161061

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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 17/00990/C Applicant : Mr Christopher Clarke Proposal : Change of use of ground floor office (Class 4) to a beauty treatment room Site Address : 75 Bucks Road Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 3EF

Case Officer : Mr Jason Singleton Photo Taken :

Site Visit :

Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 21.11.2017 __

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.

C 2. The use hereby approved as a beauty salon shall not be undertaken outside the following times:

1000hrs - 2000hrs Monday - Sunday inclusive.

Reason: In order to maintain the amenities of the area.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to drawings referenced; 1; 3, date stamped 18th September 2017.

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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None __

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Officer’s Report

THE APPLICATION SITE 1.1 The application site is 75 Bucks Road, Douglas, a mid-terrace property situated on the western side of the road.

1.2 To the north of the application site No's 77-79 are all ground floor offices.

PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the change of use from office to beauty treatment salon for appointment only. Operating from 10am to 8pm.

PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 The following previous planning applications are considered relevant in the assessment and determination of this application;

11/00891 - Change of use of ground floor rooms to office accommodation. Approved. The former use was a single dwellinghouse.

PLANNING STATUS 4.1 In terms of local plan policy, the application site is within an area zoned as being Predominantly Residential in the Douglas Local Plan. The application site is within the Woodbourne Road Conservation Area.

4.2 In terms of strategic plan policy, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered specifically material to the assessment of this application;

4.3 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: (c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality; (i) does not have an unacceptable effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways;

4.4 Environmental 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."

REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Douglas Borough Council has no objection (03/10/17)

5.2 Highways Services have commented (29/09/17) Both the extant and proposed use will generate traffic albeit at different levels and different times, however the impact of such changes will not be detectable in light of the level of background traffic and parking patterns.

Highway Services does not oppose this application.

ASSESMENT 6.1 The application seeks approval for the change of use of the ground floor from Office use to a beauty salon. The main issues to consider in the assessment of the application are the principle of the use, the impact upon the character of the area and impact upon the amenities of the local residents.

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6.2 The site is within an area zoned as "Predominantly Residential", the ground floor of the building is currently empty and was last used as an office, as per the previous permission in 2011. The internal layout would not alter but have a nail salon within the rear room on the ground floor. There are toilet and shower facilities provided on the same floor.

6.3 The proposal is located close to town centre area and Bucks Road is characterised by elements of non-residential, with elements of retail and professional services on the ground floors and residential on the upper floors. Given the former use and neighbouring uses, it is considered to be an acceptable place for such uses as beauty salon and whilst it does not strictly fall within the land use designation it is judged to be an acceptable alternative.

6.4 The proposed use is likely to have similar hours to the existing office businesses and therefore would not result in undue noise and disturbance to any residential properties as the different businesses are likely to be in use at similar times. It is considered that the proposal would not have an adverse impact upon the amenities of the adjacent properties or have an adverse impact upon the character of the area.

6.5 There is no designated parking associated with the site, but given that the site is so close to the town centre and within walking distance of the bus stop it is considered that there is not a need for designated parking for the property.

6.6 With regard to the Conservation Area, the proposal involves no external alterations to the building and is sufficient to conclude that the proposal would satisfactorily preserve the character and appearance of the Conservation Area in line with Environment Policy 35.

RECOMMENDATION 7.1 Overall, it is concluded that the planning application is in accordance with aforementioned Policies of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and is recommended for approval.

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: (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.

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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: 22.11.2017

Determining officer

Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett

Senior Planning Officer

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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.