Officer Report

Application No.: 17/00733/B Applicant: Prospero Facilities Services Ltd Proposal: Installation of ground level external condensing units in connection with new air conditioning system Site Address: Sailmaker House Unit 7 Carrs Lane Tromode Douglas Isle of Man IM4 4QB Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE - 1.1 The application site is part of 'Sailmaker House', Unit 7A on Tromode Estate, a large, detached building of industrial appearance but described as being in office use, and of recent construction sited on the eastern side of Tromode Estate in Onchan. The Location Plan red line includes part of the rear pedestrian lane that runs immediately alongside the full rear elevation of the building.

2.0 THE DEVELOPMENT PROPOSED - 2.1 Full planning approval is sought for the installation of a pair of air conditioning units on the rear (eastern) elevation of the building. The larger of the two is not wholly cuboidal in form, but is

• 1.6m at is tallest and 1.2m at its widest; the smaller is 0.7m high and 0.9m wide. Both would be attached to the rear elevation - the larger projecting outwards 0.75m, the smaller 0.3m - and sat on the pedestrian path at the rear of the building.
• 2.2 The red line is not quite accurate inasmuch as it does not extend to include the site of the air conditioning units on the Site Plan, but it does on the Location Plan and this - being mindful of the scale and nature of the development proposed - is considered just sufficient on which for the application to proceed in its submitted form.
• 3.0 PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 Full planning approval was granted under PA 13/91363/B for what was described as two "business units" albeit that no condition specified more precisely what was meant by this. Unit 7 was shown as being occupied by the current operator, Strand, which services include document management, storage, scanning, shredding, cleaning and caretaking services with offices. - 3.2 Subsequently, express consent was issued for the installation of advertising signage on Unit 7 in 2014.

- 4.0 THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

4.1 The application site is located within a wider area of land zoned as 'light industrial' use under the Onchan Local Plan. Given the nature of the development, it is appropriate to assess the proposal against General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 22 of the Strategic Plan.

- 5.0 REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Onchan District Commissioners offered no objection to the application on 26th July 2017, while the DoI's Highways Services stated the proposed development has no highway implications two days later. - 6.0 ASSESSMENT

6.1 The proposed units would be sited at the rear of the building and would not be readily seen from public positions. Insofar as they could be seen, they are not large and are the kind of equipment regularly and understandably situated on buildings of such appearance as the application site.

6.2 While Highway Services are of the mind that there would be no highway implications, the new units would impede pedestrian access at the rear. However, this rear area is less a footpath and more a refuge between the rear of the building and the parking to the east. It is not considered that this is a reason to refuse the application. - 6.3 Of possibly most concern with such proposals as this is the level of noise that may be created. However, the site is within an industrial estate and any residential dwellings in the area are separated from the application site by other buildings. It is accordingly concluded that any noise that may be generated is unlikely to be unduly harmful to neighbouring living conditions, with this conclusion also being mindful of the fact that certain levels of industrial-type noise are to be expected in such locations as this.

- 7.0 RECOMMENDATION

7.1 In view of the above conclusions, it is concluded that the application complies with the relevant policies of the Strategic Plan and, accordingly, is recommended for approval. - 8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS

8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• o 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;
• o Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material, which in this case includes Highway Services of the Department of Infrastructure, and
• o The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 22.08.2017 Conditions and Notes for Approval: C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions C 1. The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice.

Reason: To comply with article 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

The development hereby approved relates to the Site Plan, the Location Plan, the Air Conditioning Diagram Plan and Drawing 0102, all date-stamped as having been received 7th July 2017.

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 : Permitted Date: 23.08.2017 Determining officer

Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett Senior Planning Officer

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