Officer Report

Application No.: 17/00645/CON Applicant: Elaine Litherland Proposal: Registered Building Consent for internal alterations including removal of pews and replacement with chairs, replacement of heating pipes/radiators, repositioning of font and cupboards around gallery pillars (RB 119) Site Address: St Peter's Church Church Road Onchan Isle Of Man Case Officer : Mr S Moore Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site defined in red represents part of the curtilage of St. Peters Church, a church building sitting to the south of the Onchan village centre to the south and west of Church Road. The church sits within its graveyard with an additional section of cemetery sitting to the south. - 1.2 The church itself is a rectangular orientated west - east as many churches are, built in pointed stone with a naturally slated roof and a bell tower at the western end.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed here is an application for Registered Building Consent for internal alterations including removal of pews and replacement with chairs, replacement of heating pipes/radiators, repositioning of font and cupboards around gallery pillars.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 There are no applications considered to be specifically material in the assessment of the current application. The following are the only recent applications relating to the property: 14/00468/GB Installation of replacement guttering (in association with 14/00469/CON) - Permitted 02/02256/GB Erection of sexton's store/office, St. Peters Church, Church Road, Onchan - Permitted

01/00999/GB Erection of lean to toilet with internal access, St. Peters Church, Church Road, Onchan

• Permitted 00/02216/GB Erection of lean to external toilet, St. Peters Church, Church Road, Onchan Application Permitted on Review 93/00803/B Provision of spotlighting and floodlighting, St. Peters Church, Church Road, Onchan Permitted

4.0 DEVELOPMENT PLAN POLICIES - 4.1 The site lies within an area annotated as 'Church' on the Onchan Local Plan of 1989. In terms of the Local Plan, the site is surrounded by predominantly residential to the west, mixed use

to the north private woodland to the south east and south west and predominantly residential to the immediate south. The site also lies within Onchan Conservation Area designated in 1990 and the building is Registered (RB No119). As the church is both Registered and located within a Conservation Area, it is appropriate to consider Strategic Policy 4 and Environment Policies 32, 35 and 34 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan (20th June 2007) and Policies RB/5 and CA/2 Special Planning Considerations from Planning Policy Statement 1/01 (Policy and Guidance Notes for the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man) is also considered to be relevant to determining this application.

Strategic Policy 4 Proposals for development must:

• (a) Protect or enhance the fabric and setting of Ancient Monuments, Registered Buildings, Conservation Areas, buildings and structures within National Heritage Areas and sites of archaeological interest;
• (b) Protect or enhance the landscape quality and nature conservation value of urban as well as rural areas but especially in respect to development adjacent to Areas of Special Scientific Interest and other designations; and
• (c) Not cause or lead to unacceptable environmental pollution or disturbance. 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 34 states:

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

• Environment 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."

RB/5: Alterations and Extensions:

"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 affect upon the building's special interest as a result of several minor works which may individually seem of little consequence."

Policy CA/2 - Special Planning Considerations states:

"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.

Where a development is proposed for land which, although not within the boundaries of the conservation area, would affect its context or setting, or views into or out of the area; such issues should be given special consideration where the character or appearance of a conservation area may be affected."

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS: - 5.1. Onchan Commissioners 'recommend that the application be approved' (28.06.2017) - 5.2 DOI Highways have indicated no highway implications (10.07.2017)

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The application seeks Registered Building consent for the internal alterations including removal of pews and replacement with chairs, replacement of heating pipes/radiators, repositioning of font and cupboards around gallery pillars. - 6.2 The removal of pews and replacement with chairs is always a contentious issue within a church. There is little doubt that the pews form a part of the character of the interior of the church and that their removal and replacement with loose chairs does change that character. As a starting point in the consideration of this issue, is to consider the quality of the pews themselves. In this particular instance, the pews are relatively generic pine pews devoid of any particular detail and certainly devoid of detail specific to this church. In addition, the pews are not set out in any particularly unusual manner that depicts a different manner of worship particular to this church.

What is a consideration, and a consideration for the majority of churches on the Island, is the declining congregation figures. A number of churches are realising that they need to change in order to continue to function as a church. It is clear that in order for this to happen, change in the manner of the removal of the pews is necessary. Policy RB/4 Use within Planning Policy 1/01 on Conservation is useful in this context, particularly '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'. Given the relative lack of architectural/historic significance in the actual pews themselves and the fact that their removal aids in the continued use of the church as a place to gather and worship, it is considered that the removal and replacement of the pews with loose chairs is acceptable.

In removing the floors, there will need to be repairwork carried out to the timber flooring. It is proposed that the flooring be repaired using timber boarding to match the existing with a carpet finish over.

6.3 The replacement of heating pipes/radiators: The current heating system works on the basis of a hot water boiler providing heated water which is circulated around the church via 4" pipes mounted on the external walls and also running centre partitions of the pews and two radiators at the back of the church under the gallery at the back of the church. The removal of the pews will obviously remove the centre section of pipework. The pipework located on the side walls of the church is neither efficient, or of any particular architectural or historic significance. Its removal will result in its replacement with a modern, flat and it has to be said, nondescript radiator, which it is intended will be painted to match the main wall colour. These works are not considered to have a

• detrimental impact upon the character of the Registered Building and are therefore considered acceptable.
• 6.4 The repositioning of font: The method of worship has changed throughout history. Historically, the Vicar/Priest/Minister of the church used to carry out the service with their backs turned to the congregation. Then the service would be lead from the pulpit, often above the congregation. In recent times, the service has been lead from the front, but with much closer contact with the congregation. All of this has entailed changes to the way in which the church works and looks, particularly as the fixtures and fittings associated with these methods of worship have been moved as a result of these changes. Fonts as an example were often located to the rear of the church and now, in many cases at least, they are to the front of the church so that christenings and baptisms can be more inclusive of the congregation. Now fonts are being moved to allow more space about them for better connection at the font for the service. In this context, the movement of the font is not considered to be detrimental to the character of the church and this aspect of the proposals is considered acceptable.
• 6.5 The repositioning of cupboards around gallery pillars: The current cupboards are clearly modern and of no historic significance, they are in place to provide much needed storage for the church. Their repositioning is of little concern and is certainly not considered to detrimentally impact upon the character of the Registered Building.
• 6.6 In conclusion, proposals such as this are not uncommon in the Island's churches and represent the shift in the manner in which worship takes place as well as the unfortunate result of declining congregations. In contemplating these applications it is necessary to have consideration of the architectural and/or historic significance of the features in question, whilst simultaneously balancing the needs of the congregation and safeguarding the future of the buildings as a whole. There will always be instances where the church in question is so precious in terms of its architectural or historic layout, fixtures and fittings that any alteration would have a detrimental impact upon its significance as a building of special architectural and/or historic interest. In this case, the alterations take place to fixtures and fittings of limited interest and are adjudged to be acceptable.
• 6.7 It is considered that the proposals do not have a detrimental impact upon the character of the Registered Building and the Conservation Area within which it is located and in doing so, it is considered that the application conforms to the basis of Strategic Policy 4 and Environment Policies 32, 34 and 35 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan (20th June 2007) and Policies RB/5 and CA/2 Special Planning Considerations from Planning Policy Statement 1/01 (Policy and Guidance Notes for the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man). It is therefore considered that the impact upon the character and appearance of the Registered Building and the Conservation Area within which it sits would be acceptable.

7.0 RECOMMENDATION: - 7.1 For the above reasons the application is considered to be acceptable and is recommended for approval.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS: - 8.1 In line with Article 6(4) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure)(No2) Order 2013, the following Persons are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings relating to the application: the applicant or, if there is one, the applicant's agent; the owner and occupier of the land the subject of the application, or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested, as their comments have been deemed material and Onchan Commissioners in whose district the land the subject of the application sits.

Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 20.07.2017 Conditions and Notes for Approval: C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions C 1. The works hereby granted registered building consent shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this consent.

Reason: To comply with paragraph 2(2)(a) of schedule 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented registered building consents.

This approval relates to all the information (including photographs, location plan and Quinquennial Inspection) date stamped as being received 14/06/17

I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Head of Development Management in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 20.07.2017 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

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