Planning Statement

Planning Statement In Respect Of An Application For Additional Use As Residential Of Approved (24/91295/B) First Floor Tourist Accommodation (Class 3.6), Beach House, Bay View Road And The Promenade, Port St. Mary IM9 5AE

A street-level photograph taken on a foggy day showing a row of buildings, including a dark stone building with a shop front and a white residential property.

1.0 Introduction
1.1 Beach House is a semi detached, two storey stone building which faces sits on the eastern side of Bay View Road and backs onto the curtilage of Manxonia House and Overcliffe. Beach House is attached to Manxonia House to the north which in turn is attached to Overcliffe - the former village School House.
1.2 Manxonia House and Overcliffe are conjoined buildings which are approved as being operated as a single unit of Class 1.3 Use (Food and Drink) and is currently known as Kellas (see Planning History). These buildings mark the corner of The Promenade and Bay View Road in the heart of Port St. Mary village. Manxonia House sits on the corner and Overcliffe fronts onto The Promenade. Adjacent to this is the Town Hall which provides the local authority’s ofﬁces and a community hall above.
1.3 Beach House sits to the south of Manxonia House and formerly accommodated two ﬂoors of ofﬁces. Permission was granted under 24/91295/B for the erection of an extension to the building to accommodate a two bedroomed tourist unit. That application also proposed the conversion of the ground ﬂoor to a commercial kitchen and ofﬁce/retail space at the front. Those works are almost complete with the commercial kitchen completed and only a few weeks away at the time of writing from ﬁnal Building Control inspection.
1.4 Manxonia House and Beach House together form a symmetrical, two storey building with projecting gables facing Bay View Road and both having single storey slated, hipped roofed projections forward of the gables.
1.5 To the south of Beach House are two semi detached traditional Manx cottages - Rose Cottage and May Cottage respectively (see right).

A foggy street scene showing a row of traditional houses with slate roofs and prominent stone boundary walls.

1.6 To the south of May Cottage is a narrow public footpath which skirts around the southern edge of the curtilage of Overcliffe and the Town Hall, leading to the promenade.
1.7 Beach House, Manxonia House and Overcliffe are all in the same ownership.
1.8 Overcliffe was thought to be formerly the School House and a group of buildings in this area appear on the 1860s County Series maps (see below) which appear to be what are Manxonia House and Beach House today: May and Rose Cottages, Overcliffe and the town hall do not appear. The Conservation Area Appraisal speaks more of this as follows:

“In 1869, the Ordnance Survey map shows a village with only sporadic development between Ballacreggan Farm and the Bay View Hotel. Two pairs of cottages that still stand today, now adjacent to the old school were the ﬁrst properties on the seaward side of Bay View Road. The next property, some distance away, was a school which was located in the grounds of Ballamona, this later became the ﬁrst Town Hall. With the exception of a handful of cottages, there was no other development until the junction with the Lhargan. At this point there was a group of buildings on the lower part of the Lhargan, including the terrace of cottages which remain today.”

“To the north, the frontage to Chapel Bay (now The Promenade) was sold for division into building plots. A new school was opened at the junction of The Promenade and Bay View Road; this has a date plaque of 1880.”

“Opposite is the former school, now occupied as ofﬁces, and the adjacent cottages which were built prior to 1869.”

A close-up view of a vintage site plan or map showing property boundaries, a gate, a well, and small structures.

1.9 Across the road from Overcliffe is a public car park where parking is not restricted to any particular period of time but permanent parking is not permitted. Alongside this is a launderette above which is residential accommodation. Alongside this is a vacant development site which had permission for development for a pair of dwellings until 30.04.23 (19/00212/B). Next to this, fronting the corner of The Promenade and Bay View Road is a restaurant and take away. The properties on the western side of Bay View Road, opposite Beach House, are generally shops and eating establishments.
1.10 Across the frontage of the Beach House curtilage is a dropped kerb affording vehicular access and parking for up to two vehicles.

2.0 Planning policy
2.1 The starting point for the determination of any development proposal is the land use designation. In the Isle of Man this currently takes the form of a variety of plans: the Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Development Plan) Order 1982 was the ﬁrst development plan which was gradually superseded by a series of local plans in the 1980s and 90s and then in the 2000s onwards, these became Area Plans. The most recent Area Plans cover a large part of the Island and there are adopted plans for the south and east. The remainder of the Island (the north and west) is the subject of an Area Plan which is in the process of preparation and is currently in draft form.
2.2 Area Plan for the South

2.2.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Area Plan for the South adopted in 2013, as Mixed Use, reﬂecting the residential, community, ofﬁce, retail, food and drink, tourism and recreation uses in the area, and within the proposed Conservation Area (CA) (green dashed line - below):
2.2.2 There are no Constraints identiﬁed on the relevant map accompanying the Area Plan other than the proposed CA.

A planning map displaying land use zones labeled MU, CP, and TH with street layouts and vegetation symbols.

2.2.3 There are no trees, Registered or otherwise, on the site and the building on the site is not Registered. The site not shown as being at risk of ﬂooding on the national ﬂood risk maps.
2.2.4 The land use designation then leads to policies which guide development. These policies are in both the Area/Local Plans and the Strategic Plan, which is generally a nongeographical policy document applicable to the whole Island.

Area Plan for the South Written Statement

2.2.5 This makes no speciﬁc reference to the application site. It refers more generally to Port St. Mary as follows:

2.1.8 The key elements of the Island Spatial Strategy for the South are: regeneration within Castletown, Port St Mary and Port Erin to create further housing, employment and leisure opportunities in keeping with the scale of the settlements.
3.4 The overall strategy for the area is to maintain and enhance the character, quality and distinctiveness of the local built vernacular and integrity of the nucleated settlements of Port Erin, Port St. Mary and Ballagawne , the scattered traditional farm dwellings and to maintain the ﬁeld pattern and semi-upland character of the upper slopes.

3.12.1 Port St Mary is a village of 1,913 people (2006 Census) occupying the coastal area east of Meayll Hill between Perwick Bay and Rhenwyllan Mill. It is classiﬁed as a ‘Service Village’ in the Island Spatial Strategy. Retail and business uses are generally small-scale, serving essentially local needs, and there is now only limited tourist accommodation. Renewal and redevelopment of the older built fabric has happened only slowly in recent years, but the Village has managed to retain its attractive appearance, charm and character. There is the possibility that harbour improvements will be undertaken in the future following on from the successful schemes in Douglas and Peel. A comprehensive, sensitively designed scheme which addresses satisfactorily the impacts would result in welcome investment in the Village. This may in turn result in greater use and renovation of the older buildings and enhance the Village’s general character and appeal. The Bay Queen Hotel site clearly needs investment, and would provide a welcome opportunity for new residential

development in Port St Mary. In addition, the older part of Port St Mary is proposed to be designated as a Conservation Area (Map 7).

3.14 ii. It is proposed that there should be a new Conservation Area embracing the older part of the Village around the harbour. This is to be assessed under a different process (see Map 7 for draft boundary).

2.2.6 The Plan is clear that other uses of upper ﬂoors would be acceptable but not with the loss of existing residential units:

6.6.1 In order to achieve town and village centres which are attractive, viable and full of vitality it is essential to encourage a mix of different uses to locate within the Mixed Use areas. This will include elements of retail, ofﬁce, light industrial, community facilities, leisure and tourism uses and residential as well as dedicated public spaces which will be a focus for community activity. Uses which are not compatible with residential developments will not be supported within the Mixed Uses areas. Generally there will be a presumption in favour of changes of use between the range of approved uses. Whilst planning approval may be required for some changes, this would normally be supported subject to the buildings being suitable for the new use.
6.6.2 Development within an area of Mixed Use (as designated on the Proposals Map/ Inset Maps) or those sites proposed for Mixed Use (identiﬁed on the Maps as ‘Proposed Mixed Use’) will comprise a mix of some or all of the following uses: residential; shops; ﬁnancial and professional services; food and drink; research and development, light industry; hotels and hostels; hospitals, nursing homes and residential institutions; community uses; leisure; tourism and open space.

Mixed Use Proposal 4: The upper ﬂoors of buildings in the Mixed Use areas of Castletown, Port Erin, Port St Mary and Ballasalla may be appropriate for ofﬁce use although there will be a presumption in favour of the retention of existing residential uses subject to the circumstances and merits of any alternative uses.

2.3 Strategic Plan 2016

2.3.1 The Strategic Plan sets out generally non-geographic policies which apply Island wide. There is a general encouragement of sustainable development which is directed to established settlements (Strategic Aim, Strategic Policies 1, 2 and 10, Spatial Policy 5 and

Housing Policy 4) with Port St. Mary being one of the nine Services Villages which will, where appropriate increase employment opportunities and where housing should be provided to meet local needs and in appropriate cases to broaden the choice of location of housing (Spatial Policy 3).
2.3.2 The design and appearance of development should be appropriate and of a high quality (Strategic Policies 3 and 5 and Environment Policy 42).
2.3.3 Development in areas designated for development is generally supported, provided that it complies with the following general standards of development:

General Policy 2: 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:

(a) is in accordance with the design brief in the Area Plan where there is such a brief;
(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;
(d) does not adversely affect the protected wildlife or locally important habitats on the site or adjacent land, including water courses;
(e) does not affect adversely public views of the sea;
(f) incorporates where possible existing topography and landscape features, particularly trees and sod banks;
(g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality;
(h) provides satisfactory amenity standards in itself, including where appropriate safe and convenient access for all highway users, together with adequate parking, servicing and manoeuvring space;
(i) does not have an unacceptable effect on road safety or trafﬁc ﬂows on the local highways;
(j) can be provided with all necessary services;
(k) does not prejudice the use or development of adjoining land in accordance with the appropriate Area Plan;(l) is not on contaminated land or subject to unreasonable risk of erosion or ﬂooding;

(m) takes account of community and personal safety and security in the design of buildings and the spaces around them; and
(n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption.

2.3.4 Sustainable development which reduces journeys and energy use and increases thermal efﬁciency and renewable energy is now encouraged (Residential Design Guide which also gives advice about design) and Climate Change Act 2021).
2.3.5 Development is expected to optimise/make the best use of sites (Strategic Policy 1).
2.3.6 Development within Conservation Areas must preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the area (Environment Policy 35 and Planning Policy Statement 1/01 Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man CA2) and development outside must not adversely affect key views into or out of the CA (Environment Policy 36). There is a presumption against the demolition of buildings within a Conservation Area which make a positive contribution to the character or appearance of the area.
2.3.7 The use of upper ﬂoors win business premises in existing towns and villages for residential or ofﬁce use is considered potentially appropriate (paragraph 9.4.5).

2.4 Permitted Development

2.4.1 Within areas which are indicated in a development plan as of residential use or predominantly residential use, there are provisions for the use of existing tourist and residential accommodation for other purposes including use of tourist accommodation for permanent residential and vice versa (Town and Country Planning (Change of Use) (Development) (No. 2) Order 2019).
2.4.2 Whilst in this case the site is designated as Mixed Use, and the unit concerned is an apartment, not a dwelling house, the principle is established that it is generally acceptable in residential areas for tourist accommodation and residential units to be interchangeable. In this respect, it is relevant, we feel, that the adjacent properties are purely residential and that the use of the upper ﬂoors of commercial properties for residential use, amongst other things, is considered acceptable.

3.0 Planning history
3.1 The site (Beach House) has been the subject of the following applications:

95/01284/B - internal alterations and conversion from retail outlet to ofﬁce accommodation permitted

10/01797/B - alterations and erection of a two storey extension to ofﬁce - permitted but not implemented: 18/00132/B - removal of a chimney - refused 24/91295/B - erection of two-storey extension to create two-bed ﬁrst ﬂoor holiday accommodation; side extension to create internal staircase, change of use to provide commercial kitchen and change of use to provide front ofﬁce or retail space - permitted.

3.2 Manxonia House and Overcliffe

3.2.1 88/01754/B proposed the conversion of the premises to ofﬁces from retail and was permitted
3.2.2 89/01240/B - alteration to create new bathroom - permitted
3.2.3 13/91375 proposed the conversion of the building to entirely residential and with very similar external changes to what is now proposed. This was refused for the reason that: "Whilst the alterations to the property are not considered to be detrimental to the appearance and character of the property (which lies within a proposed Conservation Area), the loss of commercial use of the ground ﬂoor would be contrary to the spirit of the Area Plan for the South, Mixed Use Policy 2 and would reduce the range and viability of the village as a service centre and an attractive place to live and visit."
3.2.4 14/00451/B approved the conversion of the existing ofﬁce accommodation to two dwellings, retention of existing ﬁrst ﬂoor ﬂat and retention of ground ﬂoor retail unit, replacement windows and reinstatement of boundary wall. 4.4
3.2.5 17/01153/B replacement of the existing windows in hardwood frames and was approved
3.2.6 18/00534/B - installation of replacement windows - permitted

3.2.7 21/00501/B - conversion of Manxonia House from existing ofﬁce, residential and retail space to retail (Class 1.1) and tea rooms (Class 1.3) - permitted
3.2.8 21/01313/B is described as proposing the conversion of Overcliffe from existing residential and commercial space into retail (class 1.1), tea rooms (class 1.3), restaurant (class 1.3), and tourist accommodation but included the merging of Overcliffe with Manxonia House and use of the unit as a single cafe/restaurant/tea rooms with extension, effectively superseding the previous application solely for Manxonia House (21/00501/B). This application was permitted and was partly implemented. As such, the development of the tourist unit as approved in this application is still capable of implementation.
3.2.9 23/00288/B - removal of two chimneys (retrospective) - permitted
3.2.10 23/01196/B - variation of the conditions relating to the opening times of the property permitted. This approval allowed the operation of the restaurant in Manxonia House and Overcliffe as follows:

2. No customers of the retail, tearoom or restaurant facilities hereby approved (UseClass 1.1 and 1.3) shall be served or remain in the building outside the followinghours:

o 0800 hrs - 2345 hrs any day, and o 0800 hrs - 0045 hrs on New Year's Eve/New Year's Day

3.2.11 Most recently permission has been granted for the installation of signage - 24/00002/D.

3.3 The restaurant is now operational as “Kellas”.

4.0 The proposal

4.1 Proposed is the additional use of the approved tourist accommodation as residential. This would result in the unit being capable of occupation all year round and not dependant on the tourist market.

4.2 No changes are proposed to the approved scheme which is almost complete.

4.3 Internally there have been some changes: the basic layout is the same as approved still having two bedrooms but there are now two en-suite bathrooms in lieu of the single bathroom as permitted. This is shown on the proposed ﬂoor plan albeit that planning approval is not required for internal changes which do not affect the external appearance of the building or result in a material change of its use.

5.0 Assessment

5.1 The site is a prominent one in the heart of Port St. Mary and on the approach to the centre. In addition, the building is within a proposed Conservation Area. The recent conversion of the adjoining building to a restaurant/cafe has reintroduced vibrancy to an important entrance feature to the village.

5.2 The inclusion of the additional residential use of the ﬁrst ﬂoor tourist unit will provide a welcome unit of accommodation in a popular holiday destination on the Island whether this is for tourists or permanent occupation and in conformity with all of the relevant Area and Strategic Plan policies which encourage permanent residential as well as tourist accommodation in settlements to enhance the vitality and vibrancy of the town or village at all times of the day. This is particularly important given that the site lies within a proposed Conservation Area.

5.3 The opportunity for the ﬁrst ﬂoor to be occupied permanently will support the local shops and services and the site is well placed in terms of public transport, public open space and immediate access to shops and amenities. It is clear in the permitted development opportunities that generally in residential areas the interchange of tourist and residential uses is acceptable without control and we would submit that this should be not be any different here where residential uses above commercial ground ﬂoors is accepted in both the Area and Strategic Plans.

5.4 Overall, we would submit that the additional use for residential of the ﬁrst ﬂoor will bring additional activity and interest to the village, additional occupants which will use facilities and businesses in the village, bringing additional investment and activity all year round, retaining the opportunity for the unit to be used by tourists with all the beneﬁts that will bring.

Planning Statement

Planning Statement