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                                      18/01249/D                                     Page  1  of  3

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 18/01249/D Applicant : Rossborough Insurance Ltd Proposal : Installation of illuminated signage Site Address : Victory House Extension Prospect Hill Douglas Isle of Man IM1 1EQ

Planning Officer: Mr Nick Salt Photo Taken :

Site Visit :

Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 07.01.2019 __

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

C 1. The advertisement(s) hereby granted consent shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.

Reason: To avoid the accumulation of unimplemented advertisement consents.

Plans/Drawings/Information:

This permission relates to the following plans and information:

o IOM 01-EL - Front Elevation as proposed o Location Plan o Site Plan

Date stamped as received on 21st November 2018. __

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None __

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The application site is Victory House, Prospect Hill, Douglas. The site is a large multi- storey modernist office building. The front of the building follows the curvature of the road,

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which is one of the key roads through Douglas town centre, fronting onto the highway and footpath.

1.2 Currently, the front elevation features a large 12m wide non-illuminated white sign which follows the concrete rendered area between the ground floor and first floor windows.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The proposal is to install illuminated, replacement signage to the front elevation of the building. The new signage would reduce the width to 9m, and 1.2m in height to fill the rendered section of wall between the ground and first floor windows. The applicant proposes that the logo would be illuminated via hidden LED lighting behind the signage.

3.0 PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The application site is shown on the Douglas Local Plan 1998 map 1 (centre) to be within an area of 'Predominantly Offices'. The site is outside of, but at the boundary with, Athol Street and Victoria Street Conservation Areas.

3.2 The Control of Advertisements Regulations 2013 make it clear that the only considerations which can be applied to applications made under them are in the interests of amenity and public safety. In the case of amenity, such things as the general characteristics of the area need to be taken into account along with the presence of any features of historic, architectural, cultural or similar interest and the public safety should consider the safety of any person using a road, railway, tramway, harbour or aerodrome including the obscuration of any traffic sign or similar.

3.3 Due to the designation of the site and the nature of the application it is appropriate to consider the following polices of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016:

3.4 General Policy 2 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: (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;

3.5 General Policy 6 states: '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'.

3.6 General Policy 7 states: 'Within our towns and villages, the display of external advertisements on sites or buildings other than those to which they relate will not generally be permitted'.

3.7 Environment Policy 38 states that "Advertisements close to Conservation Areas must respect and preserve the character and appearance of the area to ensure that views into and out of such areas are protected."

4.0 PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 Four applications for signage in the area have been permitted in the past: o 96/00799/D - Provision of an advertising sign, Royal Bank of Scotland Victory House. o 04/02278/D - Erection of illuminated advertising signage over cash point at Lloyds TSB.

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o 06/00963/D - Installation of illuminated signage, Victory House. o 09/01674/D - Erection of illuminated signage, Victory House Extension.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Copies of representations received can be viewed on the government's website. This report contains summaries only. 5.2 Douglas Borough Council have no objection to the application (14/12/18).

6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 With regard to the impact on the street scene and building, the proposal replaces existing signage that is similar in size and appearance. The size in terms of length would decrease by approximately 25%, with a small increase in height to better fit the section of wall on which is it positioned. The signage dimensions would complement the lines of the building.

6.2 The application site is within a town centre on a main thoroughfare associated with the office area and the signage is considered to be in a style appropriate to the character of the area. The partly illuminated replacement with altered content and colours is considered acceptable in that it would not be harmful to highway safety.

7.0 CONCLUSION 7.1 The proposal would not unacceptably harm the characteristics of the existing building or the character of its surroundings and it would preserve the character of the nearby Conservation Area. The proposed development would not result in a significant adverse impact upon safety of highway users. The proposal therefore complies with the aforementioned policies of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013, 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) Persons to whom notice has been given under regulation 10(3)(a)(i) (d) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material; (e) The Highways Division of the Department; (f) The Ports Division of the Department; (g) The operator of the railway or tramway; and (h) 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 the Head of Development Management in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 09.01.2019

Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER

Stephen Butler

Head of Development Management

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.