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19/01326/B Page 1 of 4
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 19/01326/B Applicant : Barrule Property Development Limited Proposal : Conversion of building in to 3 self-contained apartments (revisions to approval 16/01100/B) Site Address : 12 Market Street Peel Isle Of Man IM5 1AD
Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken :
Site Visit :
Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 30.12.2019 __
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.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This decision relates to drawings 6, 7, 8 and 9 all received on 25th November, 2019. __
Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
None __
Officer’s Report
THE SITE 1.1 The site is a three storey building situated on the eastern side of Market Street half way between the right hand bend in the road and the Market Place. The building has a commercial shop front with recessed door to the side of a large shop window opening and with vertically proportioned window openings in the floors above. The property is currently in very poor repair with all of the window openings boarded up in plywood and internally the building has been gutted, There are metal joists spanning the front of the building above ground floor level.
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19/01326/B Page 2 of 4
1.2 The building was used as a shop on the ground floor with one living unit above. The two were interconnected but could have been separated.
1.3 At the rear there is a monopitch roofed two storey annex which has its apex on the boundary with the property to the south.
THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the renovation of the building, and its use as three flats - one per floor. Each flat would have one bedroom. Two of the flats would have access to a small rear store. This is very similar to the approval previously granted under 16/01100/B but involves the rebuilding of the front elevation, relocating the staircase access to units 2 and 3 to the rear outside the building and increase the level of the rear extension by almost 3m at the apex and turned through 90 degrees with the apex sitting 400mm under the main eaves level of the property.
2.2 Other changes from the approved scheme include the modification of windows in the rear elevation to accommodate new internal floor levels in order to achieve usable space in the attic, the insertion of rooflights in the front and rear pitches (Conservation type). The changes to the internal floor levels will be disguised at the front, where the windows are to be installed to match the existing, by having dark coloured glass in the upper half of the window to mask the internal floor level which would otherwise be visible from street level, through the unobscured glass. In all other respects the front elevation will be the same as the original and as approved for change through 16/01100/B including plastic framed sliding sashes and the replacement of the existing shop window on the ground floor with a pair of sliding sashes together with the alteration of an existing ground floor aperture at the rear, replacing it with a window to match those above (bottom opening half and half casement)..
2.3 There is no on-site parking.
2.3 The applicant explains in an accompanying letter that the premises were used as a shop up with a three bed residential unit above. They explain that they do not expect any increase in car parking levels as a result of the proposal given the single person occupancy of the units and would be similar to the existing. In addition they note that there are two public car parks available in the vicinity and a bus route very close by. They believe that the proposal will enhance the Conservation Area.
PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Peel Local Plan of 1989 as Mixed Use and within the town's Conservation Area. The Local Plan provides the following advice which is relevant to the consideration of the current proposal:
Commercial/retail POLICY: WITHIN THE CONSERVATION AREA FUTURE ALTERATIONS TO THE FACADES OR SHOP FRONTS OF RETAIL PREMISES WILL BE CLOSELY CONTROLLED IN ORDER TO AVOID THE FURTHER LOSS OF ORIGINAL FEATURES WHICH CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE CHARACTER OF THE OLD TOWN.
Residential: POLICY 5.2 THE REFURBISHMENT AND AMALGAMATION OF PROPERTIES WITHIN THE TOWN WILL BE ENCOURAGED.
POLICY 5.4 A POLICY OF REFURBISHMENT AND AMALGAMATION OF EXISTING PROPERTIES IN THE CONSERVATION AREA WILL APPLY IN ORDER TO ENSURE THE RETENTION OF HISTORIC AREAS BY THE ALTERNATIVE USE OF BUILDINGS IN THESE AREAS.
3.2 Car parking is recommended at a ratio of 1.5 spaces per unit. This has been superseded by the Strategic Plan which recommends one space per one bedroomed flat but with the following discretion:
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19/01326/B Page 3 of 4
"These standards may be relaxed where development: a) would secure the re-use of a Registered Building or a building of architectural or historic interest; or b) would result in the preservation of a sensitive streetscape, or c) is otherwise of benefit to the character of a Conservation Area d) is within a reasonable distance of an existing or proposed bus route and it can be demonstrated a reduced level of parking will not result in unacceptable on street parking in the locality" (A.7.6).
3.3 Housing Policy 17 of the Strategic Plan provides guidance on the conversion of buildings to flats as follows:
The conversion of buildings into flats will generally be permitted in residential areas provided that: (a) adequate space can be provided for clothes-drying, refuse storage, general amenity, and, if practical, car-parking; (b) the flats created will have a pleasant clear outlook, particularly from the principal rooms and (c) if possible, this involves the creation of parking on site or as part of an overall traffic management strategy for the area.
3.4 Demolition within a Conservation Area is generally discouraged where this is of fabric which contributes positively to the CA (paragraph 7.32.2 of the Strategic Plan and Policy CA/6 of Planning Policy Statement 1/01).
REPRESENTATIONS 4.1 Highway Services have no objection (09.12.19).
4.2 Peel Town Commissioners have not commented.
PLANNING HISTORY 5.1 Permission was granted for the change of use from a shop to a cafe under 87/00522/B and most recently for the conversion to three apartments (16/01100/B).
ASSESSMENT 6.1 There are no policies within the local or Strategic Plan which presume against the loss of ground floor retail space to residential although such could result in shopping streets becoming devoid of interesting frontages and a consequential reduction in the variety and range of shops within a town or village centre. In the case of Douglas, the main shopping street is designated as Predominantly Shopping whereas in other towns and major villages the commercial area is designated as Mixed Use, embracing a range of uses. In the case of Peel, the main shopping street is Michael Street and Athol Place with some othe retail units found in the side streets - Market Street, Athol Street, Castle Street, Market Place and Douglas Street. As such, the issues in this case are whether the proposed changes to the building, particularly the loss of the shopfront to a pair of sliding sash windows, is acceptable, having regard to the Conservation Area requirement for development to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the area, and also, whether the flats offer sufficient amenities to those who would live there. It is relevant that this physical change has already been approved.
6.2 The building is in poor repair. The property is similar to others in the streetscene, with limited front outlook or light due to the narrowness of the street. Due to the site having no rear yard area to speak of there is also limited amenity space or outlook over land owned by the applicant, at the rear. The rear appears similarly shaded due to the height of the existing buildings however there is an open, green space beyond to the east over which the higher flats could look.
6.3 Town centre living often offers limited amenities in terms of gardens and private space and this is no exception. The other properties in the street appear to be single dwellings or commercial premises with living accommodation above. If the limited amount of space and outlook is acceptable for individual properties, it follows that a greater number of smaller units experiencing the same environment is similarly acceptable. Peel's close knit road layout and relatively high density of buildings results in many buildings having similar levels of amenity space. There is, however, compensatory space available alongside the Market Square and along the promenade for occupants
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in the town and in this case, the level of amenity space available to occupants of the building, is not considered unacceptable.
6.4 The occupation of the building as a single dwelling would result in a requirement for two on-site parking spaces. As proposed there would be a requirement for three - one per flat. However, given the nature of the flats it is, perhaps more likely that the occupants would not have their own car and the site is well placed for public transport and town centre amenities, employment and services. As such, it is not considered that the absence of parking space is unacceptable here. That being said, it is not acceptable on its own to simply say that there are nearby car parks without a survey of the availability of spaces therein and an analysis of any parking restrictions there compared with the need generated by the proposed units of accommodation.
6.5 The alterations to the rear elevation will increase the mass of walling at first/second floor level. However, this sits to the north of the adjacent rear amenity space for number 8 with a single storey element separating the two buildings and commensurate space in between the rear annex of the application property and the rear amenity space of number 8. It is also relevant that number 8's rear amenity space wraps around the rear of the application site, affording a much greater area of private space to that property than for most other properties in the street.
PARTY STATUS 7.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, 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, in this case Highway Services 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. __
I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Director of Planning and Building Control in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.
Decision Made : Permitted Date : 30.12.2019
Determining officer
Signed : J CHANCE
Jennifer Chance
Director of Planning and Building Control
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