area 1 is agricultural land and Area 6 is partly overgrown.

1. Balladoyne Farm is situated to the north of the site and to the west of this is Field 312711 which is not designated for development. The A1 (Peel Road) runs to the north.

1. Balladoyne estate is characterised by detached dwellings, some single storey and some with accommodation within their roof space. The estate road terminates at its boundary with Area 1.

1. The application site is a parcel of land which includes Fields 312909 and 314758 which are adjacent to Balladoyne estate, land to the south of the property Westville, the Methodist Hall and what was St Johns Primary School. The site also includes an access from Station Road which runs between Mona House and St Johns General Stores. The route of the now dismantled railway line sweeps along the southern extents of the site.

The Proposal

1. This application seeks approval for the residential estate layout of six plots, roads and sewers including a temporary construction access to the site from Station Road. This would involve the creation of an access from Area 6 to Area 1.

1. The application plan shows that a section of the Balladoyne estate road would be widened and that improved sightlines would be provided at its junction with the A1 by removing vegetation adjacent to the property "Rosshay". The proposed layout provides for the protection of the Cairn, an archaeological site located to the south of No. 8 Balladoyne.

Planning History

1. PA06/00371/A sought approval in principle for a residential layout of 6 dwellings. This application was initially approved and subsequently approved at appeal.

1. PA07/01994/B sought approval for improvements to and the use of estate roadway for construction vehicle access to development site.

This was refused for the following reason:

"When the development site with which this application is associated was permitted in the St. John's Local Plan, and in the consideration of the application for the principle of the development of the site under PA 06/0371, it was clearly a requirement that construction traffic should not use Balladoyne Estate Road. Whilst the proposal involves marginal widening of the estate road, the use of Balladoyne as a route for construction traffic would result in disruption, inconvenience and a reduction in road safety within the estate and as such is considered to be unacceptable, notwithstanding that the proposal is for a temporary period necessary for the development to be implemented."

A subsequent appeal request was withdrawn.

1. PA08/01510/B sought approval for the residential layout for six dwellings with layout of plots, roads, sewers, Fields 312909 and 314758, Land at Balladoyne, St Johns, German. This was refused by the Planning Committee for the following reason:

"The St Johns Local Plan (Planning Circular 6/99) and subsequent planning applications relating to this site have required that the development of the application site be carried out using a temporary access for construction traffic in order to protect the amenity of Balladoyne estate and in recognition that the estate road is narrow and generally unsuitable for large construction vehicles. This application fails to demonstrate that there is sufficient control over the proposed temporary access so as to provide a reasonable period in which to complete the development. As such, there is a real likelihood that approval of this application, which would include the formation of a vehicular access onto Balladoyne estate, would result in construction traffic using the estate as an access which would be unacceptably detrimental to the residential amenity of Balladoyne estate."

1. Applications 08/01842/B, 08/02117/B and 08/02137/B collectively sought approval for the erection of a dwelling on each of the plots proposed by 08/01510/B. These applications were refused at appeal for the following reasons:

08/01842/B

R1. "The application is premature, in that no scheme for the installation of roads and sewers has yet been approved. Unless satisfactory arrangements for common services are approved and provided, the proposed dwellings would be without access or sewerage facilities, which would clearly be undesirable."

R2. "By virtue of the ridge height and orientation of the building, the dwelling on Plot 2 would detract from the rural character of the view southwards from the vicinity of St Johns Church. The dwelling on Plot 4 would also have the effect if it were not masked by the dwellings on Plots 1-3, for which there are not yet approved designs."

08/02117/B

R1. "The application is premature, in that no scheme for the installation of roads and sewers has yet been approved. Unless satisfactory arrangements for common services are approved and provided,

the proposed dwellings would be without access or sewerage facilities, which would clearly be undesirable."

R2. "By virtue of the ridge height and orientation of the building, the dwelling would detract from the rural character of the view southwards from the vicinity of St Johns Church".

08/02137/B

R1. "The application is premature, in that no scheme for the installation of roads and sewers has yet been approved. Unless satisfactory arrangements for common services are approved and provided, the proposed dwellings would be without access or sewerage facilities, which would clearly be undesirable."

Planning Status

1. The application site is designated for residential development by the St Johns Local Plan. The area of the site adjacent to Balladoyne estate is referred to as "Area 1: The area to the south of Peel Road to the west of Balladoyne estate." The following parts of the Local Plan relates to Area 1:

1. Paragraph 2.7 of the Local Plan states that "The Issues and Options document suggested that low density housing could be sited within this smaller area with minimal impact on the amenities of adjoining residents and without compromising the visual setting of Tynwald Hill."

1. Paragraph 2.9 of the Local Plan states that "It is considered that construction traffic associated with the development should not pass through the Balladoyne estate. The roadways within Balladoyne are not suitable for construction vehicles and the amenities of the existing residents would be significantly damaged if this were to occur."

1. The Local Plan sets out a Development Brief for the site which is set out within POLICY: RES/P/1 which states "Residential development shall be permitted within Development Area 1 in accordance with the following development brief."

1. The Development Brief has 7 points which state that the maximum number of dwellings which will be allowed is 6, that all dwellings shall be single storey (dormer accommodation will not be permitted), that an approved road and sewers application must precede any applications for dwellings, that the application must include an indication of the temporary access to serve construction traffic, that provision must be afforded to an investigation into the archaeological value of the site (in accordance with Manx National Heritage) and that the area to the north of the site may not be used in association with the development.

1. The area of the site to the south of Westville, the Methodist Hall and the old St Johns School is identified by the Local Plan as "Area 6: Land South of Existing School". Paragraph 2.15 states the following with regard to this site:

"It is now likely that proposals for development of a new primary school are to be pursued on the car park site and as such the future of the land to the immediate south of the existing school should be considered as this will now probably not be required to be reserved for educational purposes. It is considered that the site would be capable of accommodating two dwellings as an acceptable form of infill development with vehicular access provided from Station Road."

1. POLICY: RES/P/5 of the St Johns Local Plan states:

"WITH THE EXCEPTION OF APPROPRIATE EXTENSIONS AND ALTERATIONS TO EXISTING PROPERTY WHICH WILL GENERALLY BE ACCEPTABLE, OUTSIDE OF DEVELOPMENT AREAS 1, 2, 4, 5 AND 6 NEW RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT WILL ONLY BE APPROVED WHERE THIS COMPLIES WITH PLANNING CIRCULARS 1/88, 3/88 AND 3/89."