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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 17/00878/B Applicant : RL360 Insurance Company Limited Proposal : Removal of earth bank and the creation of a temporary car park for a period of 4 years (retrospective) Site Address : Fields 521888 And 521895, Between Isle Of Man Business Park And Cooil Road Douglas Isle of Man

Case Officer : Miss Lucy Kinrade Photo Taken : 14.02.2017 Site Visit : 14.02.2017 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 07.11.2017 __

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

C 1. The use hereby approved is permitted until 31st December 2021, after which the use must cease unless otherwise approved in writing by the Department.

Reason: The application sought approval for a temporary period and has been assessed on that basis. Furthermore the proposed surface finish and the lack of landscaping would have a negative impact on the area if retained for longer than the 4 year period.

Plans/Drawings/Information:

This approval relates to drawing ref: 0001, 0002, 0003 (Location Plan), 0003 (Site Plan), 0005 and associated photographs and supporting statement all date stamped and received 16th August 2017.

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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

NONE __

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE

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1.1 The application site is located on the north-eastern side of Cooil Road and within the Isle of Man Business Park. The site which sits to the south of the Manx Utilities (MU) Headquarters covers an area of around 3,300 sq m and is currently being utilised as a car park by Royal London 360 approx. 110m south west of the site.

1.2 The land is, at present, open and covered with hardstanding. Along the north east boundary with Manx Utilities the existing site has a small bank and a stretch of mature hedging and hawthorn trees. Along the south west boundary an earth bank has been removed and a small timber post fence erected.

1.3 The existing site has a pedestrian access point that connects to the footpath of Cooil Road, which allows users of the car park to walk directly to RL360 House along the existing roadside footway.

1.4 The site has had previous approvals for office blocks and most recently has been approved as a temporary car park for up to 121 spaces.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The application before us seeks approval for the removal of the earth back and the creation of 33 additional car parking spaces. The application also seeks approval for the use of the car park for a temporary period of 4 years. The total number of car parking spaces will be 154.

2.2 The application is needed because Royal London 360 has recently lost an area of temporary car park in the IOM Business Park due to the progression of a cycling facility approved under PA 16/00938/B. The business has also recently completed the purchase of another business and has incorporated the new staff within their existing building and site.

2.3 The car parking facilities are for use by RL360 staff only.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 Aforementioned the land has been the subject of a number of planning applications for proposals relating to new office development. The most recent of these (PAs 14/01437/B and 14/01442/B) extended the life of earlier planning approvals (11/00169/B and 11/00170/B) for the erection of three such buildings on parts of the current application site.

3.2 Most relevant application in the case of the current application is PA 16/00016/C for the temporary use of the site as an office car park for up to 121 car parking spaces. This application was approved for a temporary period of 3 years and required the submission of details by condition regarding the laying of the spaces, boundary treatment and a concrete apron at the site access.

4.0 THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN 4.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Braddan Local Plan of 1991 as "Master Plan to be prepared which will include areas of Industrial Use, Science Based Industries, High Density Residential Use, Landscaping and Secondary School of approximately 16 acres". This succeeded a planning application seeking Approval in Principle for the development of a business park of 40 acres, which was approved on appeal under PA 89/04166/B. This required inter alia that the business park comprise light industrial use, warehousing, development associated with new technology companies predominantly involved in scientific, commercial or industrial research and development or electronic systems, micro-engineering, biotechnology, office accommodation as the corporate headquarters of companies which utilise the new information technologies and service other park users but specifically excluding financial and professional services to visiting members of the public, including banks, building societies, estate agencies and betting offices. The approval also required that buildings should cover no more than 25% of the business park.

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4.2 The IOM Business Park comprises a mix of occupants including Royal London 360 mutual life insurance (which sits on the corner of the business park and Cooil Road), Manx Telecom and Manx Utilities (who have a corporate headquarters and operating centre). There are also training facilities, vehicle repair and servicing, and parcel distribution facilities within the park.

4.3 Business Parks are defined in the Strategic Plan as "development encompassing land for light industrial purposes, warehousing, new-technology companies involved in scientific, commercial, or industrial research or development and office accommodation as the corporate headquarters of companies having multiple and diverse interests (but excluding financial/professional services to visiting members of the public); buildings should be set in parkland which should dominate the landscape."

4.4 The Strategic Plan contains two policies that are of material relevance to the assessment of the planning application.

4.5 General Policy 2 states, in part: "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; (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; (k) does not prejudice the use or development of adjoining land in accordance with the appropriate Area Plan."

4.6 Transport Policy 7 states: "The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards."

4.7 Appendix 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 sets a parking standard for out of town offices of one space for every 15 square metres of nett floor space, and town centre office development one parking space per 50sq metres of nett office floor space. Such parking spaces are to be provided preferably on site but otherwise conveniently close to the site.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Department of Infrastructure Highway Services have indicated no highways interest in the application 7/09/2017.

5.2 Braddan Parish Commissioners offered no objection to the proposal on 14/09/2017.

6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 It is considered that the proposal would be in accordance with this land use zoning given that the car parking is to be associated with an existing business. The Strategic Plan requires a balance to be struck with respect to the number of spaces provided in terms of its impact on sustainability, highways safety and visual impact.

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6.2 As previously mentioned the site was subject to an approval for a temporary car park in 2016. The intention of this application was to accommodate roughly 100 new staff. The approval was granted for a temporary period of 3 years. The circumstance now is that an existing area of car parking (45 spaces) used by RL360 and north of the existing building has recently been lost through development of an approved planning application PA 16/00938/B. The 45 car parking spaces no longer available for use by RL360 staff. The application now seeks to increase the number of spaces from the previously approved 121 space car park to 154 in hope to accommodate a number of the lost spaces and to help facilitate a recent increase in staffing numbers following the purchase of a new company.

6.3 The access to the car park will be as existing. It is unlikely that the proposal will bring about an over-intensification of the traffic coming and going from the site and that the existing highway and estate road has sufficient capacity to accommodate the additional 33 spaces. Highway Services have indicated no highways interest in the proposal; as such it is considered that an objection to the proposal in respect of TP7 or the relevant parts of GP2 would be inappropriate.

6.4 Turning to the visual impact, the site remains as a open area laid with aggregate hard- core and a concrete apron access. The Strategic Plans indicates that buildings in business parks should be 'set in parkland which should dominate the landscape', as such landscaping was discussed with the applicant at length; it was considered that the removal of the south-east boundary would be acceptable in creating the additional parking spaces for the site. However, the removal of the boundary treatment along the north-east side without any form of replacement would be unacceptable and result in an increased visual impact of the buildings behind and am unacceptable loss of parkland vegetation that the SP sets out the achieve.

6.5 Alternative replacements and landscaping was discussed with the applicant and it was considered that the temporary nature of the car park did not warrant the expenditure and completion of a landscaping plan and that the application would progress with the retention of the north-east boundary treatment. This was considered acceptable.

6.6 The car park is to provide 154 spaces and is to be used by RL360 staff only. A number of the spaces are provided in tandem, the applicant has submitted a supporting statement indicating that there will be a car park management system that will ensure spaces are allocated and managed effectively and efficiently including in cases of emergency.

6.7 Within the supporting statement the applicant indicates that the long term plan for the site is to potentially develop further office space for use by the business, and that previous approvals have been considered acceptable here. The proposed use of the 154 space car park for a temporary period of 4 years ensures that the future development of the site is not sterilised from further development.

6.8 Following the request of further information from the applicant it has been concluded that the floor area of the existing office building of RL360 is 2400 sq m. The existing car parking available is 115 spaces. The IOM Strategic Plan indicates that car parking required for out of town office space is 1 parking space per 15 sq m. The existing building requiring 161 car parking spaces based on the 2400 sq m floor area. The existing provision being 46 spaces less than the required standards.

6.9 The temporary car park ultimately provides 46 spaces required of the general parking standards, and an additional 108 spaces to facilitate an expected increase of 440 employees as indicated in a supporting email from the applicant.

7.0 CONCLUSION 7.1 It is concluded that the proposal is not so far removed from the previously approved car park to warrant a refusal. The application is considered to meet with the tests of General Policy

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2 and provides sufficient parking for use of RL360. The proposal meets with highway standards relative to TP7 and Appendix 7 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016.

7.2 It is considered that a condition restricting the use to 4 years would be appropriate in this case.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 (Article 6(4), 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 (d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

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 in Article 6(4) who should be given Interested Person Status. __

I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Director of Planning and Building Control in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted

Date : 27.11.2017

Determining officer

Signed : J CHANCE

Jennifer Chance

Director of Planning and Building Control

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.