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17/01084/B Page 1 of 3
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 17/01084/B Applicant : Department Of Home Affairs Proposal : Installation of 2 small three element uhf aerials, satellite dish and 2 vertical paging aerials on existing building Site Address : Fire And Rescue Station Castletown Road Port Erin Isle Of Man IM9 6BD
Case Officer : Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken : 02.11.2017 Site Visit : 02.11.2017 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 15.02.2018 __
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 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
C 2. If the antennae and aerials hereby approved are no longer required or used, they must be removed from the building and any external fabric made good.
Reason: the apparatus is being approved as it is needed in association with the provision of emergency services.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This decision relates to drawings 29, 30 and 31 all received on 13th October, 2017.
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
It is recommended that the following Government Departments should be given Interested Person Status on the basis that they have made written submissions relating to planning considerations:
The Director of Public Health
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17/01084/B Page 2 of 3
Officer’s Report
THE SITE 1.1 The site is the curtilage of the newly created Fire and Rescue headquarters, formed from the conversion of a former ambulance station, situated on the northern side of Castletown Road on the western side of the Four Roads roundabout.
1.2 The building on the site is set back by around 15m from the main road and is a mainly two storey building with bright red roller shutter doors which face south east and a more plain elevation facing the road, the closest part of the building being a hipped roofed, single storey extension. The building is finished in roughcast render. The front elevation (which faces south east) has a row of five square windows at first floor level with the other elevations being more plain.
1.3 To the north of the site is a doctors' surgery and to the north east is an elderly persons' complex. Immediately to the south east is White Rose Cottage beside which is The Smithy, a small stone building.
THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the affixing to the building of a series of telecommunications equipment: two 4m high antennae which are to be attached to the first floor of the elevation which faces north east. Also, two L-shaped antennae, like a traditional terrestrial television aerial, are to be fitted to the south eastern elevation just above the pedestrian door alongside the roller shutter doors. The equipment is to provide emergency service telecommunications and a replacement satellite dish in the same position as it currently is above the roller shutter doors, is to receive television signals.
PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Area Plan for the South (2013) as a building of civic, cultural or other use. The Strategic Plan contains guidance on the installation of new telecommunications infrastructure and the following policy is considered relevant to the consideration of the application:
Infrastructure Policy 3: A balance must be struck between the need for new, evolving communications systems to satisfy residential and business demand and the impact that the necessary infrastructure will have upon the environment. Measures which may help to achieve a satisfactory balance will include a presumption against visually intrusive masts in sensitive landscapes, the encouragement of mast sharing by different operators, and the removal of redundant infrastructure. Exceptions to this policy would need to demonstrate a strategic national need, which cannot be otherwise secured by mast sharing or alternative locations
3.2 It should be noted that in this case, the telecommunications systems are required to service an emergency service, not residential or business demands.
PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 The building was converted to its present use under 16/00115/B.
REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Highway Services indicate that they have no highway interest in the application (24.10.17).
5.2 Port St. Mary Commissioners have no objection (09.11.17).
5.3 The Director of Public Health was consulted to ensure that the proposed aerials did not result in any adverse impact on public health. Following discussion with the applicant, the DPH confirmed that the application includes a declaration of conformity with ICNIRP public exposure guidelines and as such does not represent any threat to population health, based upon best currently available evidence (15.02.18)
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17/01084/B Page 3 of 3
ASSESSMENT 6.1 The issues here are whether there are any adverse visual or other environmental impacts from the proposed installations and if so, if there are any reasons to over-ride these concerns.
6.2 The majority of the installations are not in full public view from the highway although will be visible to anyone visiting the doctors' surgery. The antennae are not substantial in height or size and will have a limited impact. This sort of equipment is generally to be expected around such a facility - for example the Douglas Fire Station has a lattice tower alongside. It is not considered that what is proposed here will have any adverse impact on the character or appearance of the area.
6.3 Similarly, given the size of the installations, it is not considered that there would be any significant environmental impact from the proposed works. The antennae will not be particularly close to nearby dwellings, the closest being a portion of the rear garden of Thornhill to the west but not immediately facing their garden area.
CONCLUSION 7.1 The application is supported.
INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 (Article 6(4), 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) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.
8.2 The decision-maker must determine:
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I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Head of Development Management in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.
Decision Made : Permitted Date : 19.02.2018 Determining officer
Signed : S BUTLER
Stephen Butler
Head of Development Management
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