148439

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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 17/00014/B Applicant : David Hathersich-Jones Proposal : Removal of chimneys at Victoria Mall and 67 Parliament Street Site Address : Victoria Mall Parliament Street Ramsey Isle Of Man IM8 1AZ

Case Officer : Miss Abigail Morgan Photo Taken :

Site Visit :

Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is the Victorian Mall and no 67 Parliament Street. The buildings where the chimneys are form part of the terrace from 39 - 71 Parliament Street. The terrace and the application buildings are four storey Victorian buildings with predominantly shops at the ground floor and residential and other uses on floors 1 - 3. The chimneys sit either side of the pitch and have quite a high stack when viewed from either side with corbelling and with what appears to be clay pots. Due to their elevated location it was not clear what the flaunching or top is made from.

1.2 The red line also includes the rear part of the Victorian Mall, although from the images supplied none of the chimneys are on the rear part.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The planning application seeks the approval for the complete removal of the 7 chimney stacks and pots down to roof level and extend the roof over, as part of the re-roofing of the buildings.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 The planning history mainly relates to changes of use, signage and new shop fronts, none of which are considered relevant in the consideration of this application.

3.2 In the wider area the following applications are considered relevant;

09/02080/B - Removal of five chimney stacks and rendering works, 34 Parliament Street - REFUSED for the following reason;

"The removal of the chimney stacks would be contrary to General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 35 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 in that the removal of the prominent chimney stacks would not preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the Conservation Area and have a detrimental impact upon the visual amenities of the locality."

14/00284/B - Conversion of dwelling to provide two apartments including removal of chimney stacks and installation of replacement windows, 54 Parliament Street - APPROVED. The chimney to be

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removed was considered to be the lesser of the two with the main one remaining and its removal was considered to not have a significant visual impact.

15/00699/B - Alterations to building including replacement shop front, windows and roof work, creation of self-contained apartment and removal of chimney stack, 80 Parliament Street - APPROVED. The chimney was considered not to provide an especially important feature on the building and nor is the building set within a row of other buildings with such robust stacks. It was considered that a refusal on this ground alone would not be appropriate.

4.0 PLANNING POLICY

4.1 In terms of local plan policy, the application site is located within an area designated as being in an area of "Mixed use Town centre" Ramsey Local Plan 1998.

4.2 In terms of strategic plan policy, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains one policy that is considered specifically relevant to the assessment of this current planning application:

4.2 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;

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 DOI Highways - do not oppose. 03.02.2017.

5.2 Ramsey Town Commissioners - no objection. 26.01.2017

6.0 ASSESSMENT

6.1 Given the nature of the planning application and development proposed, the two issues are the impact of the removal of the existing chimney stacks on the existing appearance of the building, the row of buildings and on the wider surrounding area.

6.2 This part of Parliament Street is a traditional terrace dating back to the Victorian era, which forms part of the Victorian Mall. Each of the properties of this terrace has a pair of individual chimney stacks, one to the front roof plane and a second of the same or similar size and design to the rear roof plane. The chimney stacks of the properties are uniform throughout this part of Parliament and add to the character to this terrace. Whilst the application site is not a Registered Building or within a Conservation Area, the removal of the chimney stacks would be a loss to the existing buildings which is considered to be detrimental to the existing appearance of the buildings and the terrace.

6.3 Views of Parliament Street from the surrounding streets, such as Christian Street, clearly show the presence of the chimney stacks and when taken together they are quite noticeable from distance and close views. The chimney stacks punctuate the skyline and it is considered that they are key features of the skyline in this area. From visiting the site and surrounding area it was clear that the chimneys play an important role in the overall design and character of the terrace and to lose any of these would be detrimental to the street scene and upset the appearance of the locality. It was noted that the majority if not all the stacks are still in place and whilst each application should be judged on its own merits, there needs to be a careful consideration that allowing these chimney stacks to be removed, would contribute to reducing the character and interest of the

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terrace. While the removal of other chimney stacks, in the area, has been approved they were not considered to be especially important features in the street scene, which is the case here.

6.4 Overall, it is concluded that the planning application does not accord to the provisions set out in General Policy 2 (b), (c) and (g) of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

7.0 RECOMMENDATION

7.1 Given the above, it is recommended that the application be refused.

8.0 PARTY STATUS

8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, the following persons are automatically interested persons: (a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent; (b) The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested; (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material , in this case, Department of Infrastructure Highway Services and (d) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

With effect from 1 June 2015, the Transfer of Planning & Building Control Functions Order 2015 amends the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 to give effect to the meaning of the word 'Department' to be the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture unless otherwise directed by that Order.

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Refused Date of Recommendation: 13.03.2017

R . The removal of the chimney stacks would represent the loss of special features which contributes to the character of the locality and the application site building and would therefore undermine the integrity and appearance of the row of properties of Parliament Street and the Victoria Mall contrary to General Policy 2 (b, c and g) of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Senior Planning Officer in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Refused Date: 13.03.2017

Determining officer

Signed : C BALMER

Chris Balmer

Senior Planning Officer

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Customer note

This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the file copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online services/customers and archive records.