Officer Report

Application No.: 15/00294/B Applicant: Mr Geoffrey Rimmer Proposal: Installation of a flue to dwelling Site Address: Sonnish Ny Marrey 55 Queen Street Castletown Isle of Man IM9 1PA Case Officer : Miss S E Corlett Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation

Officer’s Report THE SITE

1.1 The site is the residential curtilage of an existing terraced dwelling which sits on the beach side of Queen Street. The dwelling has to its right (east) Castletown Silver Band's premises and to the west is 57, Queen Street, a larger dwelling with a lean-to extension on the western side. The application property has a projecting flat roofed annex at the rear which projects beyond the rear elevation of the dwelling and the band's premises by almost 5m. THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed is the installation of a stainless steel flue at the back of the property, emerging from the flat roof close to the main back wall of the property up to a height of 5.9m above ground level, 1.3m above eaves level. The flue will be 200mm wide. PLANNING STATUS AND POLICY - 3.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Area Plan for the South adopted in 2013 as Predominantly Residential. The site also lies within Castletown's Conservation Area.

3.2 As such the following Strategic Plan policies are considered relevant:

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 space 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" and

Environment Policy 35 states "Within Conservation Areas, the Department will permit only development which would preserve or enhance the character of appearance of the area, and will ensure that the special features contributing to the character and quality are protected against inappropriate development."

PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 Planning approval has been granted for a replacement extension at the rear under PA 13/91087/B and earlier permission was granted for the erection of a wall at the rear under PA

02/01110/B. A certificate of lawful development was granted under PA 12/00737/LAW for the installation of replacement windows.

REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Castletown Town Commissioners indicate that they do not oppose the application (08.04.15). ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The critical issues in this case are the impact on the amenities of those in adjacent property and the visual impact of the flue.

6.2 There are environmental health and building regulation controls over the emissions from such installations and as such it is not likely that there will be odour or noise issues arising from the proposed flue. It is relevant in this case that the property closest is used for practising of the playing of musical instruments, rather than a residential property. As such it is not considered that there will be any adverse impact on the amenities of those in nearby properties such as to warrant refusal of the application. - 6.3 The visual impact will be appreciated only by those walking along the beach and it is relevant that this streetscene is much more changed and less traditional and unspoiled than the front elevation of these Queen Street properties. Already there is a flat roofed extension and the neighbouring property has a first floor balcony, all detracting from the traditional mass and profile of the properties. There are also flat roofed dormers on other properties further towards the town centre, all compromising the character and appearance of the rears of the properties. As such, it is not considered that the character of the area would be damaged by the installation of the flue such as to warrant its refusal, even considering that the property lies within a Conservation Area. - 6.4 The application 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) The Highways Division of the Department; and
• (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation:

14.04.2015

Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal

C : Conditions for approval

• N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal

O : Notes attached to refusals

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This approval relates to the drawings and information all received on 13th March, 2015.

I confirm that this decision accords with the appropriate Government Circular delegating functions to Director of Planning and Building Control /Head of Development Management/ Senior Planning Officer.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 27.04.2015 Determining officer (delete as appropriate) Signed :…………………………………….. Chris Balmer Senior Planning Officer Signed :…………………………………….. Sarah Corlett Senior Planning Officer Signed :…………………………………….. Michael Gallagher Director of Planning and Building Control Signed : Jennifer Chance Jennifer Chance Head of Development Management