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Mr. A. Johnstone, Planning Appeals Secretary, Chief Secretary’s Office, Government Offices, Buck’s Road, Douglas, IM1 3PN.
planning and building control bun-troggalys -plannal as gurneil troggal Murray House, Mount Havelock, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2SF. email: [email protected] Tel: (01624) 685906 Fax: (01624) 686443 Director of Planning & Building Control Michael Gallagher, M.R.T.P.I.
21st May, 2014
Dear Mr. Johnstone,
Please find attached a report on behalf of Planning and Building Control. Whilst part of the land which relates to this application is vested in the Department of Infrastructure of which Planning and Building Control is part, the Department has no financial or other interest in the application and as such the report goes further than simply outlining the relevant policies and issues and indicates that there is justification for the works, which could be considered to outweigh the impacts which have been identified.
Yours sincerely,
Miss Sarah Corlett Senior Planning Officer
Baillys Ellen Vannie
Planning statement on behalf of Department of Infrastructure Planning and Building Control in respect of a planning application for the Creation of an over flow car park including an exit only road on to Braddan Road Land Adj To Leece Lodge Strang Douglas Isle Of Man
Reference 14/00068/B
Statement prepared on behalf of DOI Planning and Building Control by Miss S E Corlett
1.1 The site is a long, thin strip of land which lies to the west of the A23 Braddan School Road. It is approximately 11m wide and between 110 and 140m long. At its northern end the site passes 1 and 2, Leece Lodge Cottages, residential accommodation owned by the Department of Health. To the north of this is an access road leading from the A23 into the land to the west which accommodates The Lodge - an administration facility operated by the Department of Health and associated car parking and to the north of this is 3, Leece Lodge Cottages and a children's respite facility.
1.2 Planning permission has recently been granted for the principle of the erection of accommodation for adults with learning difficulties, behind 1 and 2, Leece Lodge Cottages.
1.3 The site is the route of the former A23 before the construction of the hospital which necessitated the creation of an improved highway network, including a new roundabout which provided access into the new hospital's principal car park and main entrance. The roadway is still in situ, sealed at the southern end by the new footway which skirts the new road. Vegetation has grown up to the east of the former road, which is still a pedestrian access and there are self seeded briars and blackberry bushes and some small multi stemmed trees some of whose branches extend out into the hard surfaced area.
1.4 At the planning officer's site visit (0930hrs on Thursday, 13th February, 2014) there were no vacant spaces associated with The Lodge and any of the Leece Lodge Cottages and there were two other vehicles whose drivers were looking for a parking space. Seven spaces were available alongside the Children's respite care home.
2.1 Proposed is the use of the existing hard surfaced area as car parking in association with The Lodge and Leece Lodge Cottages and the re-opening of the southern access from the former road onto the A23. The creation of the car parking will involve the clearance of brambles, revealing the hard surfacing. The car parking spaces will be 6m long and 2.4m wide set at an angle to the line of the roadway and with a footway retained on the other side of the accessway. 23 spaces are shown as being provided.
2.2 Traffic would use the spaces by entering from the north and exiting onto the A23 at the southern end.
2.3 Following concerns raised by the Highways Authority, the applicant has submitted a further plan, reference 01A which illustrates more clearly the visibility delays available to drivers of vehicles leaving the site onto Braddan Road. These delays extend to 65m to the roundabout to the north west and 120m to the south east.
3.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Braddan Local Plan of 1991 as Open Space/ Agricultural. This plan was adopted prior to the construction of the hospital and as such neither the hospital nor the roundabout or new road layout are shown as they currently exist.
3.2 The Strategic Plan contains information and guidance on the road network and includes the following:
Transport Policy 4: The new and existing highways which serve any new development must be designed so as to be capable of accommodating the vehicle and pedestrian journeys generated by that development in a safe and appropriate manner and in accordance with the environmental objectives of this plan.
Transport Policy 6: In the design of new development and transport facilities the needs of pedestrians will be given similar weight to the needs of other road users.
4.1 As stated previously, planning permission was granted recently to the principle of the erection of a new building to the rear of 1 and 2, Leece Lodge Cottages to provide new accommodation for adults with learning disabilities. This proposal included the rationalisation of the parking within this general area and the creation of 8 additional car parking spaces (PA 13/91255). In that application, the need for the creation of some additional car parking spaces was acknowledged in view of certain instances of overspill car parking occurring on the A23 which can cause some inconvenience to other road users.
4.2 The roundabout was approved under PA 97/02069 and was implemented in accordance with that approval.
5.1 Braddan Commissioners express concern that this should have formed part of the previous applications for the uses and developments at Leece Lodge and are concerned at the visual and road safety implications of the proposal.
6.1 Whilst the Department has an interest in the application in terms of it relying upon land which is vested in the Department, it has no direct interest in the substance of the application itself and as such, it is considered appropriate for the planning officer's report to make some comments on the merits or otherwise of the proposal itself.
6.2 Whilst there is a presumption against development in line with the land use designation of the site as within an area of open space, the site is still shown on the Braddan Local Plan as public highway. It is also the case that the existing use of Leece Lodge Cottages and The Lodge generate a need for more parking spaces than are available on the site and whilst the recent approval in principle for a new building with additional parking spaces may not exacerbate this situation, it is unlikely to make the situation any better.
6.3 It is also relevant that the proposal will result in little immediate change to the visual appearance of the site. The clearance of bushes and shrubs and the multi-stemmed trees will be apparent to those using the footway as will the shared use of the route by vehicles as well as pedestrians. The existing footpath will be retained alongside the vehicular access and parking spaces, separating the pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
6.4 The issues in this case are whether the proposed works would result in an unacceptable visual change to the appearance and character of the footway and whether the proposal would be acceptable in highway safety terms - considering both the interface of pedestrians and motorists and also the safety of a new vehicular entrance onto the A23. The highway authority has now indicated that the provisions for visibility for drivers of vehicles emerging from the new access is acceptable as shown in the amended plans reference 01A. The changes to the site would be largely confined to being visible only from the footpath where existing vegetation will be cleared and parked and moving vehicles will be visible. However, the lack of parking available to users of the land in the vicinity is considered significant in going towards justifying this impact.
7.1 The local authority, Braddan Parish Commissioners are, by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, paragraph 6 (4) (e), considered "interested persons" and as such should be afforded party status.
7.2 The Highway Authority is granted interested party status under the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 paragraph 6 (4) d.
If the application is recommended for approval, the following conditions are considered appropriate:
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.
Reason: the ensure that vehicles using the parking spaces can exit safely and conveniently from the site.
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal O : Notes attached to refusals
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