DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 21/01374/CON Applicant: Douglas Borough Council Proposal: Registered building consent for demolition elements to PA 21/01360/B Site Address: 1 Marine Garden Loch Promenade Douglas Isle Of Man Planning Officer: Mr Peiran Shen Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 03.03.2022 _________________________________________________________________

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 application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposal is considered to comply with Strategic Plan and Planning Policy Statement 1/01 Guide to the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to the documents, photos and drawing no. 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A ,5A as having been received on 16th November 2021.

_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

DOI (Highways) should not be afforded IPS as they have not identified land that they own/occupy that would be impacted on by the development. _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site is the curtilage of 1 Marine Garden, Loch Promenade, part of a sunken garden located on the south end of the Promenade, between the road and the walkway.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Registered Building Consent is sought in connection with application 21/01360/B. - 2.2 The consent is for the removal of part of the boundary walls and plants beds.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 There is no previous planning application considered materially relevant to this application.

4.0 Planning Policy Site Specific - 4.1 The site is within an area designated as Mixed Use (The Promenade) in the Area Plan for the East. - 4.2 The site is within the Douglas Promenade Conservation Area. Strategic Policy - 4.3 In terms of strategic policy, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application: Principles of Developments - 4.4 General Policy 1 states: "The determination of matters under Part 2 (Development Control) and Part 3 (Special Controls) of the 1999 Town and Country Planning Act shall have regard to the provisions of the Development Plan and all other material considerations." - 4.5 Strategic Policy 4 states: "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." - 4.6 General Policy 2, which provides an overall requirement for all development, states: "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: "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; (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality."

Visual Design

4.7 Strategic Policy 3, Environment Policy 42 and Housing Policy 6 all focused on the visual design of developments, they state that the design should take account of the local materials, character and identity of its immediate locality, in terms of buildings and landscape features. Focused on landscaping.

4.8 Paragraph 4.3.11 of the Strategic Plan states: "a new building cannot be seen in public views is not a justification for the relaxation of other policies relating to the location of new development" - 4.9 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." PPS and NPD - 4.10 Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man is the only adopted PPS at the moment. It provides supplementary policy on developments within any conservation area. - 4.11 POLICY RB/6 DEMOLITION "There will be a general presumption against demolition. … Consent for the demolition of a registered building should not be expected simply because redevelopment is economically more attractive than repair and re-use of a historic building; or because the building was acquired at a price that reflected the potential for redevelopment, rather than the condition and constraints of the existing historic building. Where proposed works would result in the total or substantial demolition of a registered building, an applicant, in addition to the general criteria set out in RB/3 above, should be able to demonstrate that the following considerations have been addressed:

• o The condition of the building, the cost of repairing and maintaining it in relation to its importance and to the value derived from its continued use. Any such assessment should be based on consistent and long term assumptions. Less favourable levels of rents and yields cannot automatically be assumed for historic buildings and returns may, in fact, be more favourable given the publicly acknowledged status of the building. Furthermore, historic buildings may offer proven performance, physical attractiveness and functional spaces that in an age of rapid change may outlast the short-lived and inflexible technical specifications that have sometimes shaped new developments. Any assessment should take into account possible tax allowances and exemptions. In rare cases where it is clear that a building has been deliberately neglected in the hope of obtaining consent for demolition, less weight should be given to the costs of repair;
• o The adequacy of efforts made to retain the building in use. An applicant must show that real efforts have been made, without success, to continue the present use, or to find new uses for the building. This may include the offer of the unrestricted freehold of the building on the
• open market at a realistic price reflecting the building's condition.
• o The merits of alternative proposals for the site. Subjective claims for the architectural merits of a replacement building should not justify the demolition of a registered building. There may be very exceptional cases where the proposed works would bring substantial benefits for the community; these would have to be weighed against preservation. Even here, it will often be feasible to incorporate registered buildings within a new development, and this
• option should be carefully considered. The challenge presented by retaining registered buildings can be a stimulus to imaginative new designs to accommodate them."

4.12 POLICY CA/6 DEMOLITION "Any building which is located within a conservation area and which is not an exception as provided above, may not be demolished without the consent of the Department. In practice, a planning application for consent to demolish must be lodged with the Department. When considering an application for demolition of a building in a conservation area, the general

presumption will be in favour of retaining buildings which make a positive contribution to the character or appearance of the conservation area. Similar criteria will be applied as those outlined in RB/6 above when assessing the application to demolish the building but is less clear cut cases, for example, where a building could be said to detract from the special character of the area, it will be essential for the Department to be able to consider the merits of any proposed new development when determining whether consent should be given for the demolition of an unregistered building in a conservation area. Account will be taken of the part played in the architectural or historic interest of the area by the building for which demolition is proposed, and in particular of the wider effects of demolition on the building's surroundings and on the conservation area as a whole."

5.0 OTHER MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS Legislation - 5.1 Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act (1999) states, "(4) Where any area is for the time being a conservation area, special attention shall be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing its character or appearance in the exercise, with respect to any buildings or other land in the area, of any powers under this Act". This sets out the approach to be taken in determining planning applications, which includes giving great weight to the asset's conservation when considering the impact of a proposed development on the asset. Given that the site is within a Conservation Area, the above requirements apply and appropriate consideration will be given in section 7. Strategy and Guidance - 5.2 There is no strategy or guidance considered relevant to this application. Other Material Considerations - 5.3 There is no other material considerations considered relevant to this application.

6.0 REPRESENTATION - 6.1 Douglas Borough Council has not commented at the time of the report (03.03.2022). - 6.2 DoI Highway Services states there is no highway interest in this application (06/10/2021).

7.0 ASSESSMENT - 7.1 The key consideration here is whether the removal of the section of the boundary wall and the plant beds is acceptable. Policies mentioned in section 4 seek to ultimately preserve or enhance the character of the Conservation Area, retain those buildings which make a positive contribution and protect Registered Buildings from harmful or unacceptable development. - 7.2 The demolition and the change of layout to the garden only impact a small section of the garden. They would not have a negative impact on the character and appearance of the area.

8.0 CONCLUSION - 8.1 The proposal is considered to comply with Strategic Plan and Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Guide to the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man. Therefore, it is recommended for a refusal.

9.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 9.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Registered Buildings) Regulations 2013 (As Amended), the following are automatically interested persons:

• o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• o Manx National Heritage, and

• o The local authority in whose district the land which the subject of the application is situated.

9.2 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 above who should be given Interested Person Status.

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 and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 24.03.2022 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

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