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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 19/01341/B Applicant : Fancy A Coffee Limited Proposal : Installation of replacement shop front Site Address : 65 Strand Street Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 2EN

Planning Officer: Mr Peiran Shen Photo Taken : 08.01.2020 Site Visit : 08.01.2020 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 04.02.2020 __

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.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to the following submitted documents, drawings DWG4.1 date-stamped as having been received on 14th October 2019 and site and location plan date-stamped as having been received on 1st November 2019. __

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None __

Officer’s Report

1.0 SITE 1.1 The site is the ground floor shop unit of a three-storey terrace on 65 Strand Street in Douglas, on the main shopping thoroughfare. The shop is bounded by a bookshop and a hairdresser. Strand Street itself is characterised by a range of shop front styles ranging from modern glass curtain styles to more traditional designs.

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1.2 The existing shop front has a red colour theme. It has a "Costa red" fascia and a think dark-red column on each side. On top of the fascia, there is a wine-like red bordering. The shop front below the fascia and in-between the columns is evenly divided into six segments. The entrance door is at the four sixth segments to the left, it's divided by a bar in the middle. The shop windows on the left and right of the door have three-quarter glazed shop front window with evenly divided dark-red wooden panels at the bottom (three panels to the left and two to the right).

1.3 The fascia has the word "Costa" in white bold font. There are three projecting lights right above the word on the fascia. There is also a "Costa Coffee" logo hanging behind the glazed window. The logo is in-between the first and the second segment to the left. There is also a side-hang logo above the entrance door on the first-floor elevation. This logo has a top hung lamp at each side.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The proposal is for: o Repaint of existing bordering, retaining the existing colour; o Replacement of existing fascia with a thinner, aluminium one, retaining the existing width and colour; o Repaint of the existing column into "Costa grey", retaining the style; o Replacement of existing shop front window with a fully glazed, dark grey powder- coated aluminium style curtain wall. The curtain wall is taller than existing due to the shrink in height of the fascia. o The curtain wall would be evenly divided into 6 segments, as within the existing, by thin grey aluminium columns. o The entrance would be fully glazed but remain in its existing location. There is a glass panel above the entrance to make up for the void created by the shrinking fascia.

2.2 The proposal also includes: o Remove the existing "Costa" word and the projecting lights from the fascia; o Remove of the "Costa Coffee" logo hanging behind the glazed window; o Re-lamp of the side-hung logo, as the existing one no longer functional; o Add the illuminated word "Costa Coffee" onto the glass panel above the entrance door; o Hanging a poster unit behind the curtain wall, at the third segment to the right and close to the entrance door; o Apply vinyl decals to the internal side of the first and the second glass panel to the left, cover just below one-third of the curtain wall at the bottom

2.3 The proposal also includes the display of one A-Frame signboard and one impact barrier on the outside of the shop front. This is a matter to the Douglas Borough Council according to legislation and is not a planning concern.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 There is no previous application considered materially relevant to this application.

4.0 PLANNING POLICY 4.1 The site is zoned as Predominantly Shopping Use on the Douglas Local Plan 1998.

4.2 General Policy 2 states (in part); "Development which is in accordance with the land-use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted, provided that the development: b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them; c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality."

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4.3 General Policy 6 states: "Within our towns and villages, the display of external advertisements will be permitted on the site or building to which they relate provided they: (a) are of a high standard of design and materials and related well to the building and site on which they are to be displayed; (b) are in keeping with and do not detract from the surrounding area; and Are located so as not to cause a highway safety hazard; (c) are located so as not to cause a highway safety hazard."

4.4 General Policy 7 states: "Within our towns and villages, the display of external advertisements on sites or buildings other than those to which they relate will not generally be permitted."

4.3 The Douglas Town Centre Masterplan was adopted in 2014 and is a material planning consideration. There are some relevant 'goals' set out under the Vision section of the document: "To revitalise the high street by creating new retailing opportunities, retaining and enhancing the independent offer, attracting well known high street brands and investment to support town centre activity." "To create an inviting and attractive place where residents and visitors alike can enjoy a mix of attractions and activities, interlinked by high-quality public space."

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Douglas Borough Council has no objection to the application (19/12/2019).

6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 The key considerations in the assessment of this application are the visual impacts on the shop unit and particularly the street scene overall.

6.2 The existing shopfront does retain a traditional style, one of the few along what is a street characterised by an eclectic mix of contemporary, modern and traditional/semi- traditional shop front and building styles.

6.3 It is considered that the provision of a more modern, airy and bright retail unit would further enhance the shopping experience in Strand Street and ensure that Douglas remains an attractive and modern place for retail and leisure for both Island residents and visitors. If the whole of this section of Strand Street were to feature ornate or traditional shop fronts, there may be a case for the modern glass designs being unacceptable. It is evident that the glass wall carries no unique feature and replicates that seen in most medium-large sized towns in the UK and in Ireland. However, the site is not within a Conservation Area, and to refuse the application based on a loss of character and traditional appearance would be inconsistent. Furthermore, efforts which encourage or retain footfall within the town centre should be encouraged where there are no overriding unacceptable losses to the town character.

7.0 CONCLUSION 7.1 For the above reasons the proposal is considered on balance to comply with General Policy 2, 6 and 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 as well as meet the goals set out in the Douglas Town Centre Masterplan and is therefore acceptable.

8.0 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;

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(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 which 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 a Principal Planner in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted

Date: 04.02.2020

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.