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Replacement of Retail Units and Vacant Residential Properties with a New Office Building, No.s 38 - 40b Finch Road and No.s 19 \&t 21 Well Road Hill, Douglas
Planning Statement dandara commercial limited
Replacement of Retail Units and Vacant Residential Properties with a New Office Building, No.s 38 - 40b Finch Road and No.s 19 \& 21 Well Road Hill, Douglas
Planning Statement
1.1 The site covers an area of approximately 800 sq.m at the junction of Finch Road and Well Road Hill in Douglas town centre. It is currently occupied by four single storey shop units and a pair of semi-detached former dwelling/commercial buildings of 3 and 4 storeys, along with their former gardens. 1.2 Planning approval has been granted under PA 08/00924/B to redevelop the site with an office building, incorporating a small replacement café towards the lower end of Well Road Hill, and this approval has been extended until September 2014. The owner of the café at that time wished to continue trading from the replacement unit; this is no longer the case and the café has been sold and is vacant. Approval is now sought for an office building which no longer includes a replacement café but in all other aspects remains as previously approved.
2.1 The site is located on the south eastern corner of the junction between Finch Road and Well Road Hill, and directly opposite the junction of Finch Road, Mount Havelock and Christian Road. Finch Road becomes one-way close to the southern site boundary, whilst Well Road Hill is a pedestrian only footpath which leads eastwards down to Market Street. 2.2 The western part of the site is at present occupied by 6 buildings, the most substantial being the pair of semi-detached properties which front onto Finch Road at the south western site corner (no.s $38 \& 40$ ). These buildings are of 3 storeys to Finch Road (ground plus two) and 4 storeys to the rear, and are of Georgian form. They have formerly been used as both residential and commercial premises, although they are now vacant and unused.
Photograph 1 - view from Christian Road of no.s 38 \& 40 Finch Road (with no. 36 also visible)
Photograph 2 - buildings currently on the site, with Markwell House in the background
Immediately to the north are a pair of flat roofed, single storey semi-detached retail units, which have most recently been used as a hair salon and a newsagent (no.s 40a \& 40b). The final two buildings, which are unused and include the former café, take the same general form as the other retail units and front onto the top part of Well Road Hill (no.s 19 \& 21). The remaining
eastern part of the site has previously been used as a garden area in association with no.s $38 \& 40$ Finch Road and contains a number of trees (5); it is set lower than the adjoining car park to the south and is enclosed by a high stone wall at the boundary with Well Road Hill.
Photograph 3 - view up Well Road Hill from side door of Markwell House 2.3 The buildings in the immediate vicinity of the site are a variety of heights; no.s 32 to 36 Finch Road are 3 storey ( 4 to the rear), whilst Markwell House (to the east) is 4 storeys adjacent to the site and 5 storeys on Market Street. Chester Street car park, which is directly across Well Road Hill from the site, ranges from 2 storey to 6 storey depending upon ground levels. A row of 2 storey retail units face onto Finch Road to the south west of the site, whilst planning approval has been granted to replace the buildings on the opposite side of Finch Road from the site with a 5 storey office building. These buildings exhibit a wide variety of styles and appearances, including Georgian buildings facing onto Finch Road and brick faced structures overlooking Well Road Hill.
3.1 The site is within an area which is designated for Predominantly Office use by the Douglas Local Plan, and although it is outside the boundary it is close enough to feature in views into and out of the Windsor Road Conservation Area. Several properties on Finch Road are entered on the Protected Buildings Register but they are not adjacent to the site. A number of planning approvals have previously been granted in respect of the buildings within the site, including permission for a jewellery shop (no. 38), permission for a hot \& cold food takeaway (the former café at no. 19), and approval in principle to add a second storey dental laboratory to no. 21 Well Road Hill. Planning approval has previously been sought to replace the buildings and former garden on part of the site (no.s 38 \& 40 Finch Road) with a new office/apartment building, and the application was refused (PA 06/00014). 3.2 Planning approval has been granted under PA 08/00924/B to redevelop the application site with an office building, incorporating a replacement café on Well Road Hill, and this remains valid ${ }^{1}$. Approval has subsequently been granted under PA 08/01953/C to vary the uses within the approved building to include Class 2 professional uses. 3.3 Planning approval has also been granted under PA 08/00925/B \& PA 10/00370/B to create a multi-level car park with commercial space on the former Greeba Works site on Market Street, a short distance to the south east of the application site. Since the approval of PA 08/00924/B planning approval has been granted to redevelop a site on Finch Road which is immediately to the south of the application site with an office building. A doctor's surgery has now also been introduced at the bottom of Well Road Hill as part of the Chester Street car park complex.
4.1 The application seeks detailed planning approval for the replacement of no.s 38 to 40b Finch Road (and garden area) and no.s 19 \& 21 Well Road Hill with a new office building. The café which was previously approved as part of the PA 08/00924/B scheme is no longer required and as such it is to be replaced with office space - in all other respects the proposed building is as previously
[^0] [^0]: ${ }^{1}$ Approval notice for PA 08/00924/B is attached at Appendix 1
approved. This site is particularly well located in terms of pedestrian links to the town centre, and its location close to approved off-site parking provision offers an opportunity to set aside on-site parking and access constraints and the implications that they can have for building design and the efficient use of the site. 4.2 The office building will have a nett floor area of approximately 2200 sq.m, resulting in a need to provide 44 parking spaces; these spaces will be provided entirely off-site within a new car park to be developed on Market Street (as identified on the location plan). The approval of PA 08/00924/B is subject to a condition which requires a legal agreement to be put in place regarding parking provision. Planning approval for the multi-level car park on Market Street has been granted under PA 10/00370/B. 4.3 As it fronts onto Finch Road the building has been designed so as to reflect the proportions and rhythm of adjacent properties in a contemporary manner. A proposal by others to redevelop no.s 32-36 Finch Road with a new office building is also the subject of a current planning application and the design of that scheme has also been taken into consideration, as can be seen by sketches included in the design concept booklet which accompanies this statement.
4.4 The comprehensive redevelopment of the Finch Road/Well Road Hill corner will bring public benefit and allows the new building to turn that corner and step down Well Road Hill in response to the existing gradient, thus providing a full and active frontage to an important town centre thoroughfare. It is this stepping arrangement, in conjunction with steps back from the footpath, which plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the building will not appear overly dominant to pedestrians. 4.5 The office building now proposed will have its visual mass broken significantly by the use of stepped sections which effectively screen the highest elements (when viewed from the east) and prevent them from being viewed as a single mass. Stepping sections back from Well Road Hill also serves to reduce the impact of the building upon users of the footpath. The creation of a well glazed and active frontage to the southern side of Well Road Hill will improve the environment immeasurably, both for pedestrians on Well Road Hill and when viewed from further afield (see image below).
4.6 The Arboricultural Officer for DAFF has examined the trees on site and advised that overall they are of limited value, and that in his view the location is more suited to shrubbery type vegetation than trees. The extant approval recognises this fact and allows for the trees to be removed. The new building as proposed will significantly enhance the streetscene, and will include controlled planting at a variety of levels to complement that which exists on the car park side of Well Road Hill. 4.7 Further information in respect of the design concept for the proposed development accompanies this statement (as a separate A3 document) and includes site appraisal diagrams and examples of detail/materials which have influenced the process. An energy impact assessment/statement as required by Energy Policy 5 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan ${ }^{2}$ is appended to this statement.
[^0] [^0]: ${ }^{2}$ An energy impact assessment/statement is attached at Appendix 2
5.1 The site is within an area which is designated for Predominantly Office use by the Douglas Local Plan, and is not within a Conservation Area. The existing buildings are unsightly and have little merit, and planning approval has been granted to replace them with an office building which incorporates a replacement café. The owner of the café at that time wished to continue trading from the replacement unit, but this is no longer the case and the café has been sold and is vacant. Approval is now sought for an office building which no longer includes a replacement café but in all other aspects remains as previously approved. 5.2 Car parking is to be provided nearby on a site which has planning approval for such. The building will step down and back from Well Road Hill at regular intervals in order to break the mass visually and avoid an overbearing impact upon pedestrians, and the use of substantial areas of glazing at street level will bring some much needed vitality to Well Road Hill. The scheme will include several areas of controlled planting to complement that which exists on the other side of Well Road Hill. 5.3 As it faces Finch Road the proposed building is a contemporary response to the Georgian properties immediately to the south. The design of the building approved on the adjoining site has also been taken into consideration. The building proposed for the application site will make a suitable statement on a prominent and important site, as well as significantly improving the local environment and views into and out of the nearby Conservation Area.
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