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23/01502/C Page 1 of 6
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Application No. : 23/01502/C Applicant : Mr Sam Adcock Proposal : Additional use from Class 2.2 (Light Industry) to Classes 2.2 (Light Industry), 2.1 (Office) and 1.1 (Shops) (Retrospective) Site Address : Unit 5 The Shipyard Shipyard Road Ramsey Isle Of Man IM8 3DT
Planning Officer: Mr Paul Visigah Photo Taken : Site Visit : Expected Decision Level : Planning Committee
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 28.02.2024 __
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. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 2019 (or any Order revoking and/or re-enacting that Order with or without modification), the area denoted as Unit 5 on the approved Site Plan shall only be used for Use Class Classes 2.2 (Light Industry), or a combination of the uses only at any time - Classes 2.2 (Light Industry), 2.1 (Office), and 1.1 (Shops).
Reason: For the avoidance of doubt and to allow the Department has assessed the impact of the proposal on the basis of the specific use and any alternative uses will require further consideration.
C 3. The business use hereby approved may be operational only within the following days:
o Mondays to Fridays: Open o Saturdays and Sundays: Closed
Reason: to clarify the extent of the proposal as submitted and to control the impact of the development on the surrounding area.
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C 4. The proposed additional retail use hereby approved shall be limited to the selling of electrical/mechanical products and accessories only.
REASON: To restrict the sale of goods within an industrial estate
C 5. The use of the premises hereby approved shall be carried out in accordance with the internal layout drawing referenced "Unit 5 Floor Plan Proposed" and retained in perpetuity, unless otherwise approved in writing by the Department.
REASON: To take account of the particular planning circumstances of the development hereby approved, and to avoid any increase in retail on the site.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. It is considered that the proposed development would have no significant adverse impacts upon public or private amenities, while the use of the site for the proposed additional office and retail use would not impact adversely on the viability of the Ramsey Town centre. Accordingly, the proposal would comply with Strategic Policies 1, Business Policy 5, 7 and 10, General Policy 2, and Transport Policies 4 & 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the submitted documents and drawings received on 4 January 2024.
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
None __
Officer’s Report
THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE AT THE REQUEST OF THE HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE 1.1 The application relates to Unit 5, The Shipyard, Shipyard Road, Ramsey. The unit is one of a block of six units within the Shipyard Complex south of Marsden Terrace and north of Ramsey Harbour. Unit 5 is situated in the western block of light industrial units and is accessed via the estate road (Shipyard Road) which continues in a northerly direction from the entrance of the industrial estate to the junction with North Shore Road.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Planning approval is sought for additional use of the unit from Class 2.2 (Light Industry) to Classes 2.2 (Light Industry), 2.1 (Office) and 1.1 (Shops) (Retrospective). There would be no external alterations to the building, with the physical change only taking place within the unit.
2.2 The site has access to six designated parking spaces fronting the unit and the applicant indicates there are a number of car parking spaces in and around the unit, such that all customers will have the ability to park outside the location without infringing on neighbouring parking spaces.
2.3 The applicants have indicated the following in their supporting statement: o The unit measures approximately 11.8 metres by 7.8 metres resulting in a total floor area of approximately 92.4 square metres, with the additional use for the showroom setup within the front area of the unit which occupies only a small area 7.6 x 3.7m.
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o The unit has a disabled access into it via a roller shutter door. o The business has been operating from the location since 2001 and never had any issues with neighbours or public to this date with our operation. o The showroom is to show potential customers the equipment the business provides, and a small range of accessories that are available from the Kärcher product range. o The showroom does not attract passing customers but only gets customers who need to come as the Shipyard Road is a dead end so there is no passing trade, and it is away from the town centre. o The showroom is only currently open Wednesday to Friday, but the intention is to open Monday to Friday if trade increases. o A maximum of 4 customers a day visits the unit, most of whom are dropping off machines to be repaired. o The business will continue to make signs and carry out repairs on electrical equipment including sewage and petroleum forecourt equipment as has been since 1992 when the company was first setup. o The business does not operate as electrical contractors, and does not carry out installation work in homes. o The business is a small family operation with 3 full time family members and 1 part time operative who works 2 days a week.
2.4 The information provided by the applicant did not include times of operation.
3.0 PLANNING POLICY 3.1 Site Specific 3.1.1 The site is within an area designated as 'Light Industrial Use' under the Ramsey Local Plan Order 1998, and the site is not within a Conservation Area. The site is prone to High Tidal Flood Risks.
3.2 National: STRATEGIC PLAN (2016) a. General Policy 2 - 'Development Control' considerations. b. Strategic Policy 1 - Efficient use of land and resources. c. Transport Policy 4 - Highway Safety d. Transport Policy 7 and Appendix A.7.6 - Parking Provisions. e. Business Policy 5 - Permission will be given only for industrial or for storage and distribution on land for industrial use; retailing will not be permitted except where either: (a) the items to be sold could not be sold from a town centre location because of their size or nature; or (b) the items to be sold are produced on the site and their sale could not be reasonably be severed from the overall business; and, in respect of (a) or (b), where it can be demonstrated that the sales would not detract from the vitality and viability of the appropriate town centre shopping area.
f. Business Policy 7 - New office floor space should be located within town and village centres on land which is zoned for the purpose on the appropriate area plan; with exception of approved Business Parks for Corporate Headquarters and buildings of acknowledged architectural or historic interest. g. Business Policy 9 - Supports new retail provision in existing retail areas at a scale appropriate to the existing area and which will not have an adverse effect on adjacent retail areas. h. Business Policy 10 - Retail development will be permitted only in established town and village centres, with the exceptions of neighbourhood shops in large residential areas and those instances identified in Business Policy 5. i. Strategic Policy 9 - All new retail development (excepting neighbourhood shops and those instances identified in Business Policy 5) and all new office development (excepting corporate headquarters suitable for a business park(1) location) must be sited within the town
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and village centres on land zoned for these purposes in Area Plans, whilst taking into consideration Business Policies 7 and 8.
4.0 PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 The application site has not been the subject of any recent planning application, although the unit was developed as part of a proposal for the Erection of six light industrial units under PA 86/00921/B, which was approved in 1 Jan 1994.
4.2 Other historic developments relevant to the unit include an application for Approval in principle to development of industrial units with access, circulation and parking under PA 86/00622/A - APPROVED.
4.3 Other planning application which are not directly related to the application site but within the adjoining units and considered relevant to the proposed scheme include: o Approval in principle to change of use from factory units to bakery, Units 2 and 4 - PA 88/01344/A - APPROVED. o PA 89/00039/A for Approval in principle to change of use from factory to mixed industrial and retail use, Unit 10 - Approved. o PA 00/00592/C for Change of use of industrial unit to coast guard station - Approved. o Approval was granted in 2016 for Change of use from light industrial to a gym under PA 16/01386/C. The Planning Officer in recommending approval noted that "the estate generates a variety of different users to the business in the estate and this traffic is generally day time and week day traffic and as such there is likely to be capacity on the roadways and adjacent parking areas to accommodate any vehicles which cannot be accommodated on the site such that there will not be an adverse impact on the highway network in the vicinity of the site."
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS Copies of representations received can be viewed on the Government's website. This report contains summaries only.
5.1 DOI Highways find the proposal to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking (12 January 2024).
5.2 Ramsey Town Commissioners and the neighbouring properties have not made any comments as at the time of writing the report.
6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 Key Issues to be considered in the assessment of this application are: i. Principle of Development; ii. Traffic Impacts / parking provision; and iii. Impact on Neighbouring Properties
6.2 Principle of Development (BP 5, 7 and 10, GP2) 6.2.1 In assessing the principle of the proposed additional retail and office use, it is considered that Business Policies 5 and 10 of the Strategic Plan are clear in placing restrictions on the sale of goods from premises in industrial areas. The application site sits within an area of Light Industrial use on the Ramsey Local Plan, as such this restriction is applicable. However, the exceptions to Business Policy 5 are for the retail sale of items that could not reasonably be sold from a town centre location, because of their size or nature; or for the retail sale of items that are produced on the site (which does not apply in the present case).
6.2.2 Further to Business Policies 5 and 10, Paragraph 9.2.6 of the Strategic Plan also gives examples of items that cannot generally be sold from a town centre location. These include motor vehicles, builders' materials, and agricultural equipment and feed; which are indicative of the size and type of items that would come within the scope of the exception allowed by
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Business Policy 5a. Traditionally such items are not traded from town centre shops, due to their size and nature.
6.2.3 In the case of the current proposal, a number of the items to be traded from the unit would be bulky items that cannot be easily sold within town centre locations. Likewise, the location of the unit within an industrial area which ends in a cul de sac, situated away from the town centre would ensure that it does not attract business from the town centre or adversely impact on the vitality of the Ramsey Town centre. It is also vital to note that the floor area available for the retail use only takes up a small proportion of the floor area available within the unit which measures about 92.4sqm.
6.2.4 With regard to the proposed use of part of the light industrial unit as an office (Class 2.1), it is noted that office use should, according to Business Policy 7 and Strategic Policy 9, be directed towards existing town and village centres. Whilst the proposed office use is a deviation from the approved industrial use, it is unlikely that the additional low-level use for a small office business would generate materially harmful impacts beyond any impacts already associated with the existing light industrial use, particularly as the office area only measures about 20 percent of the total floor area. Therefore, no objection is therefore raised on this ground.
6.3 Traffic Impacts / Parking Provision (TP 4 and 7, & GP2) 6.3.1 In assessing the potential highway safety/ parking impacts, the key concern lies in the potential impacts of the additional office and retail element, on the adjacent industrial units.
6.3.2 With regard to parking concerns, the site has provision of six off road parking spaces for visitors/staff at the site. Moreover, the existing and additional uses are unlikely to generate significant number of customers at any one time and it is considered the applicants comments that they generally have no more than four customers a day is reasonable, particularly as the showroom is currently only open Wednesdays to Fridays, although it is noted that the intention is to increase this to Mondays to Fridays. Besides, the industrial area has provision for general parking outside those provided for the individual units, which points to the fact that provision is made for general parking requirements. Furthermore, no comments have been made by the neighbours to oppose the scheme or raise issues with the proposal in terms of parking concerns.
6.3.3 In terms of deliveries to the site, it is not considered that the proposal would increase considerably the amount of deliveries to the site as the retail use is only to give customers an opportunity to show customers the equipment that the business can provide. In addition, the site position relative to the highway (situated off the major highway and within a dead end), and the size of the units here; which would not attract a large number of visitors would ensure there are no concerns with parking or highway safety.
6.3.4 Equally, it is important that DOI Highways considers that the proposal does not raise significant road safety or highway network functionality/parking issues. Therefore, it is considered that this element of the scheme complies with the requirements of the aforementioned policies.
6.4 Impact on Neighbouring Properties (GP 2) 6.4.1 The current industrial use has unrestricted hours of operation, and it is not considered that the proposed additional use as an office/retail use would diminish the existing levels of amenity of occupiers of neighbouring buildings. Besides, the existing businesses and units have operation allow for uncontrolled visitor access, with the location of the unit where visits have to be intentional would ensure that any impacts in terms of visitor numbers and consistency would not be sufficient to warrant refusal of the proposal. It is, therefore, not considered relevant to impose a condition restricting hours of operation, although it would be vital that the days of operation would be controlled to accord with the submissions made for the application.
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7.0 CONCLUSION 7.1 Overall, it is considered that the development proposed would have no significant adverse impacts upon public or private amenities while the use of the site for the proposed additional office and retail use would not impact adversely on the viability of the Ramsey Town centre. Accordingly, the proposal would comply with Strategic Policies 1, Business Policy 5, 7 and 10, General Policy 2, and Transport Policies 4 & 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and therefore the application is recommended for an approval.
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 above who should be given Interested Person Status. __
I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to that body by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Committee has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status.
Decision Made : Permitted
Committee Meeting Date: 11.03.2024
Signed : C BALMER Presenting Officer
Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph to the officer report).
Signatory to delete as appropriate YES/NO See below
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