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18/00127/B Page 1 of 8
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 18/00127/B Applicant : Ballasalla Place Ltd Proposal : Conversion from storage use to a dog grooming business and store Site Address : Unit 22 Block D Balthane Industrial Estate Balthane Ballasalla Isle of Man IM9 2AX
Case Officer : Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken :
Site Visit :
Expected Decision Level : Planning Committee
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 20.03.2018 __
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. Retail sales from the premises must remain ancillary to the primary use of the building as a dog grooming business and goods to be sold must be restricted to goods relating to dogs and cats.
Reason: To safeguard the amenities of occupiers of adjoining buildings and to maintain the vitality and viability of Castletown Town Centre and other major town centres in the south of the Island.
C 3. Dog grooming may take place only on a pre-arranged appointment basis.
Reason: To ensure that the demand for car parking is managed such that there is no adverse impact on highway safety in the vicinity.
C 4. The business may be operated only with one member of staff undertaking the dog grooming at any one time.
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Reason: To ensure that there is sufficient car parking available to accommodate the demand generated.
C 5. The site may only be used for the purposes of dog grooming, associated retail sales subject to condition 2 above, and storage, all in the manner shown in drawing 3B and where the storage is associated with the persons undertaking the dog grooming business.
Reason: To ensure that there is adequate car parking available to accommodate the vehicles generated by the proposed use.
Plans/Drawings/Information:
This approval relates to drawings 1, 2 and 3B all received on 8th February, 2018.
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
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Officer’s Report
THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE PROPOSALS IN THAT IS CONSIDERED TO BE CONTRARY TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
THE SITE 1.1 The site is an end unit in a relatively new development of industrial units on the north eastern side of the Balthane estate road. It has a footprint of just under 10m by 9m and with two parking spaces alongside. The block of units is complete although building works on subsequent phases to the north east is on-going.
THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the internal subdivision of the unit into a dog grooming facility incorporating a sales counter, bathing facilities, sinks and a bathroom which will also accommodate commercial washing and drying machines. This will take up 29.25 sq m. The remainder of the space - 55 sq m at ground floor level and 38.7sq m at mezzanine level will be used for storage. There is no access to the mezzanine area and the applicant's agent has clarified that the storage is not connected to the business. The applicant intends to operate a small area for retail sales of dog grooming and care related goods and may also dispatch products from the premises by mail order. They describe the business as by appointment only with a maximum of 3 dogs at any one time and with owners dropping their animals off so no permanent parking is required. The business is already operating from Balthane at Unit 11, Harmat Court, approved under 14/01382/B.
2.2 The only external changes are the installation of a pedestrian door on the front elevation. This is shown as having vinyl advertising on the front which is considered the accord with the Advertisements Regulations 2012, Class 2 Schedule 3.
2.3 The applicant's agent further clarifies that the single member of staff will park within the building if required and that the three dogs referred to above are where an owner has three dogs but only one would be groomed at any one time, the other two waiting. He suggests that the current proposal is the same as that approved under 14/01382/B. That unit was smaller at 8m by 6m. That approval was granted subject, inter alia, to a condition which required that "Retail sales from the premises must remain ancillary to the primary use of the building as a
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dog grooming business and goods to be sold must be restricted to goods relating to dogs and cats."
2.4 He goes on to explain that the appointment system rarely results in overlap of appointments so only one customer parking space is necessary. If there is to be an overlap, the applicant has indicated that they will park temporarily in front of the storage unit or within it.
PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The site is designated on the Area Plan for the South as Industrial. The proposed use involves a mix of uses, including a retail sales counter which results in the application being for a development which does not comply with the prevailing land use designation. Other dog grooming facilities have been approved within areas designated for industrial use, such as 16/00911/C in Snugborough Trading Estate, Braddan as well as 14/01382/B for this applicant and this business elsewhere in Balthane industrial estate and in addition dog grooming has been approved within retail and residential areas (16/00817/C and 17/00695/C). The policy approach is clearly that, subject to the particulars of the applications, this use can be satisfactorily accommodated in a range of different locations without adverse impact.
3.2 The proposal results in little external change and as such, the critical Strategic Plan policy is GP2h and i which deal with car parking and highway safety and this is further clarified as follows:
"9.2.7 Where industrial development is proposed, it is essential that all parking and manoeuvring by vehicles which will be generated by the use of the site can be accommodated within the site and off the highway. This is particularly important within industrial estates where lack of parking and manoeuvring space can create significant difficulties for other estate users, particularly where the use of large and articulated vehicles is involved. Where mezzanine levels are proposed after a building has been completed, the Department may require more parking space to accommodate the additional traffic which would be generated."
3.3 "Transport Policy 7: The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards."
3.4 Appendix 7 "It is essential therefore that any applications for industrial development can demonstrate that there is sufficient off street parking provided within the application. A general policy of one space per 50 square metres of nett will be required with additional space for manoeuvring where larger vehicles may be using the site, although an increased standard may be needed for uses which generate a high level of traffic, including light industrial and research and development businesses. Storage and distribution is generally less labour intensive and will require one space per 100 square metres. Where mezzanine levels are proposed after the buildings have been completed, the Department may require additional car parking if additional levels of use would result from the additional space proposed."
3.5 Parking standards are set out in Appendix 7 as follows for industrial development:
Light industrial, research and development 1 space per 30 square metres nett floor space. General industrial 1 space per 50 square metres gross floor space. Storage and distribution 1 space per 100 square metres gross floor space
3.5 The Strategic Plan contains a number of policies on retail use, the following of which are considered relevant:
Business Policy 1: The growth of employment opportunities throughout the Island will be encouraged provided that development proposals accord with the policies of this Plan.
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Business Policy 5: On land zoned for industrial use, permission will be given only for industrial development or for storage and distribution; retailing will not be permitted except where either:
(a) the items to be sold could not reasonably be sold from a town centre location because of their size or nature; or (b) the items to be sold are produced on the site and their sale could not reasonably be severed from the overall business;
and, in respect of (a) or (b), where it can be demonstrated that the sales would not detract from the vitality and viability of the appropriate town centre shopping area.
Business Policy 9: The Department will support new retail provision in existing retail areas at a scale appropriate to the existing area and which will not have an adverse effect on adjacent retail areas. Major retail development proposals will require to be supported by a Retail Impact Assessment(1).
(1) Retail Impact Assessment is defined in Appendix1.
Business Policy 10: Retail development will be permitted only in established town and village centres, with the exceptions of neighbourhood shops in large residential areas and those instances identified in Business Policy 5.
PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 Planning approval was granted for the building under 17/00325/B a rearrangement of an earlier approval for units - 12/00062/B.
4.2 14/01382/B was approved subject to the following conditions:
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.
Retail sales from the premises must remain ancillary to the primary use of the building as a dog grooming business and goods to be sold must be restricted to goods relating to dogs and cats.
Reason: To safeguard the amenities of occupiers of adjoining buildings and to maintain the vitality and viability of Castletown Town Centre and other major town centres in the south of the Island.
No approval is hereby granted to the erection of signage as such is regulated by the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013. An application for Express Consent for the signage should be made under these provisions prior to the erection.
Reason: Advertisements are regulated by the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013 and require Express Consent.
REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Malew Parish Commissioners have no objection (08.03.18).
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5.2 Department of Infrastructure Highway Services initially sought a deferral, stating the following:
The proposal is to covert the existing storage unit into a dog grooming business and store. Access to the site from the adjacent road would be unchanged.
The 14/01382/B planning approval referred to by the applicant was for a different location on Harmat Court, albeit on the same industrial estate, and is therefore not considered to be relevant to this application.
The total floorspace of the unit is 93sqm. 55sqm of floorspace would be for storage and the remaining 38sqm for the dog grooming business. The application states that a 4sqm area of the dog grooming floorspace would be for retail sales of dog grooming/care related goods. The applicant has also mentioned that the mezzanine area would only be used for maintenance purposes. A planning condition for any future planning permission would therefore be needed to ensure that the mezzanine could not be used for future expansion of the business as this would generate additional traffic and parking demand which would need to be assessed as part of a separate planning application.
There are no specific parking standards in 'The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016' for the proposed use and therefore the site parking demand needs to be determined by Highway Services. There are 2 car parking spaces adjacent to the site dedicated for use by the unit. No other parking facilities exist to serve the unit and there is no room to provide any additional parking. However, the applicant has stated that the staff member could park inside the building. If this is a firm proposal then it needs to be shown on a revised site plan and secured via a planning condition to ensure that adequate parking is permanently available on the site.
The application states that the dog grooming business would be by appointment only and there will be one permanent member of staff. A planning condition would be required to limit the business to one staff member only unless additional parking is to be provided within the building for each extra staff member and shown on a revised site plan.
The facility would operate 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday. It is anticipated that some or all customers would park on the site while their dogs are being groomed as this is typical of this type of facility. It is therefore not accepted that only drop-off and pick-up parking would be required for customers. Depending on the parking requirements for staff as described above, at least 2 parking spaces would be required for customers for each member of staff on site. This would allow one client to be present on the site with the next client waiting for the following appointment. However, the proposed level of customer parking could be reduced to one customer parking space per staff member if the applicant would accept a planning condition for there to be a gap between appointments of at least 15 minutes and preferably 30 minutes. This would avoid 2 customers being on site at the same time and both requiring parking.
The application mentions that the products for sale may also be dispatched from the site by mail order. This would require at least one extra parking space of suitable size for the type of delivery vehicle to be used, otherwise this element of the proposal would be unacceptable due to the additional parking demand that would be created. A planning condition may be needed to restrict the number and size of delivery vehicles depending on the extent of this part of the business and its potential for future growth which could significantly increase traffic and parking demand.
Highway Services requests that this application is deferred to allow the applicant to consider the above.
Recommendation: DEFER
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5.3 Following further discussion with the applicant, Highways no longer object to the application, commenting as follows:
Highway Comments: Following the previous highway response dated 28/02/18, the applicant has provided further information to clarify the highway issues raised.
The applicant has stated that the mezzanine above the grooming area will only be used to accommodate any heating/ventilation plant and there would be no stair access to it. This is acceptable to Highway Services provided that a planning condition is applied to any future planning permission to prevent the mezzanine being used for any future expansion of the business as this would generate additional traffic and parking demand.
The applicant has confirmed that there will be one member of staff for the dog grooming business and the storage area will only be used to store the owner/applicants private property and will not be staffed. A planning condition is therefore required to limit the business to one staff member only to limit the site parking demand.
The applicant has clarified that a single dog will be treated at a time and most will be dropped off and picked up following treatment. All dogs are to be treated on an appointment only basis and each treatment generally has a predicted time allowance so any overlap between customers is minimised. If the first parking space was for use by the staff member, customers would park in the second dedicated parking space. If there is any overlap between drop off and pick up times then the second customer arriving at the site could park in front of sectional doors into the storage area.
This is only acceptable to Highway Services if no delivery vehicle access is required to the storage area at any time which would be obstructed by the customer vehicle. This will not always be the case as the applicant has confirmed that there will be a mail order element of the grooming business, even though a low volume of business is anticipated and some orders will be despatched by post or the staff member. It is possible that customers could visit the site separately to purchase an item without bringing a dog for treatment in which case a third customer parking space would be required to accommodate these customer vehicles. The applicant has confirmed that no commercial/delivery vehicles would be required.
In order to ensure that the site parking provision is adequate, the staff member should park inside the building leaving the 2 dedicated spaces and the area in front of the doors available for customer parking. A planning condition is therefore needed for the applicant to submit a revised site plan showing these 4 spaces, including the staff space inside the building, so sufficient parking provision is made permanently available to serve the development.
A planning condition should also be provided for there to be an appointment based system only for dog grooming to avoid customers turning up and waiting on the site which would increase the parking demand to more than the site provision. Highway Services does not oppose this application subject to the planning conditions described above and listed below, to ensure that sufficient site parking provision is made permanently available to serve the development.
To prevent the mezzanine being used for any future expansion of the business.
To limit the business to one staff member only.
To submit a revised site plan showing 4 car parking spaces, including a staff space inside the building.
For there to be an appointment based system only for dog grooming.
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NOTE: If the business is to be relocated then the applicant should consider providing evidence in the form of appointment records and a car parking survey to demonstrate that 2 car parking spaces is adequate (15/03/18).
ASSESSMENT 6.1 The principle of the use in an industrial area is clearly acceptable, given the other applications which have been approved in such areas and particularly that for the site elsewhere in Balthane. This unit is little different, other than being larger, than the other site which also had two parking spaces available to it. The larger size however could clearly give rise to more customers and a situation where the available parking is insufficient to accommodate the vehicles generated by the use.
6.2 The application is considered to be unobjectionable subject to some of the controls suggested by Highway Services by way of planning conditions. The temporary parking of vehicles in front of the storage unit is not an issue provided that the storage unit is operated by the same person operating the dog grooming business and it is not considered necessary to require a further plan to demonstrate the parking although a condition requiring that the whole site may be used by one user may be useful to overcome potential parking issues. The condition regarding retail sales, as applied to 14/01382/B should also be applied.
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 confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the appropriate delegated authority.
Decision Made : Permitted
Committee Meeting Date: 26.03.2018
Signed : S Corlett Presenting Officer
Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph to the officer report).
YES/NO
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Customer note
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