DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 19/01182/B Applicant: Mr & Mrs Andrew Pattinson Proposal: Alterations and creation of new door to rear elevation Site Address: Ballacottier Beg Andreas Road Andreas Isle Of Man IM7 4EP Planning Officer: Mr Peiran Shen Photo Taken: 24.12.2019 Site Visit: 24.12.2019 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 31.12.2019 _________________________________________________________________

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 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

The development hereby approved relates to Drawing SM19/505/1, date-stamped as having been received 25th October 2019. _______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site is the residential curtilage of Ballacottier Beg, Andreas Road, Andreas. It accommodates one two-storey detached dwelling and one single-storey outbuilding. The site is at the southeast corner of the Andreas settlement and on the east side of Andreas Road.

1.2 The front of the site is surrounded by hedges. The back is open farmland. Both buildings are finished in stone, while the garage part are painted white. - 1.3 The single-storey outbuilding is a one-bedroom dwelling and has an attached garage with two parking spaces. The garage is about half the width of the dwelling. The existing entrances are at the back of the outbuilding and the side of the garage. The windows on the outbuilding all have white frames and feature external glazing bars. - 1.4 There are four windows on the front elevation, two top-hung casement windows on the left and two sliding sash windows on the right. On the back of the dwelling are the attached garages. There are two up-and-over garage doors, each for one car storage. - 1.5 There is a driveway within the curtilage, separating the two-storey and the singlestorey. A wooden gate divides the driveway in half and effectively segregating the two buildings as individual dwellings.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Full planning approval is sought for the conversion of the garage into two bedrooms. The works include the removal of one sliding sash window on the front of the single-storey dwelling with addition of a white uPVC entrance door and the removal of both garage doors and placement with two white uPVC windows.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 The single-storey dwelling was built under the approval of PA 89/00370/B.

4.0 PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 In terms of land use designation, the application site is designated as Predominantly Residential Use under the 1982 Development Plan Order. - 4.2 In terms of strategic plan policy, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains three policies that are considered specifically material to the assessment of the planning application: - 4.3 General Policy 2 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 convenient access for all highway users, together with adequate parking, servicing and manoeuvring space; (n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."

4.4 Environment Policy 42 states: "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." - 4.5 Transport Policy 7 states: "The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards." The currents stands are set out in Appendix 7. - 4.6 Appendix 7.1 of the Strategic Plan 2016: "Where new dwellings are created by the conversion of existing buildings, parking space should be formed by the clearance of outbuildings and low-grade annexes or 'outlets' if it is reasonable and practicable so to do."

4.7 A7.6 states typical residential development should have "2 spaces per unit, at least one of which is retained within the curtilage and behind the front of the building." - 4.8 Planning Circular 3/91 - Guide to the design of residential development in the Countryside is also applied to the application. Policy 5 states: "Doors and windows together with their size and relationship with each other and the wall face should follow traditional rural forms."

5.0 REPRESENTATION - 5.1 The Andreas Parish Commissioners have no objection to this application (04/12/2019). - 5.2 The Highway service has no objection over this application (14/11/2019).

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The key issue to consider in the assessment of this application is whether the alterations would meet the test set out in Environment Policy 42 and other policies mentioned above in respect to the site and its surroundings and whether there would be sufficient car parking provision. - 6.2 On the front elevation of the outbuilding, the removal of one sliding sash window and the addition of an entrance door is a significant change to the design of the building. However, it has a minimum impact on the surrounding character due to blockage by the hedges on the front of the site. - 6.3 The removal of garage doors and the installation of two windows change the back elevation dramatically, but the design is kept in style with the whole building and should not stand out more than the current one. In addition, the alteration is at the back of the outbuilding and has a very limited view from any public vantage point and therefore does not affect the surrounding characters. In addition, there is no overlooking issue since the new windows are no higher than the top edge of the existing garage door. - 6.4 The application is for the conversion of two garages into bedrooms. This not only removes existing parking allocations but also can potentially increase the number of parking space needed on site. Although, this change reamin in the definition of typical residential and therefore does not increase the parking standard (two parking space) for the site. - 6.5 The existing driveway next to the garage can park at least two cars so the loss of parking does not undermine the parking standard set out in the Strategic Plan. - 6.6 The replacement windows are made of uPVC and are double glazed. The cavity wall designed to fill the void left by removing the garage doors is well insulated. Both features will have a positive effect on the energy conservation of the whole building.

7.0 CONCLUSION - 7.1 In summary, the proposal is regarded generally as a neutral impact on the character and appearance of the Andreas settlement. There is also sufficient parking provision and the application is therefore acceptable.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 (Article 6(4), the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• (a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• (b) The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested;

• (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material
• (d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and
• (e) The local authority in whose district the land which the subject of the application is situated.

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 in Article 6(4) 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.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 31.12.2019 Determining officer

Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett Principal Planner

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 online services/customers and archive records.