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                                      19/01021/B                                     Page  1  of  4

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 19/01021/B Applicant : Mr Peter Bergquist Proposal : Conversion of existing boarding house in to a dwelling including demolition of existing rear extension and wall, construction of kitchen extension, and creation of new vehicular access to rear lane. Site Address : 16 Albert Street Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 2QA

Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken :

Site Visit :

Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 21.10.2019 __

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 decision relates to drawings 100, 101, 102, 104 and 105 all received on 12th September, 2019. __

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None __

Officer’s Report

THE SITE 1.1 The site is the residential curtilage of 16, Albert Street, a two storey Victorian property very similar to the other nine in the terrace which stretches from the rear of the properties fronting onto Buck's Road and to the rear of Murray House.

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                                      19/01021/B                                     Page  2  of  4

1.2 The property has a projecting bay window at ground floor level on the front elevation and a two storey outrigger which extends across half of the rear yard and all the way to the rear lane. Some of the properties in the terrace have a similar arrangement but some have had the rear outrigger reduced in length and some - 4, 8, 14, 18 and 20 - now have vehicular parking in this space.

THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the conversion of the property from a boarding house to a dwelling. This change may take place without planning approval under Schedule 3, Part 1, Class 2 of The Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2012 but as there are building works involved, planning approval is required for these.

2.2 The demolition involves the removal of 4.4m of the rear outrigger up to the point of an existing chimney which is to be lowered in height to just above ridge level of the outrigger. A small single storey annex is to be built between the remaining outrigger and the boundary wall.

2.3 The created space is proposed to be used for car parking and has an area of 4.4m in length and 5.7m in width. The plans show a vehicle parked at an angle to the lane. Visibility is limited by the surrounding walls and is shown at 6.4m and 5.6m although not shown to the nearside of the lane.

2.4 A contemporaneous application, 19/01022/B, seeks Registered Building consent for the elements of demolition in the proposal.

2.5 The works also involve the removal of a rear eaves level dormer and its replacement with rooflights 700mm by 900mm.

PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The site is designated on the Douglas Local Plan of 1988 as Mixed Use/Offices. The Written Statement which accompanies the plans refers to an Urban Regeneration Area which focuses on providing additional housing and D/R/P3 which is a policy encouraging the conversion of former tourist accommodation to residential. There is nothing to explain the concept of Mixed Use in this particular terrace: it is suggested that perhaps this refers to the fact that a number of the units are offices on the ground floor with living accommodation above whilst others are just dwellings.

3.2 The draft Area Plan for the East designates the site as Mixed Use with the following written commentary:

"9.8.4 Mixed Use Area 4 This is the business district of Douglas and is characterised by offices, many serving financial institutions. Athol Street is notably the core of this area and is representative of the economic well-being of the Island. There is a smattering of food and drink uses supporting the area. The primary office frontage along Athol Street is notated by the hatched line on Map 5."

"Town Centre - Mixed Use Proposal 4 There will be a presumption in favour of offices and financial and professional services along Athol Street. Within the area but outside of Athol Street, offices, financial and professional services, food and drink and some residential uses will also be acceptable. Uses which conflict with these will generally not be supported."

3.2 The site is within the Windsor Road Conservation Area. As such, there is a presumption for the Department to seek preservation or enhancement whilst determining applications for development (Environment Policy 35 and Planning Policy Statement 1/01). Demolition in a CA is specifically addressed in the PPS as follows:

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                                      19/01021/B                                     Page  3  of  4

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 in 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."

3.3 The Strategic Plan requires two parking spaces per dwelling with the proviso that:

"These standards may be relaxed where development:

(a) would secure the re-use of a Registered Building or a building of architectural or historic interest; or (b) would result in the preservation of a sensitive streetscape; or (c) is otherwise of benefit to the character of a Conservation Area. (d) is within a reasonable distance of an existing or proposed bus route and it can be demonstrated a reduced level of parking will not result in unacceptable on street parking in the locality."

3.4 General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan is also relevant in setting out general standards in relation to development.

PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 Planning approval was granted for replacement windows under 07/02273/B and alterations to the street were approved under 96/01597/B.

REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Douglas Borough Council have no objection to the application (04.10.19),

ASSESSMENT 6.1 The issue in this case is whether the proposed building works would have any adverse impact on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area.

6.2 The rear outriggers vary in length, finish and form, some having pitched roofs, others monopitch, some finished in concrete tiles and others slates and there is a variety of windows and chimneys. It is not considered that the rear of the terrace contributes positively to the character of the area nor is it considered that the rear of the terrace, or that of Mona Street or Christian Road for that matter, is a particularly important element of the CA.

6.3 Even so, what is proposed would be similar to other properties in the terrace so is considered acceptable.

6.4 The parking space does not accord with the Manual for Manx Roads' recommended dimensions of 6.0 m x 3.0 m. However, the Strategic Plan is clear that in some instances car parking need not be required (see paragraph 3.3 above). In this case, there is currently no parking provided so what is proposed, even though it is not in full accordance with the

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                                      19/01021/B                                     Page  4  of  4

standards, is considered acceptable and the area could accommodate bicycles and motorcycles as well as bin storage and potentially amenity space for clothes drying. The proposed use would not generate any additional parking requirement over that of the existing situation.

6.5 The applicant has been sent correspondence from Manx Utilities, which was not sent to the Department. This raises no objection but requests a number of conditions which relate to works which are not development and/or require compliance with Manx Utilities' own legislation and therefore are not appropriate to be the subject of planning conditions.

6.6 Finally, the works will not change the impact of the building on those in neighbouring dwellings as the amount of built fabric appreciable from within these properties will be reduced.

CONCLUSION 7.1 It is considered that the proposed use of the building will result in continued use and maintenance of a building within a CA and the building works are not considered objectionable. The application is therefore considered to be in accordance with all of the relevant policies and is supported.

INTERESTED 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 Principal Planner in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted

Date: 21.10.2019

Determining officer

Signed : C BALMER

Chris Balmer

Principal Planner

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