Officer Report

Application No.: 16/01239/B Applicant: Hartford Homes Ltd Proposal: Erection of new dwelling. Site Address: Site Adjacent To West Ham Arbory Road Castletown Isle of Man IM9 1ND Case Officer : Miss S E Corlett Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation

Officer’s Report THE SITE

1.1 The site is a parcel of land which lies to the north west of The Crofts and to the north east of Arbory Road in Castletown, outwith the town's Conservation Area. The site has an access onto Arbory Road alongside The Vicarage and 1-4, Westham Lea. The site contains a number of trees, mostly around the periphery. THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed is the erection of a dwelling on the site. This will be of a traditional mass but with modern fenestration, a large, stone, external chimney stack and stone cladding on the ground floor integral garage. The pitched roof will be finished in imitation slates and the majority of the walling finished in painted render.

2.2 The property will be accessed through a new lane in between Westham Lea and Westham, leading to the dwelling and with a hard surfaced parking area to the south. - 2.3 Following discussion with the Forestry Division, a full tree report has been submitted. This describes 4 trees which are category U and recommended for removal on grounds of poor structural or physiological health. They report the removal of 3 category C trees to form the new driveway and a further 4 to reduce crowding and a category B sycamore to form the access. It acknowledges - 4 trees which will require cellular confinement systems to ensure their successful retention and more may require specialist protection if additional working space is required on site. It recommends a pre-established site monitoring programme and mitigation planting of 4 new Sorbus aucuparia (rowan) alongside the driveway. The position of these is shown on drawing MP-211116 Rev 1.

PLANNING POLICY

3.1 The site is specifically identified on the Area Plan for the South adopted in 2013 as being suitable for one dwelling and subject only to a requirement that any application is accompanied by a detailed tree survey which identifies all trees to be retained and measures for their protection. There is no requirement to particularly limit the removal of any trees.

3.2 As such, the proposal is considered subject to the general standards of development as guided by the Strategic Plan General Policy 2 as follows:

• a) is in accordance with the design brief in the Area Plan where there is such a brief;

• b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the space around them;
• c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape;

• f) incorporates where possible existing topography and landscape features, particularly trees and sod banks;
• 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;
• i) does not have an adverse effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways and
• j) can be provided with all necessary services."

3.3 Some of these issues are addressed through the designation of the site for development in the area plan and also the previous decisions for approval of the erection of a dwelling on the site (see later).

PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 Planning approval has been granted for the erection of a dwelling on this site under PAs 08/01079/B, 09/01217/B and 12/00883/B. These permissions were for modern and for traditional properties. None has been implemented. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Castletown Commissioners have no objection to the application (28.11.16).

5.2 The Senior Forester of DEFA expresses no objection to the loss of the trees as shown and comments that if the mitigation and protection measures proposed are undertaken then the impact on the trees in the medium term should be minimal. He recommends a condition if the application is approved, to the effect that:

The protection measures, construction methods and tree planting detailed in the "Tree Survey and Report" prepared by Manx Roots Tree Management Limited received on 25th November, 2016, must be adhered to in full, subject to the undertaking of the pre-arranged supervision detailed in Section 2, Appendices 5 and 7, by a suitably qualified tree specialist. No retained tree shall be cut down, uprooted or willfully destroyed during the implementation of the development and thereafter within 5 years from the completion date, other than in accordance with the approved plans and particularly or as otherwise approved by the Department. This condition will only be fully discharged on completion of the development subject to submission of satisfactory written evidence of contamporaneous supervision and monitoring by a suitably qualified tree specialist of the tree protection throughout construction (29.11.16).

5.3 Following discussions with the applicant, Highway Services no longer object to the application (23.01.16). Whilst they recommend that no work commence until the access improvement works are carried out, none is proposed as part of the application.

ASSESSMENT

6.1 The issues in this case are whether the plans submitted accord with the requirement for a tree survey and protection measures for trees to be retained and also whether the proposal accords with the general standards of development as set out in the Strategic Plan.

6.2 The information initially provided was not specifically a tree survey as is usually expected but there is a plan, reference 01 which shows existing trees and one of the drawings indicates that all existing trees to be retained are to be protected by temporary fencing positioned at the edge of the tree canopies for the duration of the works. The tree adviser also recommends the removal of several low quality trees as being beneficial for the creation of the driveway and the future tree population and the site of such tree removal is acceptable for decorative nature species. These are shown on the plan 01 although the species are not annotated. He also advises that there will be the

• need for an area of Protectaweb or similar protection at the start of the proposed driveway. He doesn't see the protection of the trees being problematical in the construction of the development.
• 6.3 The site is some distance from a public road and whatever is constructed here will not be seen. That aside, what is proposed is considered acceptable for the area, not dissimilar to the Westham Lea properties and not an imitation of the handsome Crofts buildings.
• 6.4 The proposal is considered acceptable and is recommended for approval.

PARTY STATUS

7.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, 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 the subject of the application is situated.

The Forestry Division is within the same Department as the planning authority and as such should not be afforded interested person status under the Order.

With effect from 1 June 2015, the Transfer of Planning & Building Control Functions Order 2015 amends the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 to give effect to the meaning of the word 'Department' to be the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture unless otherwise directed by that Order.

Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 20.12.2016 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.

• C 2. No other development may be commenced until such time as the protection measures shown in the Tree Survey and Report have been installed. The protection measures, construction methods and tree planting detailed in the "Tree Survey and Report" prepared by Manx Roots Tree Management Limited received on 25th November, 2016, must be adhered to in full, subject to the undertaking of the pre-arranged supervision detailed in Section 2, Appendices 5 and 7, by a suitably qualified tree specialist. No retained tree shall be cut down, uprooted or wilfully destroyed during the implementation of the development and thereafter within 5 years from the completion date, other than in accordance with the approved plans and particularly or as otherwise approved by the Department. This condition will only be fully discharged on completion of the development subject

to submission of satisfactory written evidence of contemporaneous supervision and monitoring by a suitably qualified tree specialist of the tree protection throughout construction.

Reason: to provide an appropriate landscaped setting to the development and to protect the wildlife which may occupy or use this vegetation.

• C 3. The mitigation planting - the four rowan trees referred to in the application, must be introduced in the first planting season following the completion of the dwelling. Any of these trees which die or are removed within 5 years of being planted must be replaced with the same species and size of the trees and in the same place as those which are to be replaced.

Reason: to provide an appropriate landscaped setting for the new dwelling and to mitigate the loss of the trees removed during development.

This approval relates to drawings 01, 02, 03 , 04 and 001 all received on 2nd November, 2016.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Senior Planning Officer in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 27.01.2017 Determining officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Senior Planning Officer

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