Planning Application Response

Email: [email protected] Officer: MB

Date of Response: 18/06/19

Date of Application: 19/04/19

Application Reference: 19/00403/C

Location: The Chapel Nursery Avenue Onchan Isle Of Man IM3 4HG

Description: Change of use of former chapel from office space to performing arts studio

Highway Comments: The parking standards for offices are 1 space per 50sqm. Leisure facilities require 1 space per 15sqm and therefore the proposals would have a higher site parking demand than the existing use according to the parking standards. There are only 2 existing site car parking spaces and no room to provide additional parking. The applicant states this existing parking would be used by staff.

Public car parking is available a short distance from the site for further staff parking and adult customers attending classes, but all pick-up and drop-off parking would probably take place on-street.

There are double yellow lines on both sides of the A2 Main Road in the vicinity of the site and the south west side of Nursery Avenue. The north east side of Nursery Avenue permits unrestricted parking along much of its length except near its junction with the A2 where there are double yellow lines. As the residential properties along both sides of Nursery Avenue have no off-street parking, there is unlikely to be sufficient on-street parking capacity to accommodate all the pick-up and drop-off movements that would be generated by the proposals without using the double yellow lines.

The applicant has not provided any on-street parking surveys to demonstrate that sufficient spare capacity is available during the proposed site operating times, which includes the evening peak hour when traffic on the A2 would be at its busiest. There is also no information in the application on staff numbers, customer numbers, class sizes and the maximum number of classes, staff, customers and pick-up/drop-off movements that would occur at any one time. The precise level of highway impact from the development is therefore unknown.

The pick-up/drop-off movements would be likely to occur on the A2 Main Road and at the Main Road/Nursery Avenue junction as well as on Nursery Avenue itself. Parked vehicles would create an obstruction to highway visibility for vehicles emerging from Nursery Avenue onto the A2, adversely affect vehicle turning movements through the Main Road/Nursery Avenue junction and cause nuisance and delays to through traffic on the A2, particularly during the evening peak hour, as it is not possible to accommodate two-way traffic on the A2 with parked vehicles adjacent to the site. For younger children attending the facility, parents would be likely to take children into the building and collect them from the building at the end of classes, which would result in parking for a longer period. Whilst picking-up and dropping-off on double yellow lines is permitted, it is not legal to park on double yellow lines for any length of time.

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Highway Services oppose the application as the proposals would result in pick-up/drop-off movements that would be unlikely to be accommodated legally on the public highway without causing an adverse impact on highway safety, movement and the free flow of traffic.

Recommendation: 0