107772

==== PAGE 1 ====

                                      18/00534/B                                     Page  1  of  5

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 18/00534/B Applicant : Port St Mary Commissioners Proposal : Installation of replacement windows Site Address : Manxonia House Bay View Road Port St. Mary Isle of Man IM9 5AE

Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken : 23.11.2017 Site Visit : 23.11.2017 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 13.07.2018 __

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. This approval relates only to replacement windows which are framed either all in timber or all in white coloured uPVC. No approval is granted to a mix of frame materials or for any of the frames to be finished in rosewood uPVC.

Note: It is recommended that timber frames are painted rather than stained in a natural timber finish.

Reason: The site lies within a proposed Conservation Area and the colour and material of the frames is considered to be an integral part of the character of the building.

Plans/Drawings/Information:

This decision relates to the replacement of the existing windows with new windows framed in either white uPVC or timber, as shown in drawings pa 00, pa01, ad(20)01a, pa02 all received on 21st May 2018.

__

==== PAGE 2 ====

                                      18/00534/B                                     Page  2  of  5

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

none __

Officer’s Report

THE SITE 1.1 The site is the curtilage of Manxonia House, an existing building located on the corner of Bay View Road and The Promenade in the heart of Port St. Mary. The site has two further buildings physically attached to it - Overcliffe to the north west and Beach House to the south. To the north east of the site is the Port St. Mary Town Hall. Opposite the site are local shops and a restaurant.

1.2 The site has around 4 off street parking spaces available to it off the Promenade.

1.3 The building is an attractive stone faced structure which has two storey elements, roof accommodation and single storey annexes. The buildings attached to it are of a similar character and the whole ensemble has a church-like appearance. The last use of the ground floor of the corner unit was a shop with offices on the two floors of accommodation alongside with living accommodation above the shop unit. There are four pedestrian entrances into the building.

1.4 The building is presently vacant and has recently been acquired by Port St. Mary Commissioners.

1.5 The building contains a mix of window types - some fixed lights, some opening casements, some single lights, others with mullions and transoms. Most of the windows are timber framed, two are framed in uPVC. All frames are currently white whereas the front windows in Beach House are framed in a dark brown finish.

THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the replacement of existing windows throughout the building. Planning permission was granted recently for this but where the new windows would be in hardwood frames. What is proposed now is the same style of glazing but with frames in either hardwood or uPVC and in the case of the latter, where this has either a white or rosewood effect.

2.2 The window changes are as follows:

• window A is a small top opening casement on the southern elevation of the projecting gable at the northern end of the site, to be replaced with a single side hung opening light;
• window B is the window above the shop front at front of the northern gable, which is presently subdivided into a top third bottom two thirds fixed lights and is to be replaced with two top third lights subdivided into four small panes, and two lower single lights with the right hand side windows opening casements
• window C is a square shaped opening in the Promenade elevation at first floor level and currently has two top quarter lights side by side and a lower fixed light which are to be replaced by a three part windows with four smaller panes in all three top thirds and with the central elements opening
• window D is a small light on the side of the Promenade main gable and currently has a top and bottom light and this is to be replaced with a single light
• window E sits further along the elevation of window D and is a taller window of similar appearance and is to be replaced with a window subdivided into four - two small top quarter lights which open and two fixed lights below, side by side
• window F is a small semi circular light set back into a pitched roofed dormer further back in the gable of window E and is to be replaced to match the existing

==== PAGE 3 ====

                                      18/00534/B                                     Page  3  of  5

• windows I, J, K and L sit on the front elevation between the two projecting gables and currently have fixed top and bottom lights with an eight pane pattern in the top. These are to be replaced to match the existing but with the bottom lights top hung and opening.
• windows M and N sit side by side in the side of the single storey annex to the south of the southern gable on the Bay View Road elevation and are fixed lights and to be replaced as such
• window O sits below window C and is to be replaced to match it as proposed window P sits beside window O and is a less tall version and is to be replaced as a smaller version of proposed windows O and C
• window Q sits below window E and is currently a fixed single light and will be split into two with the top half further subdivided into four
• window R sits beside window P and is slim light which has its top two fifths subdivided into four with a single light below and replaced to match
• window S matched window R
• window T is at the rear of the building and has the top third subdivided into eight and a single light below and will replaced to match.

2.3 The existing shopfront windows are to have a greater number of smaller panes.

PLANNING POLICY AND STATUS 3.1 The site lies within an area of Mixed Use on the Area Plan for the South adopted in 2013. It also lies within the draft Conservation Area which has yet to be the subject of a specific public discussion document.

3.2 The site also lies within the proposed Port St. Mary Conservation Area. The appraisal which was undertaken for this includes the following which is perhaps relevant to this site:

"By the mid 1890s the construction on the upper promenade was largely complete, forming an almost continuous terrace of high and narrow boarding houses, and wider hotels similar to those built on the promenades in Douglas. Owners of some of these guest houses were responsible for the construction of family housing built in Cronk Road and Victoria Road for their own occupation. Further development took place along Bay View Road consisting ground-floor shops with residential accommodation above.

A distinct division of uses was very apparent, with the northern end of the village being dependant on summer visitors for its livelihood. At the southern end of the village in the vicinity of the harbour laid a more mixed area supporting the fishing industry.

Whilst it is possible to enter Port St Mary from Fistard along Fistard Road, or from Port Erin or Cregneash, along Plantation Road, almost all vehicular traffic enters the village from the north. This can be either along Station Road from Four Roads, or from Beach Road. These two roads meet at the crossroads with Plantation Road, and access to the village is along Bay View Road. It is only at the junction of Bay View Road and The Promenade that a sense of arrival in the village is felt.

The oldest remaining buildings which date before 1869 include: cottages on the seaward side of Bay View Road, adjacent to the old school; a terrace of cottages at the lower end of the Lhargan and cottages on Lime Street. Many of these retain their original form and to an extent their exterior appearance in Manx stone.

Shop fronts are a particularly challenging issue within Port St Mary. Many of the retail premises at the northern end of Bay View Road have inappropriate shop fronts in timber or aluminium, some have oversized plastic signage. Only a few original shop fronts remain at this end of the village. Every encouragement should be made to retain and repair these, rather than replace them."

==== PAGE 4 ====

                                      18/00534/B                                     Page  4  of  5

3.3 A number of buildings are identified as being worthy of consideration for Registration. These include the school house on Bay View Road which is thought to be part of this building.

3.4 Development within Conservation Areas is required to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the area by Environment Policy 35 and Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Guide to the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man.

PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 PA 88/01754 proposed the conversion of the premises to offices from retail.

4.2 PA 13/91375 proposed the conversion of the building to entirely residential and with very similar external changes to what is now proposed. This was refused for the reason that:

"Whilst the alterations to the property are not considered to be detrimental to the appearance and character of the property (which lies within a proposed Conservation Area), the loss of commercial use of the ground floor would be contrary to the spirit of the Area Plan for the South, Mixed Use Policy 2 and would reduce the range and viability of the village as a service centre and an attractive place to live and visit."

4.3 14/00451/B approved the conversion of the existing office accommodation to two dwellings, retention of existing first floor flat and retention of ground floor retail unit, replacement windows and reinstatement of boundary wall.

4.4 As referred to above, planning approval was granted for the replacement of the existing windows in hardwood frames - 17/01153/B. This has not been implemented

REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Port St. Mary Commissioners have no objection to their own application (14.06.18).

5.2 Highway Services indicate that there is no highway interest in the application (21.06.18).

ASSESSMENT 6.1 The issue in this case is whether the proposed windows preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the property in an area that has been identified as a potential Conservation Area.

6.2 The existing windows are in poor repair and some are of poor form. What is proposed, if in white framed plastic, will in places preserve what exists and for the more interesting windows, these will replicate the features of interest - the glazing bars, transoms and mullions. The works will introduce a clear investment in a building which is important as it welcomes you into the commercial part of the village, which is welcome.

6.3 The Registered Buildings Officer has viewed the application and his preference would be for timber framed windows with a painted finish.

6.4 The use of a timber effect plastic for the frames will not create the same preservation effect. Whilst the timber windows already approved could be stained rather than painted, they would still retain the appearance of timber windows and this building can be seen close up where it would be possible to distinguish between timber and plastic as the frame material. A white coloured finish in plastic would more closely resemble the existing white painted timber windows and what may originally have been in the building: the rosewood frames would replicate neither and would result in an inappropriate finish for an older building within a proposed Conservation Area. Whilst Beach House has brown coloured frames, on its windows, these are not sympathetic to the character of the building and should not be seen as a precedent to be followed here.

==== PAGE 5 ====

                                      18/00534/B                                     Page  5  of  5

CONCLUSION 7.1 The proposed windows, if framed in white plastic or timber, would preserve the appearance and character of the building. Windows framed in rosewood effect plastic would not. The application is recommended for approval subject to the windows being framed in white plastic or timber.

PARTY 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:

• whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than the Department of Infrastructure Highway Services Division) are material; and
• whether there are other persons to those listed in Article 6(4) 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.

Decision Made : Permitted

Date: 24.07.2018

Determining officer

Signed : C BALMER

Chris Balmer

Principal Planner

Customer note

This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the file copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online services/customers and archive records.