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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 19/01294/B Applicant : HAB Ltd - IOM Properties Proposal : Installation of replacement ground floor shop windows with PVC units. Site Address : Shop Seamount Bay View Road Port St. Mary Isle Of Man IM9 5AG

Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken : 09.01.2020 Site Visit : 09.01.2020 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 02.03.2020 __

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. No development may commence until such times as the design and construction of the leaded lights in the upper part of the windows has been approved by the Department. This must involve a pattern which matches as closely as possible the original decorative glass within the windows. If this is not identifiable, a new form of glazing may be acceptable but this must reflect the location and character of the property and not simply be an off the shelf or generic design and information to support the design must be included in the additional information. The development must be undertaken in accordance with the approved details.

Reason: the site lies within a proposed Conservation Area and development should not prejudice such a designation and development should respect the character and appearance of the area in accordance with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the drawings received on 20.02.20, the photographs received on 10.02.20 and the location plan received on 18.11.19. __

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

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It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 6(4):

Marina House as they do not clearly identify the land which is owned or occupied which is considered to be impacted on by the proposed development in accordance with paragraph 2A of the Policy, as they do not refer to the relevant issues in accordance with paragraph 2C of the Policy and as they have not explained how the development would impact the lawful use of land owned or occupied by them and in relation to the relevant issues identified in paragraph 2C of the Policy, as is required by paragraph 2D of the Policy. __

Officer’s Report

THE SITE 1.1 The site is the curtilage of an existing unit situated on the corner of Gellings Avenue and Bay View Road in the centre of Port St. Mary. On the ground floor the property is commercial and above is living accommodation.

1.2 The building is similar to that on the other side of Gellings Avenue in having a commercial shop front at ground floor level with brick faced walls otherwise and a slate roofed turret on the corner.

1.3 The ground floor has a central, recessed door with two windows on the right hand side and three to the left in the form of an angled bay, the bottom part of which is a single pane in each with two timber shuttered units above each one. Each set of windows has a decorative pillar at the outer side and the right hand window is separated from the door by a masonry pillar with similar detailing. The flat windows sit beneath an angled bay above.

THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the replacement of the windows in uPVC frames. No details of the profile or sections of the frames were originally provided.

2.2 Further information has been provided in the way of photographs of other shop fronts in the vicinity with an indication that the proposed shopfront would be similar to these and a suggestion that there will be decorative lights as in those in the Sugarloaf Cafe although the plans show something more akin to the leaded lights in the property on the other corner of Bay View Road and Gellings Avenue.

PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The site lies within an area of Mixed use on the Area Plan for the South. The site lies within a proposed Conservation Area.

3.2 The Strategic Plan requires development within a Conservation Area to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Area, in line with Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Guide to the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man. Planning Circular 1/98 requires new windows within Conservation Areas to replicate the originals where these are in place. Whilst the property is not within an adopted Conservation Area, consideration should be given to the fact that the general area has been identified as worthy of consideration for CA status and care taken in any replacement features as a result. Environment Policy 34 requires that in the maintenance, alteration or extension of pre-1920 buildings the use of traditional materials will be preferred.

3.3 The draft Conservation Area Appraisal makes the following observations which are considered relevant:

"The link between the north and south ends of the village runs parallel to the shoreline, and extends through Bay View Road, High Street, Athol Place, Athol Street and The Quay. At its northern end,

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this thoroughfare is the current commercial heart of the village, where the remaining shops are located. Buildings vary in scale and type, but dominant are the tall Victorian terraces, starting on either side of Gellings Avenue. Here there is a matching pair of corner feature-buildings built in red Ruabon brick, with decorative detailing."

"The adjacent properties on either side are identical in scale, but are rendered. All have commercial users at ground-floor level and residential use above. A number of shops have been vacant for several years. The majority of shop fronts are of poor design and inappropriate, only a few original shop fronts remain. Opposite is the former school, now occupied as offices, and the adjacent cottages which were built prior to 1869."

"The later Victorian properties are again usually built in stone and mainly finished in render, which is typically smooth and often painted white or a pastel colours. There are exceptions to the above, particularly in the case of the two landmark corner buildings at the junction of Gellings Avenue and Bay View Road. These are built in red Ruabon brick. The public conveniences on The Quay have a simple Arts and Crafts style and are finished in rough-cast render."

"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."

PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 The shop front on the premises on the other side of Gellings Avenue was approved to be replaced under 18/00265/B.

REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Port St. Mary Commissioners raise no objection but would prefer that the frames are timber (17.12.19), and in response to the additional information state no objection (27.02.20).

5.2 Highway Services have no objection (05.12.19).

5.3 The owners of Marina House which sits on the other side of Gellings Avenue point out that the existing shopfront is not the original, that having been removed in 2010 and which had stained glass windows. What was installed did not match this. They consider that they should be required to reinstate the originals as were they when they recently replaced their shopfront (30.12.19). They submit further comments on 23.01.20, providing photographs of the original windows with the upper decorative lights boarded over and points out that the application property is the sister building to theirs. They suggest that the existing windows in the property are not the originals but no planning approval was sought to replace them. Any inappropriate windows will continue to degrade the potential Conservation Area and the applicant's agent has a range of mouldings which would be more expensive but which would prove to be an enhancement of the building.

5.4 Following the submission of the additional information, this party submits further comments, indicating that the additional plans show a better style of window that is more in keeping with the original windows although it is unclear whether the "stantion" design matches the original or whether it will be flat and modern (like "Chantilly Lace" and suggest that the original lights were more ornate than those in the Patchwork Cafe. It is not clear what design the new decorative lights will be. She thinks that this is a step in the right direction but suggest that further details be provided with better information Flat frames ad plan glass top lights would be detrimental to the streetscape in the Conservation Area (18.02.20).

ASSESSMENT 6.1 The existing shopfront is not original. However, the works to replace it were undertaken, it would appear, in excess of four years ago and it is not now possible for the Department to issue an enforcement notice due to the passage of time (Town and Country Planning Act Schedule 4 Section 3a). As such, the comparison between what is proposed is with what exists now, not what existed before. The Google Streetview images which date from 2010 show the shopfront boarded up and it is assumed the windows were being replaced behind the boarding.

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6.2 It is suggested by the owner of an adjacent property that the windows in the application property were the same as those in hers - Marina House. These windows have recently been replaced and a condition was attached to that approval requesting details of the profiles of the window frames and also details of the stained glass leaded lights (18/00265/B) This was also required in an application for the replacement of stained glass leaded lights in a property in Church Street in Peel (19/00851/B) where a previous application had been refused for not reinstating the stained leaded lights. Such a condition is considered appropriate here.

6.2 Otherwise, the proposed window frames would appear to match others in the streetscene in profile and material and as such the application is considered to be acceptable.

CONCLUSION 7.1 The proposed shopfront replacement, subject to a condition which requires further details of the stained leaded lights in the upper part of the window as shown in unnumbered drawing annotated "top lights designed to match the Sugarloaf Cafe" and received on 10.02.20, is considered to preserve the character and appearance of the area which is proposed as being worthy of Conservation Area status in the Area Plan for the South and therefore in accordance with General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 35.

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: 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 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 : 05.03.2020

Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER

Stephen Butler

Head of Development Management

Customer note

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