DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 21/00212/B Applicant: Mr Dennis & Mrs Pamela Brownlow Proposal: Creation of first floor balcony and roof canopy over rear patio Site Address: The Old Vicarage Lonan Church Road Laxey Isle Of Man IM4 7JX Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 12.05.2021 _________________________________________________________________

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 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposal is considered to comply with Housing Policy 15 and 16 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and therefore acceptable.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 2nd March 2021:

• o Drawing No.1
• o Drawing No.2
• o Drawing No.3 _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

It is considered that the following Government Department should be afforded Interested Person Status as they have raised material consideration in their representations in accordance with Article 4(2):

DOI Flood Risk Management Division _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is within the residential curtilage of The Old Vicarage, Lonan Church Road, Laxey which is a large property which is mostly single storey with the main dwelling being two storeys high, situated within its own grounds. - 1.2 When looking at the property as a whole it can be seen that the main dwelling (the two storey part) is traditional in its appearance and that several non-traditional extensions have been done over time. - 1.3 The property is situated to the South-West of Lonan Church Road directly opposite Lonan Church and graveyard. Apart from Lonan Church the closest residential neighbours to the property are situated to the South-East and are the properties situated within Church Close which is around 282m property to property. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The proposed works can be split into two parts firstly the erection of new metal balcony measuring approximately 3.4m from ground floor level, with a width of 1.524m and railings measuring 1.1m. - 2.2 Secondly there is a proposed lean-to roof canopy measuring 4.4m by 1.77m with an approximate height of 1.9m. PLANNING HISTORY - 3. The application site, and dwelling contained within it, has been the subject of a number of previous planning applications that granted approval to alter and extend the main dwelling, which has resulted in the current form of the dwelling. None of these previous application are relevant to the proposed works. PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "Not zoned for a particular purpose" on the Area Plan for the East, Map 7 -Laxey. The site is not within a Conservation Area, nor a Flood Zone.

4.2 In terms of the Strategic Plan (2016), paragraph 8.12.2 states, "As there is a general policy against development in the Island's countryside, it is important that where development exists, either in an historic or recently approved form, it should not, when altered or extended detract from the amenities of the countryside". - 4.3 The key policies for this application are Housing Policy 15 due to the traditional elements of the property, which states (in full), "The extension or alteration of existing traditionally styled properties in the countryside will normally only be approved where these respect the proportion, form and appearance of the existing property. Only exceptionally will permission be granted for extensions which measure more than 50% of the existing building in terms of floor space (measured externally)" and Housing Policy 16 due to the non-traditional parts of the property, which states (in full), "The extension of non-traditional dwellings or those of poor or inappropriate form will not generally be permitted where this would increase the impact of the building as viewed by the public." - 4.4 There are a number of other relevant policies, as summarised below.

• - General Policy 2 sets out general 'Development Control' considerations which are arguably relevant even where a proposal is not in accordance with the land-use designation including design (respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them), wider impact (the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality) and parking/access/highway safety.

• - General Policy 3 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 indicates development will not be permitted outside of those areas which are zoned for development on the appropriate Area Plan other than a number of stated exceptions, which do not include the extension of existing dwellings.
• - Environment Policy 1 seeks to prevent development which would adversely affect the side other than in exceptional circumstances.

REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Highway Services have considered the application and state, "No Highways Interest." (19.03.21)

5.2 DOI Flood Risk Management Division have considered the application and state, "No Flood Risk Management Interest." (13.04.21) - 5.3 No comments have been received from Garff Commissioners at the time of writing this report.

ASSESSMENT

6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are:

• - principle of development (GP3, EP1, HP16)
• - character and appearance (GP2, HP16)
• - Neighbouring Amenity (GP2)

- 6.2 PRINCIPLE

• 6.2.1 The site is not designated for development, nor does it meet the expectation criteria in EP3. However, HP16 and its supporting text clearly allows for residential extensions in the countryside where they would not detract from the countryside which, in this case of the extension of traditional/ non tradition dwellings where there would not be a substantial increase in terms of floor area (over 50%) nor where the proposed works would increase the impact of the building as viewed by the public.
• 6.2.2 Whilst the property in large can be seen from the main road (Lonan Church Road) due to its location directly along the roadside adjacent to Lonan Church. Whilst this is the case both of the proposed works are shielded by the main dwelling when directly in front of the property and whilst views could be seen from further down the road these will not be noticeable due to their overall size.
• 6.3 CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE

• 6.3.1 The proposed works as stated above can only be seen from a public vantage point at a distance due to where they are located on the property, as such the character and appearance of the area should not be impacted by the works.
• 6.3.2 The proposed property whilst originally traditional in form has over time had several nontraditional extensions and elements attached to it. The proposed works are not traditional in nature. The balcony whilst attached to the main traditional form should not detract the main property from its traditional form and the proposed canopy is attached to a non-traditional extension. As such the proposed works should not impact the character and appearance of the dwelling.

- 6.4 NEIGHBOURING AMENITY

• 6.4.1 With regards to neighbouring amenity, as stated in part 1 of this report, the closest residential neighbours are to the South-East of the property at a distance of around 282m. Whilst there is a church which is situated to the East of the property this is around 65m away.

• 6.4.2 It is not considered that there are any concerns in relation to the impact on neighbouring properties including the church in terms of loss of outlook or overlooking that would justify a refusal.

CONCLUSION

7.1 For the above reasons the proposal is considered to comply with Housing Policy 15 and 16 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and therefore acceptable. INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• (a) the applicant (including an agent acting on their behalf);
• (b) any Government Department that has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (c) the Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure;
• (d) Manx National Heritage where it has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (e) Manx Utilities where it has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (f) the local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated; and
• (g) a local authority adjoining the authority referred to in paragraph (f) where that adjoining authority has made written representations that the Department considers material. 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 above 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 and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 12.05.2021 Determining officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner

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