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18/00799/B Page 1 of 5
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 18/00799/B Applicant : Neil And Sara Pearson Proposal : Change of use of storage unit to doggy day care facility, including creation of two external doors Site Address : Unit 1 Manx Metals Balthane Industrial Estate Balthane Ballasalla Isle Of Man IM9 2AQ
Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken :
Site Visit : 20.08.2018 Expected Decision Level : Planning Committee
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 04.10.2018 __
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. There may be no more than 30 dogs within the premises at any time.
Reason: to control the amount of traffic associated with the use to that which can be accommodated safely and conveniently on the site and the surrounding area.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This approval relates to the drawings and information received on 31st July, 2018 along with the additional clarifcation detail date stamped as received, 11th September 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 AS THE PROPOSAL IS CONTRARY TO THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
THE SITE 1.1 The site is the curtilage of a relatively new building which fronts onto the main Balthane estate road and the building then wraps around another building to front onto one of the spine roads leading of the main estate road. The building is a modern sheeted, portal framed structure finished in grey.
1.2 Access into the building is from a south facing door and the building has a footprint area of around 238 sq m.
1.3 The building is presently not used with materials piled up in front of the front door. Access to the rear is not currently available as the units on this site are being constructed and the area being used by construction vehicles.
1.4 The frontage onto the main estate road does not have a dropped kerb across its frontage but there are parking restrictions imposed through double yellow lines.
THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the use of the building for dog day care and the installation of two new pedestrian doors. The applicant explains that there are six car parking spaces available in front of the unit, off the estate road.
2.2 Hours of operation will be 0730hrs to 1800hrs Monday to Friday and the applicant believes that this facility will cater for the dog owners in the South of the Island and will create job opportunities.
2.3 The applicant has provided additional drawings (received 11.09.18) which detail more clearly the changes to be made to the building and the parking provision - four spaces off the main road and a further four at the rear. They clarify that the animals will be dropped off at the rear of the building, accessed from the side road over which they have a legal right of access. Parking spaces shown are not shared with anyone else. They explain that two people will be operating the business with one additional staff member being required. Two will travel to the site together (the applicant and his wife). No training classes will be held within the start and finish times and no servicing equipment or feed storage is required as owners will be required to bring their own pet food due to different dietary requirements.
2.4 They confirm that they could accommodate up to 30 dogs at any one time.
PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The site is designated on the Area Plan for the South (2013) as Industrial. The proposed use involves the use of the premises for the temporary accommodation and care of dogs during the day which does not comply with the prevailing land use designation.
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3.2 The proposal results in little external change and as such, the critical Strategic Plan policies are 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 Also, "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 employment and industrial 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.
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.
3.6 Finally, the Government carried out a study into the availability of employment land on the Island. The Review, in 2015 reported that land for employment uses ((industrial, light industrial, storage & distribution, offices) should be carefully monitored to ensure that continuing demand for such floorspace, particularly in the south and east can be accommodated. It, like the Area Plan, identifies issues at Balthane with the quality of land available and where higher quality, technology and business park uses would be directed more
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to Ronaldsway. There is a significant amount of land designated but not developed for industrial use and development in and around Balthane.
PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 Planning approval for this building was granted in the 1990s. Planning approval has been granted for a dog grooming business in the new units opposite Athol Garage and also in Harmat Court, both in Balthane. Dog day care has also been approved in various parts of the Island - Summerhill Road Onchan - residential (16/00817/C), Snugborough - industrial (16/00911/C), Viking Works, Peel - industrial (17/00842/C), Demesne Road - residential (18/00011/B and in the countryside - Ballablack (17/00364/B).
REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Malew Parish Commissioners do not object to the application (22.08.18).
5.2 Department of Infrastructure Highway Services initially expressed concern about the lack of information but following the submission of additional information they confirm that they have no objection subject to a condition which restricts the facility to accommodating no more than 30 dogs at any one time as this would limit the number of vehicles which the use generates to that which can be accommodated safely and conveniently on the site (03.01.18).
ASSESSMENT 6.1 The variety of locations in which dog day care has been considered acceptable reflects the peculiarities of the use - having certain levels of traffic associated with it, a reasonable requirement for car parking to be fairly close to the site, the need to ensure that noise is not an issue for surrounding neighbours and the need for a generous amount of internal space for the animals to exercise in and have a certain amount of separation if required. Industrial units tend to offer the solution to many of these potential issues, hence the approvals granted to the Viking Works and Snugborough. It is not considered that the use will have an unacceptable impact on the surrounding area or that the unit is unsuitable for the proposed use.
6.2 Of equal importance is whether the use of this industrial unit will compound any shortage of employment land on the Island, as the south and east have been identified in the Employment Land Review as being the areas where industrial/employment land will be most in demand. It is not considered that the proposal will fall foul of this for two reasons: firstly, there will be an element of employment in the proposal and secondly, there is a considerable amount of land designated and available for industrial use in this estate as well as within the nearby estates of Ronaldsway and the Freeport where additional industrial development could occur if required. It is also relevant that the proposed use would not easily be redirected to areas designated for other uses due to the particular nature of the use (see 6.1) above.
CONCLUSION 7.1 The use is considered to be acceptable and is recommended for approval. Whilst the hours of operation have been stated in the application, it is not considered necessary to restrict these by condition as: a) the site is not located near any noise sensitive premises and b) the only applications for similar uses which have been subject to hours of operation conditions were those near to residential properties where anti-social hours of operation may cause inconvenience or nuisance.
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
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(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: o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than the Department of Infrastructure Highway Services Division) are material; and o whether there are other persons to those listed in Article 6(4) who should be given Interested Person Status.
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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:...15.10.2018
Signed :...S BUTLER... Presenting Officer
Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph to the officer report).
Signatory to delete as appropriate YES/NO See below
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