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20/00916/B Page 1 of 4
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 20/00916/B Applicant : Kirindolam 1 Limited Proposal : Demolition and erection of replacement roof plant room, installation of entrance canopies and installation of replacement windows and street level metal railings Site Address : Clinches Court Development North Quay, Bank Hill & Lord Street Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 4LJ
Planning Officer: Mr Peiran Shen Photo Taken : 10.09.2020 Site Visit : 10.09.2020 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 22.09.2020 __
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 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. This application is considered to comply with General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 35 of the Strategic Plan, Planning Circular 1/98 and Planning Policy Statement 1/01.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the documents, location plan and the drawing no. P0001A, P1009A, P3000A, P3001A, P3002A, P3003A date-stamped as having been received 11th August 2020. __
Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
None __
Officer’s Report
1.0 THE SITE
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1.1 The application site is the commercial curtilage of Clinches Court Development North Quay, Bank Hill & Lord Street, Douglas, an eight-storey office building located at the southwest corner of Bank Hill and Lord Street. The access on Lord Street is on Level 3 of the building.
1.2 There is a plant room on top of the building close to its west elevation. The plant roof has a hipped roof and is adjacent to the boiler & lift motor room. The plant room is lower than the boiler & lift motor room.
1.3 There is one canopy on the Lord Street elevation. It is at the entrance to the Anglo House.
1.4 There are mental rails around the Lord Street and Bank Hill boundary. The pillar all have lamppost-style lantern light on top.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The current planning application seeks full approval for demolition and erection of replacement roof plant room, installation of entrance canopies and installation of replacement windows and street-level metal railings.
2.2 The existing plant room on top of the building will be replaced with a flat roof room with metal sheeting. The roof will be slightly higher than the boiler & lift motor room.
2.3 The existing canopy will be replaced with a flat glazing canopy and it will be installed at the Clinch's House and Harbour Court entrance to match Anglo House.
2.4 The existing railing on the Lord Street and Bank Hill boundary will be replaced with on a like for like base, powered coated black. The light will be replaced with modern design and without the lamppost.
2.5 The proposal also includes the replacement of all windows. All new windows will have evenly split vertically and they will all have horizontal glazing bars.
2.6 For all windows on a protruding/cantilevered bays, the existing metal panel claddings will be replaced by Cedral cladding half the original height. The new glazing with uPVC frame between claddings will have two vertical glazing bars and three horizontal glazing bars.
3.0 PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 There is no previous application considered materially relevant to this application.
4.0 PLANNING POLICY 4.1 In term of local policy, the site is designated as "Mixed Use (Town Centre)" in the Douglas Local Plan 1998. The site is within the Douglas North Quay Conservation Area.
4.2 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains two policies that are considered specifically material to the assessment of this current planning application:
4.3 General Policy 2 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: (m) takes account of community and personal safety and security in the design of buildings and the spaces around them; and
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(n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."
4.4 Environmental Policy 35 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 It is also important to consider Planning Policy Statement 1/01 (Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man) - Policy CA/2, (Conservation Areas); "When considering proposals for the possible development of any land or buildings which fall within the conservation area, the impact of such proposals upon the special character of the area will be a material consideration when assessing the application."
4.6 In terms of Planning Circular 1/98: The Alteration and Replacement of Windows set down the policies in respect of the alteration or replacement of windows. (Part 6 Category b) Buildings in Conservation Areas states:
"If the original windows are in place they should preferably be repaired. If repair is impracticable, replacement windows which would be readily visible from a public thoroughfare MUST HAVE THE SAME method of opening as the originals. Whatever the material used in their construction, the windows MUST HAVE THE SAME pattern and section of glazing bars and the same frame sections as the original windows"
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Douglas Borough Council has no objection on this application (01/09/2020).
5.2 DOI Highway Services does not oppose to this application (28/08/2020).
6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 The key issue to consider in the assessment of this application is whether the proposals would meet the test set out in Environment Policy 35 and other policies mentioned above in either preserving or enhancing the Conservation Area.
6.2 Although located within the Conservation Area, the building is a modern office building with quasi-traditional design. Therefore, the character of the area still has a close resemblance to traditional design but not a full traditional design.
6.3 The proposed replacement of plant room on the roof is of modern design. Although it is no visible when observing from close to the building, it is visible at the junction of Peel Road and Circular Road. That being said, the design does not seem to be out of character for an office building, nor would it stand out of its surroundings. This is the same for the installation of canopies and new railings.
6.4 The replacement windows will all be similar on size. It will also keep the existing format. The addition of horizontal glazing bars will not damage the character of the Area.
6.5 While the Planning Circular 1/98 states replacement windows should be a replica of the original windows in design as much as possible, the main focus can be summarized into three points: O windows visible from a public highway have higher priorities than other windows; O opening method of a window is more important than other design features; O patterns and frame are less important if not visible;
6.6 The property is highly visible by the public and is a focal point of the streets, as it is a corner property and at the junction of two roads with high traffic volume. All window on and
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above level 3 is visible by the public. As the building is already a modern office building with big glazing, the existing casement window is acceptable so the replacement casement window is also acceptable. Although uPVC frame would not appeal the same texture as aluminium, this will not damage the character of the Area.
7.0 CONCLUSION 7.1 For the above reasons the application is considered to comply with General Policy 2, Environment Policy 35, Planning Policy Statement 1/01 and Policy 1/98. It is considered acceptable and is recommended for approval.
8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons: (a) the applicant (including an agent acting on their behalf); (b) any Government Department that has made written representations that the Department considers material; (c) the Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure; (d) Manx National Heritage where it has made written representations that the Department considers material; (e) Manx Utilities where it has made written representations that the Department considers material; (f) the local authority in whose district the land which the subject of the application is situated; and (g) a local authority adjoining the authority referred to in paragraph (f) where that adjoining authority has made written representations that the Department considers material.
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 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: 24.09.2020
Determining officer
Signed : C BALMER
Chris Balmer
Principal Planner
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