Planning Statement

PARTIAL DEMOLITION OF DERELICT HOTEL/GUEST HOUSE & RE-CONSTRUCTION OF NEW, TO PROVIDE BASEMENT COMMERCIAL AREA & 9 No. RESIDENTIAL APARTMENTS

MARINA HOTEL, 47, LOCH PROMENADE, DOUGLAS IM1 2LZ.

1900817

General Statement

The Marina Hotel/Guest House has not been in use for some time and a Planning Application was made on 10th October, 2016 to convert the property from its original use as a hotel/guest house into nine apartments plus offices on the lower ground floor (Basement).

This previous application for conversion (PA 16/01163/B) was approved on 24th May, 2017.

Whilst regular inspections and limited remedial works have been undertaken over the last few years to maintain the integrity of the external fabric of the building, its exposed location has caused its fabric, especially the rear roof section and external fire escape to deteriorate, to the extent that the rear roof and floor structures below are in an unstable condition.

Due to the poor condition of the remainder of the internal fabric of the property, a soft strip has been undertaken internally to isolate the electrical, plumbing and heating installations, together with the removal of ceiling and wall plaster to identify the condition of the existing masonry walls, existing floor joists, lintels, etc., over structural openings, etc.

The Structural Feasibility Report set out the building current condition.

On review of the conversion proposals, the Structural Feasibility Report, the condition of the existing building generally, its location, restricted rear access and the extent, nature, process and procedures required to undertake a conversion of all floors and a six-storey rear extension to achieve a completed structure to meet current building standards with no compromises would be extremely difficult given all of the deficiencies found in the existing structure.

Applications were made in August, 2018 (PA 18/00890/B & PA 18/00891/CON) to demolish the entire structure and rebuild entirely in new, however these were refused.

This current application is for the demolition of the entire structure, whilst retaining the front façade wall, from basement level to and including third floor level, with remedial / replacement works being proposed to defective render and ornate features to the external face of the front façade wall, along with lintel replacements to all structural openings, together with masonry repairs / replacement and treatment of dry rot in existing masonry.

The application for demolition and rebuilding does not increase the number of apartments or the basement commercial area, previously approved in PA 16/01163/B.

The application does increase the floor area of the apartments on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors into a void area at the rear of the building by approximately 12m² per floor level in addition to what was approved in PA 16/01163/B. A Bin Store and Cycle Store have been incorporated at Basement Level.

The benefit of demolition, (save for the front façade wall) will allow the entire building to be constructed to current Building Regulations, with modern materials from the foundations upwards and in the process from the rear, to provide safer construction processes and overall a safer site to work on.

Due to the current and deteriorating condition of the property there is an urgency due to its condition for it to be demolished, (save for the front façade wall) which is tied in to an application for its rebuilding.

A concurrent Building Regulations application is presently being prepared for submission. Robert Graham MRICS FASI FCIOB 22nd July, 2019