DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 19/01113/CON Applicant: Vicar And Wardens Of Malew Church Proposal: Registered Building Consent for internal alterations to improve accessibility (RB 256) Site Address: Malew Church Great Meadow Castletown Isle Of Man IM9 4EB Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 18.11.2019 _________________________________________________________________

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 decision relates to drawings 101, OS and 102 all received on 4th October, 2019. _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status

Additional Persons None _____________________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE SITE

1.1 The site is the footprint of Malew Parish Church which is situated on the western side of the A3 between Cross Four Ways and Great Meadow with Castletown to the south. The building is Registered (RB 256). THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed is Registered Building consent for works to create a display area for artefacts previously held in the balcony area and for items associated with the Southern 100 races which

go past the site. This involves the removal of two pews and will also create an area accessible by wheelchairs.

2.2 Also proposed are works to remove modern panelling at the altar end of the church and the walls made good behind, the boxing in of ground floor pipework and insertion of new panelling. - 2.3 Temporary timber flooring will be replaced with engineered oak flooring

PLANNING POLICY

3.1 The site lies within an area designated on Area Plan for the South adopted in 2013 as Land for Civic, Cultural or Other Uses which is consistent with the use of the site.

3.2 The following Strategic Plan policy is considered relevant:

Environment Policy 32: Extensions or alterations to a Registered Building which would affect detrimentally its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest will not be permitted.

3.3 Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Guide to the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man also contains the following which is relevant to the current application:

POLICY RB/3 General criteria applied in considering registered building applications The issues that are generally relevant to the consideration of all registered building applications are:-

• o The importance of the building, its intrinsic architectural and historic interest and rarity, relative to the Island as a whole and within the local context;
• o The particular physical features of the building (which may include its design, plan, materials or location) which justify its inclusion in the register; descriptions annexed to the entry in the register may draw attention to features of particular interest or value, but they are not exhaustive and other features of importance, (e.g. Interiors, murals, hidden fireplaces) may come to light after the building's entry in the register;
• o The building's setting and its contribution to the local scene, which may be very important, e.g. Where it forms an element in a group, park, garden or other townscape or landscape, or where it shares particular architectural forms or details with other buildings nearby (including other registered buildings).

POLICY RB/5 ALTERATIONS AND EXTENSIONS In considering whether to grant planning approval for development which affects a registered building or its setting and in considering whether to grant registered building consent for any works, the Department shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses.

Registered building consent is required for the building's alteration in any way which would affect its special architectural or historic character. There will be a general presumption against alteration or extension of registered buildings, except where a convincing case can be made, against the criteria set out in this section, for such proposals.

Applicants for registered building consent for alteration or extension to a registered building must be able to justify their proposals. They will be required to show why the works which would affect the character of the registered building are desirable or necessary and they should provide full information to enable the Department to assess the likely impact of their proposals on the special architectural or historic interest of the building and on its setting. Where registered buildings are the subject of successive applications for alteration or extension, consideration will also be given to

the cumulative effect upon the building's special interest as a result of several minor works which may individually seem of little consequence.

PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 The property has been the subject of one previous application for the replacement of the front door - 04/01277/B which was approved. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Highway Services have no objection to the application (30.10.19).

5.2 Malew Parish Commissioners also have no objection to the application (06.11.19). ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The works are a continuation of a scheme commenced around five years ago to modernise the church. Previous works involved new flooring (preserving the grave stones beneath the new flooring). These new works will remove certain features - pews and panelling but will make the church more usable outside of church services and widen its appeal beyond the traditional congregation. The church already has associations with the surrounding area and the Southern 100 and what is proposed will embrace this without significantly or adversely altering the character of the inside of the church. CONCLUSION - 7.1 The application accords with the relevant planning policies and the application is 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 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 the Head of Development Management in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 20.11.2019 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

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