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                                      20/00164/D                                     Page  1  of  4

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 20/00164/D Applicant : Laxey And Lonan Heritage Trust Proposal : Installation of non-illuminated signage Site Address : Rear Wall Of Whitehous Buildings Tramway Close Laxey Isle Of Man

Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Photo Taken :

Site Visit :

Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 20.05.2020 __

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

C 1. The advertisement(s) hereby granted consent shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.

Reason: To avoid the accumulation of unimplemented advertisement consents.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The installation of the non-illuminated signage on the rear elevation of the building complies with The Control of Advertisements Regulations 2013 and is also in accordance with General Policy 6 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 12th February 2020: o Site/Location Plan o Covering Letter o Proposed sign location

This decision also relates the revised plan of the signage and the signage's location, dated 22nd April 2020. __

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None __

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Officer’s Report

THE APPLICATION SITE 1.1 The application site is situated on the rear wall of the Whitehouse Buildings, Tramway Close, Laxey which faces onto the Manx Electricity Railway (MER) Station and is next to the staircase leaving the MER Station to the main town of Laxey.

1.2 The site can be characterised by the industrial feeling of the area of the railway gravel, bare walls.

1.3 Already on the proposed area of wall are several signs, there is a historic "Trams start here for Snaefell" sign and three modern signs which have been added over the last few years, of which Planning Permission cannot be found. These signs are printed on types of plastic sheeting. During the tourist season additional signage is added in a more "traditional" appearance again consisting of a type of plastic sheeting.

THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The original proposal was to erect a sign measuring 1.8m by 1.2m sign on the wall constructed out of dybond sheet and affixed to the wall using screws. After discussions with the Planning Officer the sign has been altered in size to 1.25m by 0.65m. This sign has also been altered to remove the photo and to just have written directions and will have a boarder to mimic the historic sign it will be situated next to. The sign is still to be constructed of dybond sheeting and screwed to the wall.

PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 The previous planning applications are not considered to be specifically material in the assessment of the current application.

PLANNING POLICY 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as a Mixed use of Residential/Retail/Offices and is situated in the Laxey Conservation Area on the Laxey and Lonan Local Plan 2005, Laxey Map.

4.2 Given the nature of the application it is appropriate to consider General Policy 2, Environment Policy 35, 37 and Policy Statement 1/01.

4.3 General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 states "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;

4.4 Environment Policy 35 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 states "Within Conservation Areas, the Department will permit only development which would preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Area, and will ensure that the special features contributing to the character and quality are protected against inappropriate development."

4.5 Environment Policy 37 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 states "As a general policy, advertisements within Conservation Areas will be permitted only if:

i) the proposal preserves or enhances the Conservation Area; ii) the signage is in a style appropriate to the character of the area; iii) traditional materials and finishes are used and glossy and highly reflective materials are excluded from proposals; and iv) internally illuminated box fascia's and projecting box signs are excluded from the proposals.

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4.6 Also relevant is Policy Statement 1/01 which is Policy and Guidance notes for the conservation of the historic environment of the Isle of Man, which says the following regarding advertisement control in a Conservation Area, "All external advertisements affect not only the appearance of the building upon which they are displayed, but also the neighbourhood where the building is located. This will apply particularly to illuminated signage which is often formed from shiny, non-traditional materials and can result in an unsuitable and harsh appearance which detracts from the character of the building and a conservation area as a whole. The aesthetic quality of a building can be markedly affected by the installation of inappropriate external signage. Where matters such as Corporate Image are a consideration; for a conservation area the Department may require a deviation from what might be acceptable in other high street locations and many large corporate bodies do have alternative designs of signage which might be suitable for use in conservation areas. In many cases it will be necessary for signage to adopt traditional design and materials, in keeping with the character of the building and neighbourhood as a whole. Externally illuminated signage with the appropriate detailing and colour rendered lamps, may be judged suitable."

4.7 The Control of Advertisements Regulations 2013 make it clear that the only considerations which can be applied to applications made under them are in the interests of amenity and public safety. In the case of amenity, such things as the general characteristics of the area need to be taken into account along with the presence of any features of historic, architectural, cultural or similar interest and the public safety should consider the safety of any person using a road, railway, tramway, harbour or aerodrome including the obscuration of any traffic sign or similar.

REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Highway Services have No Highways Interest in this application (11.05.20).

5.2 Garff Commissioners have considered the proposal and have no objection (15.05.20).

ASSESSMENT 6.1 The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are; (i) the impact of the proposed development on the character of the Manx Electric Railway and (ii) whether the windows preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Laxey Conservation Area.

6.2 When looking at the signage in respect of the proposed impact on the building it is situated on, any impact is likely to be limited to its visual appearance and whether the signage would preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the conservation area.

6.3 The current signs on the site are a historic signage regarding the trams and modern plastic signage which are advertisements for a local shop. The proposed signage has been altered from its original sizing to be more in line with the historic signage on the site while being manufactured from modern plastics. With this alterations made to the proposed signage, this should preserve the overall conservation area.

6.4 The proposed signage itself is in connection to the surrounding area with the advert advertising the local Great Laxey Mines Railway, which whilst a short distance away from the current site is in connection with the Manx Electric Railway and will be an advert for tourists during the tourist season.

CONCLUSION 7.1 For the above reasons the proposal is considered to comply with General Policies 2, 6 and 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and therefore acceptable.

INTERESTED PERSON STATUS

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8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013 (As Amended), the following persons are automatically interested persons: o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent; o Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material; o The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated. o the Highways, Ports and Railways divisions of the Department of Infrastructure.

8.2 The decision maker must determine: o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than those explicitly listed above) are material; and o whether there are other persons to those listed above 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: 19.06.2020

Determining officer

Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett

Principal Planner

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