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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No. : 24/00019/B Applicant : Castletown Commissioners Proposal : Demolition of Building to create additional parking Site Address : Former Fire Station Farrants Way Castletown Isle Of Man IM9 1NR

Planning Officer: Paul Visigah Photo Taken : 01.05.2024 Site Visit : 01.05.2024 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 19.06.2024 __

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 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

C 2. The development hereby approved shall not be brought into use unless the access, visibility, and all parking and turning areas, have been provided and surfaced in accordance with the details shown on the approved plans (Drawing No. 06.) received 12.01.2024. Once provided, all access, parking and turning areas shall thereafter be permanently retained as such.

Reason: In the interest of highway safety.

C 3. The additional car parking provision hereby approved is to serve as a public car park and not for use by a single organisation. The car park shall remain open to the public and shall be retained as such.

Reason: The Department has assessed the impact of the proposal on the basis of the specific use and the documents submitted.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. Overall, it is considered that the scheme as proposed would not have a significant adverse effect on residential amenity, or on the character of the area. It is also not considered that the scheme would result in adverse impacts on highway safety, with the scheme serving to

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ameliorate parking pressure in the area. As such, it is considered that the scheme as proposed would conform with General Policy 2, Environment Policies 22 and 36, Transport Policies 4, 6, & 7 and Strategic Policy 1 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the documents and plans received 12 January 2024, and correspondence received 12 June 2024. __

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 4(2):

53 Scarlett Road, Castletown, as they do not refer to the relevant issues in accordance with paragraph 2C of the Policy and as they have not explained how the development would impact the lawful use of land owned or occupied by them and in relation to the relevant issues identified in paragraph 2C of the Policy, as is required by paragraph 2D of the Policy.

It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 4(2):

11 Queens Street, Castletown; and 20 Kissack Road, Castletown;

As they are not within 20m of the application site and the development is not automatically required to be the subject of an EIA by Appendix 5 of the Strategic Plan, in accordance with paragraph 2B of the Policy __

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The site is the former Fire Station situated on the south-western side of Farrant's Way, Castletown. The building on the site is currently laid out to accommodate the fire appliance and associated staff changing rooms, toilets with staff kitchen, office and lecture room and with associated car parking around the building.

1.2 The building is a flat roofed building with the section accommodating the appliance higher than the lecture room and staff facilities. To the rear is a terrace of two storey properties which back onto the application site, numbers 53-59, Scarlett Road.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Planning approval is sought for the Demolition of Building to create additional parking on site. The application form indicates that the new layout would allow for the creation of 22 new parking spaces, added to the existing 14 parking spaces, totalling 36 parking spaces on site.

2.2 The proposed site plan shows that the new scheme would allow for 4 EV parking spaces, 4 Disabled parking provisions, and 18 parking provisions for other vehicles. There would be a one-way system which would allow access via the southern access and exit via the

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northern access. The scheme would also allow for a 6m wide driveway around the site, although this would be about 6.7m where the driveway passes the parking for mobility challenged (disabled parking).

2.3 The proposal would not involve changes to the site level, and the new surface water channel positioned to the side of the existing entrance, would be channelled to connect into existing surface water drainage (no design detail has been provided to indicate how this would be achieved). There would be no foul discharge from the site.

3.0 PLANNING POLICY 3.1 Site Specific: 3.1.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Area Plan for the South (2013) as land for Community, Civic and other purposes, the site sits just outside the town's Conservation Area. The site is not prone to flood risks.

3.2 Regional: Area Plan for the South 3.2.1 The Area Plan has no site specific guidance for this site but includes the following: a. Section 8.17: Other Facilities "8.17.1 There are no firm proposals for development associated with the police or fire services, community health care facilities, hospitals, places of worship or community centres. A proposal to develop new facilities associated with these services/activities would be considered against the Policies contained within the Isle of Man Strategic Plan."

3.3 National: STRATEGIC PLAN (2016) a. General Policy 2 - 'Development Control' considerations. b. Strategic Policy 1 - Efficient use of land and resources c. Strategic Policy 2 - Development focussed in existing towns and villages d. Strategic Policy 3 - Development to safeguard character of existing towns and villages. e. Strategic Policy 5 - Design and visual impact. f. Environment Policy 42 - character and need to adhere to local distinctiveness. g. Environment Policy 36 - Guides development proposed outside of, but close to, the boundary of Conservation Areas. h. Transport Policy 4 - Highway safety. i. Transport Policy 6 - Requires new development and transport facilities to give equal consideration to the needs of pedestrians as other road users. j. Transport Policy 7 - Parking Provisions k. Community Policy 7 - Designing out criminal and anti-social behaviour l. Community Policy 10 - Proper access for firefighting appliances m. Community Policy 11 - Prevention for the outbreak and spread of fire. n. Appendix 7: "Paragraphs A.7.4: Most shopping facilities in established centres do not have on-site parking provided due to the intensive form of development and their location off the main highway, often in pedestrianised streets (Peel, Castletown, Douglas and Ramsey in particular). In most of these cases, provision is made for servicing outside trading hours from relaxation of the access regulations and the use of de-mountable bollards and rear access lanes. It is impracticable to require on site car parking for either staff or customers in such locations although it must be feasible for retail developments to be serviced. It is equally essential that there are available sufficient areas of public car parking either in car parks or on street, and that adequate controls are in place for these spaces to be available to those who need them.

Paragraph A.7.5: Encouraging greater use of public transport may involve a range of parking management measures and not just the relaxation of parking standards for new development. The control of public parking provision is an important element in any overall parking strategy, and may include the use of measures which are outside planning control such as parking charges and improved enforcement measures. Traffic management measures can however,

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play a role in the management of newly created public car parks, for example by conditioning a planning approval to ensure the effective management of the available space."

4.0 PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 The application site has been the subject of four previous planning applications, two of which are considered to be materially relevant in the assessment of the current application.

4.2 Approval in principle was granted in 2017 under PA 14/00099/A to demolish the fire Station and redevelop the site for residential use. This was approved subject to 8 conditions.

4.3 PA 19/00268/B for Alterations including replacement windows, roller shutter doors and signage, removal of wall to car park area and change of use from fire station to a community centre - Approved. This application which was the subject of four approval conditions enabled the conversion of the fire station to a community centre.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS Copies of representations received can be viewed on the Government's website. This report contains summaries only.

5.1 DOI Highway Services recommend DNOC, subject to all access arrangements including visibility splays to accord to drawing No. 06 (5 April 2024).

5.2 The DEFA Ecosystem Policy Team have noted that there is a small area of lawn and hedging on the plot which is to be removed to facilitate the carpark, and as such recommend that some type of soft landscaping is undertaken on site to mitigate against the small loss. They request that a condition is secured for a soft landscaping plan to be provided prior to works commencing (1 February 2024).

5.3 Castletown Commissioners have not made any comments on the application.

5.4 The owners of the following properties have made comments on the application: a. 11 Queens Street, Castletown; b. 20 Kissack Road, Castletown; and c. 53 Scarlett Road, Castletown.

5.4.1 The occupants of the above properties object to the application on the following grounds: o They refer to the need to provided additional coach parking within Castletown, whilst noting that the current proposal to create car parking space do not align with the immediate needs of the community. o They refer to conflicts with pedestrians at the current coach parking area. o They refer to private bins situated at the rear of the fire station which are not detailed on the submitted plans. o Need for car park not justified. o Poor utility of car park at the Barracks Square area designated for only blue badge vehicles. o Lack of an up-to-date car parking survey. o They refer to other potential projects by the Castletown Commissioners which bear no relationship with the current site.

6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of the current application are: a. The Principle of the Proposed Development; b. Visual Impact of the Proposal; c. Parking and Highway Safety Concerns; d. Impact on Neighbours;

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e. Potential Ecological Impacts; And f. Other Matters.

6.2 THE PRINCIPLE (GP 2, STP 1, & STP 2) 6.2.1 In assessing the principle of the proposed development, it is considered that the site is zoned as Buildings or Land for Civic, Cultural or Other use on the Area Plan, directly adjoins areas designated as Mixed Use and Predominantly Residential use, whilst also lying within the defined settlement where the proposed development would be judged to be in conformity with the adjoining uses.

6.2.2 Likewise, the site is close to the town centre and most recently has the benefit of planning approval for use of part of its curtilage as a public car park. Moreover, its location close to the town hall, police station and businesses within the town centre makes it suitable for a community use in that it is accessible and in a location where the community would likely have need of parking.

6.2.3 Further to the above, the scheme would optimise the use of the site, given the minimum utility offered by the site in its current unused and under-used form, whilst also benefitting from the sites link to existing infrastructure, facilities and services within Castletown, ensuring that the proposal aligns with the goals of Strategic policy 1.

6.2.4 The comments made by the neighbours regarding justification for the car park is noted. However, the property is zoned for development and the zoning of the site within the Area Plan would not be averse to the current and proposed use to provide public parking. Besides, a visit to the area during the site visit, and other site visits to the area clearly depicts a need for additional parking provision in the area.

6.2.5 Based on the foregoing, it is considered that the principle of utilising the site as a currently proposed would be more complimentary to the surrounding residential and mixed uses, and as such is judged to be acceptable in principle. This is, however, not an automatic reason to allow development as further material planning matters as indicated previously need to be considered, to determine the suitability of the proposal to the site and area.

6.3 VISUAL IMPACT (GP2, STP3b, EP36, & EP42) 6.3.1 In terms of the visual impact of the proposal, it is noted that the existing building which sits within the site would be removed, and this would change the appearance of the site area. However, it is not considered that the building in its current form contributes significantly to the character of the area, being utilitarian in design, with no outstanding features. Hence, it is not considered that its removal would significantly or adversely alter the appearance or character of the site and immediate vicinity.

6.3.2 It is also noted that the site already serves as a parking space, with its current identify now including its use as a public car park. Hence, the use of the entire site as a public cap park is not considered to be at variance with the appearance and character of this part of the townscape.

6.3.3 With regard to potential impacts on views into the adjacent Conservation Area, given the location of the site at the edge of a Conservation Area, it is considered that the works would involve the removal of the existing roadside wall which is about 1m in height to ensure that the wall does not inhibit visibility for those in vehicles emerging from the site. Whilst the wall in its current form would serve to soften the impact of the parked vehicles and its stone character adds to the feel of the area, forming a link with the walls that sit on the boundary with the adjacent Conservation Area, there already exists parking areas in the immediate vicinity which have walls that do not sit along the entire boundary of these sites. Therefore, it is not considered that the removal of the front section would detrimentally affect important views into and out of the Conservation Area. Besides, the boundary walls to the side and rear

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would be retained, and this would serve to diminish any concerns related to the contribution of the walls to the character of the area.

6.4 PARKING AND HIGHWAY SAFETY (GP2, TP4, TP6, & TP7) 6.4.1 In terms of parking provisions for the scheme, it is noted that all the parking provisions meet the required standards stipulated in the Manual for Manx Roads. Likewise, the site has been laid out such that pedestrians would easily move around the site, and the removal of the front boundary walls would ensure that vehicles exiting the site have a clear views of pedestrians using the footway in front of the site. Thus, it is considered that the needs of pedestrians who would use the footway and site have been given similar weight as vehicle users (transport Policy 6).

6.4.2 With regard to the visibility when exiting the site onto the adjoining highway, it is considered that alterations to the boundary wall would improve visibility from the site. Moreover, DOI Highways have assessed the proposal and consider that the access arrangements including visibility splays are acceptable, whilst requiring that the drawing which details these changes be secured by a condition. As such, it is considered that the scheme as proposed would comply with policy GP2 (h & i), and Transport Policies 4, 6, and 7 of the Strategic Plan.

6.5 IMPACT ON NEIGHBOURING AMENITY (GP 2 & EP 22) 6.5.1 In terms of potential impacts on neighbouring amenity, it is noted that the site already serves the parking of vehicles, with the current scheme seeking to increase the parking provision within the site. Whilst it is noted that the increased parking holds the potential for increased vehicular movements at the site, it is not considered that the disturbances which includes noise levels would be considerably increased over the existing situation.

6.5.2 Granting a number of neighbours have written in to object to the proposal, none have raised key concerns with regard to disturbances as a result of the proposal, although they have highlighted the loss of the bins situated at the rear of the existing fire station building on site as a concern with the scheme which would be discussed at a later section of this report given that it relates to matters that fall outside the remit of a planning application. As such, it is not considered that the scheme as proposed would result in significant adverse impacts on neighbouring amenity.

6.5.3 Overall, it is considered that the level and scale of development proposed here are judged to not result in significant harm the amenity of the occupants of neighbouring properties.

7.6 ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS (GP2) 7.6.1 In terms of the ecological impacts of the proposed development, it is considered that the works would result in the removal of a small area of grass situated in front of the property, whilst not seeking to provide any area of grass on site. This has been reviewed by the DEFA Ecosystem Policy Team who would prefer to see some type of soft landscaping undertaken on site to mitigate against the small loss. However, this grassed area is managed and forms no linkages with existing mature landscaped areas or natural vegetation in the immediate vicinity, and as such would not possess any real ecological value. This would be unfortunate, and weighs against the proposal, although it is not considered sufficient to warrant refusal of the scheme.

6.7 OTHER MATTERS 6.7.1 The matters related to rights over site and access to bins at the site has been noted. This was discussed with a representative of the council who noted that the bins on site serve events organised by the local authority, although it was accepted that some of the neighbours store private bins within the site, whilst noting that provision would be made to relocate the bins to an alternative site (see email from local authority received 12 June 2024). Given that

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matters which border on the definition of property boundaries and rights of access fall outside the remit of a planning application, they bear no weight as material planning considerations. As such, they cannot be considered in the assessment of this planning application. These issues would be better addressed via the appropriate legislation outside the remit of planning.

7.0 CONCLUSION 7.1 Overall, it is considered that the scheme as proposed would not have a significant adverse effect on residential amenity, or on the character of the area. It is also not considered that the scheme would result in adverse impacts on highway safety, with the scheme serving to ameliorate parking pressure in the area. As such, it is considered that the scheme as proposed would conform with GP2, EP 22, EP 36, TP 4, 6, & 7 and STP1 of the Strategic Plan.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons: (a) the applicant (including an agent acting on their behalf); (b) any Government Department that has made written representations that the Department considers material; (c) the Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure; (d) Manx National Heritage where it has made written representations that the Department considers material; (e) Manx Utilities where it has made written representations that the Department considers material; (f) the local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated; and (g) a local authority adjoining the authority referred to in paragraph (f) where that adjoining authority has made written representations that the Department considers material.

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 4(2) who should be given Interested Person Status. __ I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Director of Planning and Building Control in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 16.08.2024

Determining officer Signed : J CHANCE

Jennifer Chance

Director of Planning and Building Control

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