Planning Officer Report

Case Officer: Mr Edward Baker Photo Taken: Site Visit: 25.09.2013 Expected Decision Level: Planning Committee

Officer's Report

THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE BECAUSE AT LEAST THREE OBJECTIONS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED FROM PARTIES WITH RECOMMENDED INTERESTED PARTY STATUS. FURTHERMORE, THE PROPOSAL IS FOR A CHILDREN'S NURSERY IN A BUILT UP RESIDENTIAL AREA.

The Application Site

1. The application site is the Rechabite Hall, Allan Street, Douglas. It is a 19th century former mission hall and chapel. The hall is an impressive three storey brick building with a slate roof. It is a Registered Building (Number 107). The hall is currently used as offices for an architectural practice.

1. The Rechabite Hall is situated within a built up residential area and traditional terrace street. It is located on the corner of Allan Street and Parr Street in central Douglas. The hall is situated at the end of a row of buildings with No. 33 Allan Street, a residential neighbour, physically attached to it on its north east side. There site is surrounded by houses on all sides on the opposite side of Allan Street, Parr Street and the alley to the rear. Allan Street is in front of the hall to the north west. To the south west side of the hall is Parr Street. There is a narrow lane at the rear which provides vehicular access. There is a small parking area at the rear with sufficient space for three large cars to be parked, albeit in a staggered arrangement.

The Proposal

1. The application seeks Registered Building Consent for minor works to the hall in connection with a planning application seeking a change of use of the premises from office to a pre-school nursery (13/91072/GB). The works are essentially to convert the first floor kitchen into a W/C, and create a kitchen within the central area of the open plan first floor.

1. Amended plans have been submitted which make the following amendments:

• Correction of the staircase design shown on the existing plans
• Removal of the proposed work surface next to the low level historic windows in the first floor W/C

Application No.:	13/01073/CON
Applicant:	Mrs Amaukiye Holden
Proposal:	Registered Building Consent for change of use from office accommodation to a pre-school nursery (RB no 107 in association with 13/91072/GB)
Site Address:	Rechabite Hall
Allan Street
Douglas
Isle Of Man
IM1 3DW

• Confirmation that the existing low level partitions on the first floor will be retained and not changed to full partitions.

1. The amended plans have been circulated for information. No plans have been provided for the second floor and the applicant has confirmed that this floor will be unaltered. The second floor will be used as part of the pre-school nursery and perhaps as an office.

PLANNING HISTORY

1. Relevant planning history is summarised below:

13/01073/CON - application seeking Registered Building Consent for change of use from office accommodation to a pre-school nursery, undetermined.

03/00146/GB - approval granted in 2003 for alterations to re-instate original half timbering to gable outlet. 88/04064/B - approval granted for conversion of disused hall to drawing office, demolition of part of rear to provide car park. 87/04426/C - application refused for change of use to office accommodation. PLANNING POLICY

1. The area is identified as being within a predominantly residential area by the Douglas Local Plan 1998.

1. The following policies in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 are considered relevant.

Environment Policy 32 states:

'Extensions or alterations to a Registered Building which would affect detrimentally its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest will not be permitted.'

Environment Policy 33 states:

'The change of use of a Registered Building will only be permitted if the proposed use is appropriate and any alterations associated with the change of use are not detrimental to its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest.'

Environment Policy 34 states:

'In the maintenance, alteration or extensions of pre-1920 buildings, the use of traditional materials will be preferred.'

1. Policy RB/3: General criteria applied in considering Registered Building applications, states:

'The issues that are generally relevant to the consideration of all registered building applications are:

• The importance of the building, its intrinsic architectural and historic interest and rarity, relative to the Island as a whole and within the local context;

• The particular physical features of the building (which may include its design, plan, materials or location) which justify its inclusion in the register; descriptions annexed to the entry in the register may draw attention to features of particular interest or value, but they

are not exhaustive and other features of importance, (e.g. Interiors, murals, hidden fireplaces) may come to light after the building's entry in the register;

• The building's setting and its contribution to the local scene, which may be very important, e.g. Where it forms an element in a group, park, garden or other townscape or landscape, or where it shares particular architectural forms or details with other buildings nearby (including other registered buildings).'

Policy RB/4: Use 'In considering a proposal for change of use of a registered building, the principal aim should be to identify the optimum viable use that is compatible with the fabric, interior and setting of the building, all of which affect its special character as a building of merit. An applicant will have to illustrate that the effect of any proposed changes upon the architectural and historic interest of the building will be minimised.'

Policy RB/5: Alterations and extensions, states: 'In considering whether to grant planning approval for development which affects a registered building or its setting and in considering whether to grant registered building consent for any works, the Department shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses.

Registered Building consent is required for the building's alteration in any way which would affect its special architectural or historic character. There will be a general presumption against alteration or extension of registered buildings, except where a convincing case can be made, against the criteria set out in this section, for such proposals.

Applicants for registered building consent for alteration or extension to a registered building must be able to justify their proposals. They will be required to show why the works which would affect the character of the registered building are desirable or necessary and they should provide full information to enable the Department to assess the likely impact of their proposals on the special architectural or historic interest of the building and on its setting. Where registered buildings are the subject of successive applications for alteration or extension, consideration will also be given to the cumulative effect upon the building's special interest as a result of several minor works which may individually seem of little consequence.'

Representations

1. Douglas Borough Council - no objection.
2. The following comments from local people have been received in relation to one or other of the planning and registered building applications:

No. 3 Orry Street, Douglas - has concerns about traffic and a lack of parking in the area. Allan Street particularly suffers from a lack of parking, which affects residents who have to park elsewhere.

No. 33 Allan Street, Douglas - objects to the application. The area is congested with traffic and the proposal will make this worse. Dropping off and collecting children will cause a major hazard. Their property is attached to the hall and they have serious concerns about noise and that this will possibly be heard in the house.

No. 7 Campion Close, Peel - fully support the proposal, which will be convenient to their working place. There are currently no nurseries in Peel that accommodate babies.

No. 1 Poplar Road, Douglas - support the proposal. Both my partner and I work in Douglas and the location of the site is absolutely ideal. We know of other parents looking for a nursery in the area.

No. 54 Allan Street - no objection in principle but have concerns about highway safety. The proposal will create significant parking demand at times. The applicant's statement that there is 'huge availability' of parking in the area is totally inaccurate. Although there is usually adequate parking from 8:30am to 4:30pm, parking becomes limited after 4:30pm when people return home from work. Parking on the pavements will become inevitable. A photograph taken at 5:45pm is submitted, which shows limited parking spaces. There are also concerns about through traffic. The volume of traffic increases after 5 pm and some of the cars in the area speed. There is concern that this will not be a safe area for children attending the pre-school.

The Planning Authority has received a petition of 23 signatures from people who object to the application:

• Excessive traffic in a small residential area. Congestion is a major problem with traffic disrupted by children being dropped off and collected. There is no area for dropping off as the front door of the hall faces onto double yellow lines. Congestion will result
• The hall only has 3 parking spaces. If there is more than 3 staff then residential parking might be used. There is currently a shortage of parking in the area
• The area has not got the facilities to support the proposal

1. Chris Thomas, MHK - pre-school educational is needed in this part of Douglas and this Registered Building needs to be used. If traffic and parking management can be addressed, the proposal will be valuable to the local community and economy. Mr Thomas asks to be given interested person status or at least notified of meetings and decisions.

Assessment

The effect of the proposal on the architectural and historic qualities of the Registered Building

1. The sole consideration for this application is whether the proposal would detrimentally affect the hall's character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. Issues relating to the use of the building are dealt with by the planning application (13/91072/GB).
2. In order to consider the impact of these proposals on the character of the Registered Building, it is first necessary to identify and understand that character.
3. The following is an excerpt from the Registered Building file, provided by the Architects who currently occupy the property and offers some historic background to the building.

'The site was donated to the Church of England, specifically the parochial district of St. Georges, in memory of the father of Mrs Ellanor Gelling of Hills House, Douglas. Hills House stood where the post office headquarters are now.

Mrs Gelling also paid for the erection of the Mission Hall, the land and building being handed over to the then Lord Bishop the Right Reverend Rowley Hill D.D. at the opening on Easter Monday 26th April, 1896.

The plans were prepared by a Mr. James Cowle; who was also the contractor for the work as well as church warders for the Hall.

The Hall was designed to hold 350 persons and the Parish Room 60 persons.' The building was described in the Monas Herald 28th April, 1896 as follows:- 'Mr. James Cowle drew the plans for it and built it, and much credit is due to him, not only for the excellence of design but also for the very thorough manner in which the work has been executed."

The Hall eventually became used as a chapel of Ease, and was in due course sold to the Independent Order of Rechabites in the nineteen thirties and used as a meeting hall, with the demise of the order the building was sold to the Architects Ellis Brown and became their offices.

The Manx Church of 1891 refers to him as a surveyor, he did however carry out a good deal of building work in Douglas from offices in Windsor Road.'

1. The above information is significant as it makes it quite clear that the hall was originally built as a meeting hall. The building as it appears today is much altered from its original form as the applications for the Change of Use to office accommodation and 88/04064/B - Conversion of disused hall to drawing office, demolition of part of rear to provide car park following included the insertion of the upper floors removing the hall volume. It is worth noting here though, that the building was added to the Protected Buildings Register in November 1988 following approval of the aforementioned Change of Use and Conversion applications. Although not specifically an issue for this application, the use of the hall as a children's nursery is considered commensurate with its previous use as a meeting place and a community use of the building is appropriate.
2. The material changes to the building are actually quite minimal. They include the installation of small toilets in the rear annexe to the First Floor currently housing a Kitchen and the creation of a Kitchen at first floor, immediately adjacent to the staircase in an area currently defined as office and currently formed via low level partitions. The amended plans confirm that the low level partitions will be retained and not replaced with full height partitions. It was originally proposed to include a work surface next to the windows in the first floor W/C. This would have blocked the low level windows from the inside and would have harmed this historic feature. However, the work surface has now been removed. The survey drawings have been amended to correct the design and position of the stairs.
3. No changes are proposed to the second floor (attic space) and the applicant has provided photographs of this floor for future records.
4. The Conservation Officer offers no objection to the proposals, which would have minimal intervention and would not be detrimental impact upon the character of the Registered Building.

Other matters

1. It is noted that none of the objections from local people relate to the proposed physical alterations to the building; objectors are primarily concerned about the issue of the building and its subsequent environmental impacts - these issues are dealt with under the planning application.
2. The Conservation Officer advises that no specific conditions are required other than the standard conditions relating to time implementation and referring to the approved drawings.

1. It is recommended that the application is approved with conditions.

Party Status

1. The following local people should be afforded interested person status:

• The local authority, Douglas Borough Council, is by virtue of the Registered Buildings Regulations 2005 paragraph 8 (5) (e), considered "interested persons" and as such should be afforded party status.

1. The following people should not be afforded interested person status. The neighbours raise concerns about the use of the building, which is a matter for the planning application and are not relevant to the consideration of an application for Registered Building Consent.

• No. 3 Orry Street, Douglas
• No. 33 Allan Street, Douglas
• No. 7 Campion Close, Peel
• No. 1 Poplar Road, Douglas
• No. 54 Allan Street, Douglas
• Persons who signed the petition (signatories of a petition are not afforded interested person status)
• Chris Thomas, MHK

Recommendation

Recommended Decision: Permitted

Date of 25.11.2013

Recommendation:

Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal

C : Conditions for approval

N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal

• : Notes attached to refusals

C 1. The works hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.

C 2.

The works hereby permitted shall not be carried out except in full accordance with the following plans: site location plans received on 10 September 2013; existing and proposed ground floor plans, and existing and proposed first floor plans received on 15 November 2013.

I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the Town and Country (Development Procedure) 2005

Decision Made : ................................................. Committee Meeting Date : 9/12/13 Signed : ................................................. Signed : ................................................. Presenting Officer Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason is required. Signing Officer to delete as appropriate

YES/NO

3 December 2013 13/01073/CON Page 7 of 7