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                                      19/01393/B                                     Page  1  of  3

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 19/01393/B Applicant : Department Of Infrastructure Proposal : Construction of raised puffin crossing Site Address : Victoria Street Junction With Duke Street Douglas Isle Of Man

Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken :

Site Visit : 18.01.2020 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 20.01.2020 __

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 decision relates to drawings P001 and P002 both recieved on 13th December, 2019. __

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None __

Officer’s Report

THE SITE 1.1 The site is a section of Victoria Street centred on its junction with Duke Street. Fronting onto the site are Starbucks (a Registered Building) and Cowley Groves estate agents on each side of the northern part of the junction and on the southern side are Tonic business hub and Chrystals estate agents.

1.2 The street marks the junction of two separate regeneration schemes which have introduced new paving along both parts of Duke Street either side of Victoria Street and what remains within the application site is older block paving with different coloured tactile paving

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marking the pedestrian crossing along with the traffic lights, litter bins and pedestrian sign posts on both sides of the road.

THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the re-paving of this area, introducing granite setts to mark the pedestrian crossing with granite slabs alongside to mark the footway with it raised slightly from the rest of the carriageway. No details of the street furniture have been provided but could be erected under the Highways Act or the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013, without the need for further approval. The materials will match those already introduced beside the site.

PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The site lies within a Conservation Area - the Athol Street and Victoria Street CA and within an area designated on the Douglas Local Plan of 1998 as Predominantly Shopping. On the draft Area Plan for the East the site lies within one of many areas of Mixed Use where the Written Statement aims to provide more detail and here, the Strand Street area, there is a presumption in favour of retail, and ancillary town centre uses such as food and drink and health and beauty uses along the primary shopping frontage and ancillary uses in areas further out which are compatible with members of the public visiting this area. The appropriate policies to be applied at General Policy 2 which provides general standards of development and the conservation policies EP 35 and Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - CA/2 both of which require that development preserves or enhances the character or appearance of the Area.

3.2 The CA Appraisal describes the evolution of the area, attributing to the creation of Ridgeway and Victoria Streets the first instance of redevelopment on the Island, as opposed to development on undeveloped sites. Victoria Street was created in the 1870s - the major scheme of that decade and had originally planned to have a "grandiose town square" at Duke Street but this was dropped due to cost. The Appraisal makes note of several buildings along Victoria Street and the ones which "turn the corner" successfully although the "hectic mixture of kerbs, signs and road markings which continue to detract from the character of the area" whilst Victoria Street remains one way, is noted in the section on street furniture and paving. No other reference is made to paving or traffic paraphernalia.

PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 There have been various applications for alterations of the buildings surrounding the junction, none of which are relevant to the consideration of the current application. 18/00421/B was the application for the paving on Duke Street. The paving of Strand Street did not require permission as it is not within a Conservation Area.

REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Douglas Borough Council have no objection to the application (02.01.20).

ASSESSMENT 6.1 The issues in this case are whether the works will preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the area, having regard to the fact that it lies within a Conservation Area. Whilst there is a lot of historic fabric surrounding the site, the site itself is highway with the various accoutrements and infrastructure associated with modern day use - the tactile paving, the traffic control signs, litter bins and planters as well as a modern day road surface and lines painted on it with the pavement finished in modern paviours. It is considered that this aspect of the CA has no historic interest and currently contributes at best neutrally and at worst, negatively to the character and appearance of the CA.

6.2 What is proposed is not consistent with the historic character of the buildings alongside - no highway which incorporates traffic signals, double yellow lines, litter bins and planters will do this but what it will do is be more consistent with the paving on each side and present a

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cleaner, crisper surface. It is therefore considered that there will be a neutral if not a slightly beneficial impact on the character and appearance of the CA as a result of the works.

CONCLUSION 7.1 The application is considered to accord with EP35 and PPS 1/01 and is supported.

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. __

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 : 29.01.2020

Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER

Stephen Butler

Head of Development Management

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