DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 19/00492/CON Applicant: Mrs Charlotte Sadler Proposal: Registered Building consent for the erection of signage (in association with 19/00491/D) Registered Building Nos. 68 & 69 Site Address: 1 - 3 Castle Street Castletown Isle Of Man IM9 1LF Planning Officer: Mr Paul Visigah Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 03.06.2019 _________________________________________________________________

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.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to drawing number 1816-112 Rev B date stamped and received 29 April 2019. _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report THE SITE

1.1 The site is the curtilage of 1 and 3, Castle Street in the heart of Castletown. Number 1 sits on the corner of Castle Street and The Parade and is joined to the north western gable to 1, The Parade, a dwelling. 1, The Parade, like the application properties, is three storied but has a higher internal floor to ceiling height and a higher overall ridge level. This is a much grander property. The application properties are both three storied but number 1 is less high but wider than number 2. Both have a large area of glazed commercial shop front at ground

• floor level: number 1 having two such windows with a central pedestrian entrance and number 3 having one large window and a pedestrian door offset to the left. Both have sliding sash windows in the floors above with the same decorative mouldings around the top but number 1 has three sets of windows per floor whereas number 3 has only two.
• 1.2 The other properties in this part of Castle Street are of varied heights: number 5 is only two storeys and significantly lower than number 3 whereas numbers 7 and 9 are as tall as number 3.
• 1.3 The site lies within Castletown's Conservation Area and both properties are Registered (RBs 68 and 69). Both buildings were registered early in 1984 although there is no information on the file as to the reason for the Registration. 48 other buildings in this part of Castletown were registered around the same time and it is relevant that at the time, there was no Conservation Area status and no other way of protecting buildings which were considered to be of special historic, architectural or social interest.
• 1.4 Number 1 presents its gable end to The Parade with two windows each in the same positions on the first and second floor and two windows with a pedestrian door on the ground floor. A bus shelter sits between two trees within an extended paved area from the footway, directly in front.
• 1.5 Number 1 has a roof finished in natural slates: the roof of number 3 is finished in fibre cement tiles. Both sets of chimney stacks on or adjacent to number 1 have been rendered with sand/cement render, lead flashing and bellcast: that on the northern gable of number 3 is unpainted but rendered and recently renovated as with the others. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 Registered Building Consent is sought for the erection of signage (in association with 19/00491/D) Registered Building. The proposed signage will comprise 100mm high plastic or metal lettering; colour to be either black, gold or silver. The signage will read "CHARLOTTE SADLER OPTICIANS" to be installed above the architrave situated above the large ground floor shop front window of No.1. - 2.2 This application is accompanied by an identical application seeking approval for the Erection of Signage. PLANNING POLICY

3.1 The site lies within an area designated as Mixed Use on the Area Plan for the South

1. The site lies within the Castletown Conservation Area (designated in 1990) and, as noted, both the application site and its adjoining neighbouring building is Registered. In fact, a number of buildings in the area, which sits nearby Castle Rushen, are also registered.

3.2 With all this in mind, it is considered that the relevant policies of the Strategic Plan are General Policy 6 and Environment Policy 37. The Planning Policy Statement 1/01 (Policy and Guidance Notes for the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man) will also be considered in the assessment of the application. - 3.3 General Policy 6 reads: "Within our towns and villages, the display of external advertisements will be permitted on the site or building to which they relate provided they:

• (a) are of a high standard of design and materials and relate well to the building and site on which they are to be displayed;
• (b) are in keeping with and do not detract from the surrounding area; and
• (c) are located so as not to cause a highway safety hazard."

3.4 Environment Policy 37 reads as follows: "As a general policy, advertisements within Conservation Areas will be permitted only if:

• (i) the proposal preserves or enhances the Conservation Area;
• (ii) the signage is in a style appropriate to the character of the area;
• (iii) traditional materials and finishes are used and glossy and highly reflective materials are excluded from proposals; and
• (iv) internally illuminated box fascia and projecting box signs are excluded from the proposals."

It is considered that EP37 should carry much greater weight than GP6 though both are valuable to be considered together.

3.5 Policy CA/6 on Advertisement Control states that: "All external advertisements affect not only the appearance of the building upon which they are displayed, but also the neighbourhood where the building is located. This will apply particularly to illuminated signage which is often formed from shiny, non-traditional materials and can result in an unsuitable and harsh appearance which detracts from the character of the building and a conservation area as a whole. The aesthetic quality of a building can be markedly affected by the installation of inappropriate external signage". PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 The site has been the subject of a range of previous applications which includes the Change of use to offices, which was refused in 1987 (PA 87/04259/C); Installation of replacement windows (as fitted) refused in 2000 (PA 00/02018/GB); PA 19/00489/GB for the Conversion of office (Class 4) to retail (Class 1) including the installation of replacement windows, doors and rainwater goods (in association with 19/00490/CON) pending consideration; Registered Building consent for the installation of replacement windows, doors and rainwater goods (in association with 19/00490/CON) Registered Building Nos. 68 & 69, which is pending consideration. - 4.2 Although these applications centred on improving the functionality and the state of the property, only two of the above is of material relevance to the proposed application. These are: PA 19/00491/D) for the Erection of Signage on the application property, which is under consideration. PA 19/00489/GB for the Conversion of office (Class 4) to retail (Class 1) including the installation of replacement windows, doors and rainwater goods (in association with 19/00490/CON) which is pending consideration.

REPRESENTATIONS Copies of representations received can be viewed on the government's website. This report contains summaries only.

5.1 Representation from the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) Highways Division confirms that there is no highways interest in the letter dated 13 May 2019. - 5.2 Manx National Heritage has not commented on this application at the time of drafting this report, and so it is assumed that there are no objections to the application. - 5.3 Manx Utilities Authority has not commented on this application at the time of drafting this report, and so it is assumed that there are no objections to the application. - 5.4 Castletown Commissioners have not commented on this application at the time of drafting this report, and so it is assumed that there are no objections to the application. ASSESSMENT

6.1 The issue here is whether the proposed signage would have any adverse impact on either the special character of the Conservation Area or that of the Registered Building. Conservation

• Area policies also require that development either preserves or enhances the character or appearance of the Area.
• 6.2 Traditional materials are always to be welcomed when advertisements are proposed for sensitive locations such as the application site. In this case, the use of PVC would not be a traditional material. However, the signage overall is considered to be more sympathetic to the appearance of the building and the street scene - being modest and contemporary whilst retaining the traditional character and appearance of the building itself. There would be no additional usage of illumination on the signage, and it would project just 20mm from the wall thus not appearing bulky from a side-on view. The sign is modest in size and not particularly striking in colour or material, clearly being designed to be noticed by the passing pedestrian.
• 6.3 From the perspectives of Market square and Castle Street, there would be very little impact on the overall appearance of the historic centre of Castletown. It is considered that the proposal is appropriate for the area and the building and complies with Environment Policy 37.

CONCLUSION

7.1 Overall, it is concluded that the planning application is in accordance with Environment Policy 37 and General Policy 6 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, and is therefore supported. INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Registered Buildings) Regulations 2013, the following 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;
• (c) Manx National Heritage; and
• (d) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

8.2 In addition to those above, the Regulation 9(3) requires the Department to decide which persons (if any) who have made representations with respect to the application, should be treated as having sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings relating to the application.

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.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 19.06.2019 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

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