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The site represents an undeveloped parcel of land which lies to the rear of Westham and Westham Cottage which front onto Arbory Road. The site is separated from these properties by another undeveloped parcel of land. Access to the site is from Arbory Road, to the north west of The Vicarage. To the south east of the application site is a group of relatively new detached dwellings - 1 to 4 inclusive, Westham Lea.
The site lies within an area designated on the 1991 Castletown Local Plan as Woodland. The 2001 draft Castletown Area Plan reconsidered the development potential of development in this area - including land to the rear of The Crofts which is accessed from The Crofts - and recommended that the site was suitable for the erection of a single dwelling subject to access being provided from Arbory Road via the existing shared access, the retention of all existing mature and healthy trees with space for their growth and prior to the submission of any application the advice of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry must be sought in respect of bats and their roosts.
The following applications have been submitted in respect of this site:
Proposed now is the erection of a dwelling with attached garage. A tree survey included with the application shows that one tree will be removed - not a mature tree, to the west of the property.
The dwelling is a hipped roofed, stone fronted house with hipped roof garage on the eastern elevation and matching sun room on the western gable. The property has a substantial porte cochere on the front and conservatory on the rear. The windows are to be vertically proportioned wooden framed windows. The existing access drive is to be widened slightly and paved.
The Fire Prevention Officer requests the installation of smoke detection which is dealt with as part of the Building Regulations and which is not a material planning consideration and should not be referred to in the planning decision notice.
The Isle of Man Water Authority raise issues associated with the provision of a water supply and which is not a material planning consideration and should not be referred to in the planning decision notice.
A resident of Port Soderick points out that the reason for refusal given in the previous application still applies although he is aware of other sites which have been given permission where they were designated for development in the draft Area Plan and perhaps an exception should also be made here.
The Department of Transport Highways and Traffic Division raises no objection to this application.
The point raised by the resident of Port Soderick is relevant and a particularly appropriate comparison is an application for the development of Gardenfield, a detached property set in substantial grounds, alongside Malew Football Club, off Malew Road. In this application, which was refused on appeal, the Inspector notes that the draft Area Plan was in the process of preparation and the extant Local Plan was of a considerable age and recommended that the principle of development was acceptable (see attached). PA 02/2133 sought approval in principle for the principle of two dwellings on the site and was refused on appeal for reasons relating to access. The Inspector commented that "significant weight should be given to the proposal to designate the land for two dwellings" on the basis of the
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stage of the draft plan and rejected a claim that the proposal was premature as the plan had not been adopted. He recommended that the application be refused on the grounds that the access onto Malew Road was inadequate and incapable of improvement without significant additional changes.
PA 04/0349 proposed the principle of two residential plots on the Gardenfield site with access onto the By-pass. Again, the Inspector notes the emerging draft Area plan and notes that "some 13 years has elapsed since this plan was adopted and therefore its importance has diminished with the passage of time and changing circumstance. The emerging plan for Castletown states that two single storey dwellings may be accommodated on the site outside the public safety zone but this is predicated on improvement of the access and onto Malew Road" (paragraph 18). He then goes on to recommend refusal on the grounds that the proposed access was not acceptable. He noted that the Planning Committee's grounds for refusal did not include any reference to prematurity. This site has subsequently been the subject of a successful full detailed application for two dwellings.
The present application site is not visible by the public - the dwellings on the Gardenfield site would be, although not particularly prominent and the current application site does not suffer from difficulties of access which the Gardenfield site did although they have now been overcome through works to the junction of the access lane with Malew Road. The proposed site in this case would also comply with the requirements of the Strategic Plan to provide better use of unused land (Strategic Policy 1a) and the efficient use of sites (Strategic Policy 1b) and would be sited so as to be able to utilise existing infrastructure, facilities and services (Strategic Policy 1c). The development would be sited within an established town (Strategic Policy 2 and Spatial Policy 5) and the proposal would have regard to local character and design through looking to Westham for design guidance, thus complying with Strategic Policy 3b. The site is sustainable and would also comply with all of the requirements of General Policy 2 if one assumes that the designation of the draft Castletown Plan is applicable and that there is no detrimental impact on bats.
Whilst there is protection in the Strategic Plan, Environment Policy 3 of established woodland, in this case there is no evidence to suggest that the existing woodland will be adversely affected.
The applicant has indicated that a bat survey has been carried out on the site by the Manx Bat Group which indicates that there is no record of a bat roost ever having been reported on the site. However one of the trees is suitable for a winter roost site and bats were observed feeding within the site during their visit. The MBG recommend that the construction of a dwelling on the site will reduce the value of the site for bats through the possible reduction in grass and weed coverage and thus resultant reduction in the amount of insects on which the bats may feed. They recommend that tree felling is kept to a minimum which is indicated on the plans, that any lighting is low intensity, planting should be undertaken which encourages insects and that ivy growth on wailing should be tolerated unless it threatens structural integrity.
On balance, as the MBG do not indicate that the habitat would be completely lost or irreparably damaged, and as the site is a sustainable one which is indicated as being suitable for development on the draft Castletown Plan, the proposal is recommended for approval.
The Department of Transport and the local authority are, by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, paragraph 6 (5) (c) and (d), considered "interested persons" and as such should be afforded party status.
The resident of Port Soderick is not directly affected and as such should not be afforded party status in this instance.
The Isle of Man Water Authority raise issues associated with the provision of a water supply, which are not material planning considerations and as such the Water Authority should not be afforded party status in this instance.
The Fire Prevention Officer requests the installation of smoke detection which is dealt with as part of the Building Regulations and as such is not a planning matter. The Fire Prevention Officer should not be afforded party status in this instance.
Recommendation
Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 06.08.2008 Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal
C 1. The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.
C 2. This permission relates to the erection of a dwelling as shown in drawings SC1065/P/J/00-01, -10-01, -10-02, -10-03 and -10-04 all received on 28th May, 2008.
C 3. Prior to the commencement of any works on site, the applicant must protect all existing trees on site which are marked on plans SC1065/P/00-01 and SC1065/P/10-01 to be retained, by means for the duration of the development of a stout fence erected beneath the drip line of the trees closest to the proposed dwelling and works associated therewith and thereafter the protected area must remain free from stored material and parked vehicles and no building or excavation works may be carried out within such area.
N 1. In order to limit change and damage to the ecological interest of the site, principally for bats, the applicant/occupant is encouraged to introduce flowers and plants which attract insects and for any lighting to be low level and low intensity.
I confirm that this decision accords with Government Circular No 44/05 (Delegation of Functions to Director of Planning and Building Control)
Decision Made : Permitted Date :
Signed : M. I. McCauley Director of Planning and Building Control
6 August 2008 08/01079/B Page 4 of 4
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