Supporting Information Statement

Heritage Homes Ltd

Erection of 7 Detached Dwellings with Access Road, Drainage and Landscaping, Field 411570 and Access Leading Thereto, Between IoM Steam Railway Line and Dwellings of Erin Way and Erin Lane, Port Erin

Supporting Information

The site is an undeveloped area of approximately 1.1 acres on the southern side of Port Erin, immediately to the north of a recently developed residential estate and adjoining the southern side of the Isle of Man Steam Railway Line. The public open space/surface water attenuation area which serves the existing residential estate is located to the west of the site, with an access spur from Erin Way at the south west corner. The site is contiguous with agricultural land to the east, with this boundary presently being unmarked. The site itself slopes gently upwards from west to east and is currently used for agricultural purposes.

1. The site was previously the subject of PA 05/00910, which proposed a development of 8 dwellings and was refused after an appeal for the following reason:- "The proposed development does not provide adequate planting and landscaping along the north-eastern and south-eastern boundaries to mitigate the effect of the new housing upon nearby countryside areas. Furthermore, the provision of a house on Plot 8 would create an intrusive development that would be harmful to the appearance of the locality". The appeal Inspector also considered other matters raised by third parties to the application, most notably the principle of residential development and the suitability of the surface water drainage arrangements, and found them to be acceptable.

1. The revised scheme now proposed addresses the Inspector's concerns by removing plot 8 and re-arranging the dwellings so that a "Laurel" type (which has a single storey garage and a step up before the main roof) is on plot 7 and will not represent a visual intrusion beyond the existing dwellings of Erin Lane. The access road has been narrowed to a shared surface cul-de-sac and has been moved away from the railway line so as to allow for a belt of tree planting, with enhanced planting also to take place within the increased space at the south eastern boundary.

1. The layout and appearance of the previously proposed dwellings were considered by the appeal Inspector, and despite concern being voiced by third parties over two-storey dwellings being arranged in a linear form he concluded that "if the additional planting were provided along the north-eastern and south-eastern boundaries, I am satisfied sufficient mitigation would be provided to ensure the form and appearance of the proposed development would comply with adopted and emerging planning policies".

1. As stated above the appeal Inspector for the previous application considered evidence in respect of surface water drainage and concluded that the detention pond is not only designed to satisfactorily accommodate surface water from the existing residential estate but is also capable of accepting surface water from eight new dwellings (now seven) without compromising the ability of the detention pond "to provide proper and adequate storage provision". The rate of surface water drainage from the development will now be less than previously proposed because of the reduced area of hard surfacing.

1. In respect of public open space provision - which will be increased within the revised development - the Inspector concluded that use of the existing surface water detention basin as public open space would be "reasonable and safe", and that in any event a development of less than 10 dwellings such as that now proposed is not required to contribute any such space. A further set of steps can be added at the northern end of the basin as suggested by the Inspector.