DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 21/00635/B Applicant: Mr Michael Barron Proposal: Alterations and erection of a replacement front porch Site Address: Brookfield Bank Main Road Foxdale Isle Of Man IM4 3EB Planning Officer: Mr Nick Salt Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 22.07.2021 _________________________________________________________________

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 be in accordance with Environment Policy 1, Housing Policy 16 and General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 in that no unacceptable visual or other impacts were identified.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the following plans and drawings, received 20.05.21: Location/Site Plan B19D21 - Proposed Plans and Elevations _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

- 1.0 THE SITE

Officer’s Report

1.1 The site is the residential curtilage of an existing dwelling known as Brookfield Bank, on the west side of the A3 main road to the north of Foxdale. The dwelling is an older two-storey cottage style dwelling typical of the Island, which has been extensively altered to the rear and front - including a upvc front porch.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed is the replacement of the upvc front porch with a slightly larger stone-faced porch. The new porch would be flat roofed as per the existing but with a stone-faced finish and a reduction in glazing. It would represent an increased footprint of under 1m square metre.

3.0 PLANNING POLICY - 3.1 The site falls within an area not zoned for any particular purpose and considered open space within the Foxdale Local Plan 1999. This plan also shows the site as being adjacent to a Nature Conservation Zone. - 3.2 Environment Policy 1 seeks to protect the countryside for its own sake, development therein should not have an adverse impact. - 3.3 Housing Policy 15 is specifically relevant to the extension of existing dwellings in the countryside, which are considered traditional. Such extensions must 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). - 3.4 Housing Policy 16 relates to extensions to non-traditional dwellings in the countryside. Any extension to such will not generally be permitted where this would increase the impact of the building as viewed by the public. - 3.5 Whilst the site is not in an area designated for development, General Policy 2 is still considered relevant in that it relates to matters around design and amenity. - 3.6 Whilst not adopted planning policy, DEFA's Residential Design Guidance is a material consideration in the assessment of this application. Planning Circular 3/91 provides a guide to development in the Manx countryside.

4.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 05/01741/B granted planning approval for the existing upvc porch. The application file provides details including the preference of the case officer at the time to have a porch which was more in keeping with the dwelling and the wider rural area.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 DOI Highways have confirmed that they have no highways interest this application (14.06.21). - 5.2 Patrick Parish Commissioners do not object to the application.

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The key considerations in the assessment of this planning application are:

• - The principle of the development; and
• - the visual impact on the character and appearance of the site and wider surroundings

6.2 Principle of Development

• 6.2.1 The application site is outside of any development boundary and is considered to be within the open countryside. There is therefore a general presumption against development. Housing Policy 15 allows for the extension of traditionally styled properties in the countryside

• where these are sympathetic to the original dwelling. For non-traditional dwellings, Housing Policy 16 seeks to restrict extensions where this would increase the impact of the building as viewed by the public.
• 6.2.2 The dwelling has been altered substantially and is not considered to be a well-preserved example of vernacular architecture. This is partly due to the upvc front porch. As a result, when taken as a whole and despite the retained original 'core' and form of the dwelling, it is not considered to be a traditional dwelling for the purposes of this assessment. For this reason, Housing Policy 16 applies in the assessment of this application. Nevertheless, given the scale and design of the proposal, it would be equally acceptable if assessed against Housing Policy 15.
• 6.2.3 The acceptability of the development is therefore determined via an assessment of the proposed design and of any impacts on the character of the site and wider area.

6.3 Design and Appearance

• 6.3.1 As noted above, Housing Policy 16 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 requires that development proposals to extend or alter non-traditional dwellings or those of poor or inappropriate form in the countryside will not generally be permitted where this would increase the impact of the building as viewed by the public. General Policy 2 also seeks to ensure that development respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them and does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape.
• 6.3.2 The Residential Design Guidance notes that generally, pitch roofs are the preferred roof type compared to flat roofs which are generally inappropriate forms of development, especially if publicly viewable, unless the existing property has a flat/low pitched roof design. Planning Circular 3/91 seeks to encourage traditional design and materiality when extending traditional dwellings.
• 6.3.3 The front porch as existing is readily visible from the adjacent road as the dwelling sits right next to, and slightly above, the road. The replacement porch would be equally visible. As noted, the existing upvc porch does not contribute positively to the character or appearance of the dwelling or the wider streetscape. It's replacement with a stone-clad porch with slightly larger scale would better reflect the rural setting of the dwelling. It would remain subordinate in appearance to the main dwelling.
• 6.3.4 Overall, the proposed replacement porch would not increase the scale of the dwelling in a way which would be unsympathetic to the surrounding rural context and is considered likely to have a neutral or modestly positive visual improvement. It is not considered that there would be any loss of or harm to rural heritage given the existing context. In this regard, the proposal is considered to be in accordance with Strategic Plan policies EP1, GP2 and HP16.

7.0 CONCLUSION - 7.1 In summary, the proposal is considered to accord with Environment Policy 1, Housing Policy 16 and General Policy 2 of the IOM Strategic Plan. No unacceptable adverse impact has been identified as likely with respect of the character and appearance of the surrounding landscape.

8.0 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: 22.07.2021 Determining officer Signed : J SINGLETON Jason Singleton Principal Planner

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