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                                      17/01120/B                                     Page  1  of  3

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 17/01120/B Applicant : The Courtyard Ltd Proposal : Ground floor window / door alterations to approved front elevation Site Address : 8 Arbory Street Castletown Isle of Man IM9 1LJ

Case Officer : Miss Lucy Kinrade Photo Taken : 29.11.2017 Site Visit : 29.11.2017 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 07.12.2017 __

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.

Plans/Drawings/Information:

This approval relates to drawing numbered 02 and 03 date stamped and received 24/10/2017.

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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

NONE __

Officer’s Report

The Site 1.1 The application site is the curtilage of Number 8, Arbory Street, Castletown an existing three storey terraced property located on the northern side of the road. The existing site has a front elevation directly joining the main high street, this façade comprises a large shop window (on the left hand side) and a single door (on the right hand side) at ground floor and three windows to each floor above.

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1.2 The property forms part of a wider site known as Callows Yard. The application site has extant approval under PA 14/00338/B for its conversion to form a town house. This approval also granted the alteration of the ground floor elevation to remove the large shop window and its replacement with two ground floor windows. The front door was also to be relocated to the left hand side.

1.3 The site is located within the Castletown Conservation Area.

The Proposal 2.1 The current application proposes an alteration to the previously approved application which will see the relocation of the front door back to the right hand side of the front elevation. The large display window is still to be removed and replaced with two windows to match the existing windows. The property is to form a town house.

2.2 No other alteration are proposed.

Planning History 3.1 Aforementioned the site was subject to a previous application PA 14/00338/B that was approved at appeal for a wider scheme at Callows Yard, this scheme included the conversion of the property 8 Arbory Street into a town house. The case officer reporting on the application stated in the officer report:

" 6.5 The only physical change to the building which will be appreciable by the public is the removal of the shopfront from 8, Arbory Street to a residential frontage. Whilst this will remove some of the interest in the streetscene, the predominant character is still of a retail street. It is also relevant that the present view into number 8 is not into a shop but of a staircase. As such, it is not considered that the proposed change to number 8 would adversely affect the character of appearance of the area."

3.2 The appeal Inspector equally commented on the conversion of 8 Arbory Street to a town house and its conversion of the ground floor shop front to a residential frontage. The Inspector considered that while the existing frontage had an outward appearance of a retail shop (appropriate to its location) that internally the function of the unit was as a stairwell which was evident to all those passing by. The Inspector indicated that while it would have been better had the ground floor been converted to retail use that the short length of the proposed frontage would not cause any harm to the streetscene or to any significant extent dilute the retailing character of the area. On balance the Inspector did not considered that the 'lost opportunity' for a retail frontage amounted to a determinative objection and as such the proposal was compliant with EP 35.

Development Plan Policy 4.1 The a[application site is located within an area of 'Mixed Use' as identified on the Area Plan for the South 2013, and also within the Castletown Conservation Area. Given the nature of the proposal the most relevant policy of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016 to consider is Environment Policy 35 which states that any development work within a Conservation Area must seek to 'preserve' or 'enhance' the character and appearance of that area.

Representations 5.1 Castletown Commissions raise no objection to the proposal 10/11/2017.

5.2 The DOI Highway Services have indicated no highways interest in the application 15/11/2017.

Assessment 6.1 The current application seeks to amend a previously approved application for the creation of a residential frontage to 8 Arbory Street. The current application matches that of

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the previous application in that it proposes a front door and two windows on the ground floor but the format of these are now flipped horizontally to locate the front door on the right hand side of the front elevation and the two windows on the left hand side.

6.2 The already approved frontage of PA 14/00338/B could still be implemented over time. The agent for the current application indicates that the proposed siting of the front door on the right hand side would better the internal layout of the town house. While the conversion of the ground floor unit to form part of the town house was a 'lost opportunity', the proposal is not so far removed from the original approved scheme, and as such it would be unreasonable to offer objection to its rearrangement as detailed in this application.

Conclusion 7.1 The proposal by means of its modest level of development is considered to preserve the character of the Conservation Area. The conversion of the short length of 8 Arbory Street to provide a residential frontage is not significant enough to adversely impact the retail character of the area. Although it remains of a view that this circumstance is unique in its own merits and should not set a precedent for the loss of any further shop or retail frontages in the area.

7.2 The application is considered acceptable.

Interest 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 a Senior Planning Officer in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted

Date: 14.12.2017

Determining officer

Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett

Senior Planning Officer

Customer note

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