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17/00622/B
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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 17/00622/B Applicant : Manx Utilities Authority Proposal : Erection of two smoking shelters Site Address : Manx Utilities Authority Ballacottier Headquarters Isle of Man Business Park Douglas Isle of Man IM2 2QZ
Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley Photo Taken : 21.06.2017 Site Visit : 21.06.2017 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Officer’s Report
1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE
1.1 The application site includes the buildings and parking and landscaping associated with the Manx Utilities Headquarters on the Isle of Man Business Park. The site is bounded from the highway by sections of hedging and 2m-high metal fencing, while other areas of the site are laid to grass.
1.2 As befits the high quality business park in which the site sits, there is plenty of vegetation in terms of both boundary treatment and general landscaping surrounding many of the office buildings in the immediate area. While there are some post and wire fences, these would appear to be in the significant minority.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL
2.1 Full planning approval is sought for the installation of two smoking shelters. An image of the shelters has been provided, which shows a pole-supported structure with a domed roof. It would have a single opening at the corner, with glazed panels sitting above the ground and acting as support for the roof. They are square in form, measuring 2.11m on each side, but 2.44m in height.
2.2 One is proposed to be located behind the head office administration building and the other behind the distribution operational building. Photos of the two areas where they would be located are provided, one of which being grass the other hardstanding adjacent to a parking area.
2.3 Neither would be visible from public positions.
3.0 PLANNING HISTORY
3.1 The headquarters was constructed following the grant of approval to PA 91/01863/B. There have been other applications since that time, but none considered to be of particular relevance to the determination of this application. It is to be noted that an application (16/01159/B) submitted last year, which proposed to remove the remaining boundary hedging and replace it with fencing, was refused and the decision was not taken to appeal.
4.0 THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
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17/00622/B
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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 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.
4.2 The approval also required that buildings should cover no more than 25% of the business park.
4.3 On this basis, and reflecting on the development proposed, it is appropriate to assess the application against the following relevant parts of General Policy 2: "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."
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS
5.1 Both Highway Services of the DoI and Braddan Commissioners offered no objection to the application in comments received 27.06.2017 and 16.06.2017 respectively.
6.0 ASSESSMENT
6.1 Neither of the smoking shelters could be seen from public positions. They will be small additions, proportionally, to the buildings within the application site that they would serve.
6.2 The loss of some green space for one of the shelters is perhaps to be lamented, particularly when the design of the shelters is a little utilitarian, but balanced against the amount of space and land remaining available to the applicant this is judged to be a minor concern.
6.3 No parking space would be lost and the hardstanding area where one is to be proposed remains large enough for people to manoeuvre around its proposed location comfortably. In any case, the land is not within public ownership and so there is a limit to how far any concern on this point could be taken.
7.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
7.1 The smoking shelters are considered to have an acceptable impact on the area and accordingly the application is recommended for approval.
8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS
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17/00622/B
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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 the Department of Infrastructure's Highway Services and o 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:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 25.07.2017
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 Drawing DW147094-13-P0, date-stamped as having been received 8th June 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: 27.07.2017
Determining officer
Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett
Senior Planning Officer
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17/00622/B
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Customer note
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