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19/00522/B Page 1 of 5
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 19/00522/B Applicant : HBOT IOM Ltd Proposal : Alterations and extension to rear plant room Site Address : Hyperbaric Chamber Peel Road Douglas Isle of Man IM1 5ED
Planning Officer: Mr Paul Visigah Photo Taken : 11.06.2019 Site Visit : 11.06.2019 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 21.06.2019 __
Conditions and Notes for Approval
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
C 1. The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice.
Reason: To comply with article 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
Plans/Drawings/Information:
This approval relates to drawing numbers JTM1907-P-00, JTM1907-P-01 and JTM1907-P-02 date stamped and received 08 May 2019.
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
None __
Officer’s Report
THE SITE 1.1 The application forms the curtilage of Douglas Fire Station, Peel Road, Douglas which is located on the western side of Peel Road and east of the River Glass. The Hyperbaric Chamber itself is a detached property developed in the form of a bungalow with its elevations bearing the semblance of a shed; located at the south west end of the site. To the north-west is the Fire Station, while the McDonald's along Peel Road sits exactly south-west of the structure.
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1.2 The building covers a span of 16m measuring east to west while its north-south span is 12m. The single storey property has plant rooms sitting north and south of the structure connected to an outer yard which is bounded by a timber fence. There is a porch situated at the entrance on the right of the front elevation. The property has direct access to the parking spaces within the site of the fire station.
THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the alteration and extension to the rear plant room of the Hyperbaric Chamber within the fire station site.
2.2 The extension will require the relocation of the rear plant room from the rear elevation to the front elevation. This works will be built to partly enclose the plant room on the font elevation and take up sections of the external yard in front of the property. The new plant room will be built in an L-Shaped form and have its main entrance on the west elevation of the property. It will measure 4.8m on its font elevation and 5.07m on its west elevation. The entire build for the plant room will cover a foot print of 17.61sq.m.
2.3 Additional works will involve modifying the plant room on the front elevation. The length of the plant room will be stretched out towards the entrance porch on the right side of the elevation while its width will be reduced by 0.6m to create room for the relocated plant room. A 1.6m double door entrance will be created at the right end of the front elevation to provide access to this plant room. The new foot print will be 18.87sq.m.
2.4 Both sheds will have corrugated metal sheets as its external cladding to reflect the style of the existing sheds while the roof pattern will be changed from the lean-to roof to flat roof.
PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The site is identified on the Douglas Local Plan 1998 (Map 2) as an Area of Buildings for Civic, Cultural or Other Special use. The site is not within a Conservation Area. Due to the fact that the site is situated near the River Glass, the site was assessed to determine if it was prone to flooding. The Douglas Flood Map 2(2017) showed that the site is prone to flooding; hence this must be taken into consideration for any development on the site.
3.2 The proposed land use is consistent with the designation and as such General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan is applicable here: General Policy 2: "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; (j) can be provided with all necessary services; (k) does not prejudice the use or development of adjoining land in accordance with the appropriate Area Plan and
3.3 Environment Policy 11: Coastal development will only be permitted where it would not: i) increase or transfer the risk of flooding or coastal erosion through its impact on natural coastal processes; ii) prejudice the capacity of the coast to form a natural sea defence; and iii) increase the need for additional coast protection works except where necessary to protect existing investment or development.
3.4 Environment Policy 10:
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Where development is proposed on any site where in the opinion of the Department of Local Government and the Environment there is a potential risk of flooding, a flood risk assessment and details of proposed mitigation measures must accompany any application for planning permission. The requirements for a flood risk assessment are set out in Appendix 4.
3.5 Environment Policy 13: Development which would result in an unacceptable risk from flooding, either on or off-site, will not be permitted. PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 The application site has been the subject of three previous planning applications, two of which are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application. PA 90/00066/B: Construction of single-storey medical treatment centre, rear of Fire Brigade HQ, Peel Road, Douglas. STATUS: Permitted
PA 09/00010/B: Erection of an extension to accommodate a third hyperbaric chamber STATUS: Permitted
REPRESENTATIONS Copies of representations received can be viewed on the government's website. This report contains summaries only. 5.1 Department of Infrastructure (DOI) Highway Services although consulted on 16 May 2019, 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.
5.2 Manx Utilities Authority (Drainage) was consulted on the development on 16 May 2019, seeing the site is situated within a flood risk area. However, they have not made any comments to show that they have concerns for the development nor require a flood risk assessment for 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 (Electricity) although consulted on 16 May 2019, 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 Douglas Corporation has indicated that they have no objections to the application in a letter dated 31 May 2019.
ASSESSMENT 6.1 The issues in this case are the principle, whether the proposed extension would have any adverse impact on the appearance and character of the building itself or the amenity of the street scene, and whether there is any adverse impact on parking. It is important to consider whether the proposal will increase the risk of flooding.
6.2 A key factor to consider with regard to development of this nature is the principle guiding the development. It should be noted that this development is within a site that has supported the activity since 1990 when the facility was approved (PA 90/00066). Moreover, the development accords with the land designation on the local plan as it do not introduce a new activity, but relocates the activity to a more accessible part of the site.
6.3 Another principal issue relates to the potential impact on the appearance and character of the building itself. The extension is well designed and finished and its appearance and massing will not have any significant impact on the appearance of the building. The extension will arguably improve its appearance and functionality, whilst maintaining the outlook of the existing building as the materials and finish will reflect the character of the existing property.
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6.4 Regarding the potential visual impacts upon the amenities of the street scene. The proposal would not replace the existing timber fence which currently conceals the property from the street scene; rather, all the alterations and extensions will take place within the confines of the fence, apart from the new entrance to the plant room which will be visible from the rear of the main fire building. None of the work will be visible from the street scene. Moreover, the extensions would have a flat roof and as such the views from Peel Road would not see this flat roofed aspect of the proposal.
6.5 With regard to impact on parking conditions within the site, the proposed extension will not alter the existing parking provisions within the site. As well, the property in its new state will not result in additional requirements for parking to support its operations, since its functions and capacity will remain unaltered.
6.6 Another factor to consider is the possible risk of flooding to the development. Environment Policy 10 stipulates that a Flood Risk Assessment be done for a proposed development where there is a potential risk of flooding. No Flood Risk Assessment was done for the proposed development making the development fail in this regard. However, the development is not a new introduction but a relocation of an activity to another section of the building which is away from the River Glass and on a less prone ground. Moreover, the extension will not involve the additional installation of equipment nor is there a change to the existing site levels, and as such the building will not be exposed to more flood vulnerabilities than already is in the present state.
6.7 Overall, it is considered that the level of development contained within the proposal is relatively modest and in keeping with the character of the existing building.
CONCLUSION 7.1 For the reasons set out above, the proposed development is deemed acceptable and is concluded to accord with the provisions of General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016. INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 8.1 In line with Article 6(4) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013, the following Persons are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings relating to the application: a) the applicant or, if there is one, b) the applicant's agent; c) the owner and occupier of the land the subject of the application, d) Highway Services, and e) the Local Authority in whose district the land the subject of the application sits.
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 : 21.06.2019
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Determining officer
Signed : S BUTLER
Stephen Butler
Head of Development Management
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