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24/00150/B Page 1 of 4
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Application No. : 24/00150/B Applicant : Mr Jonathan Sutherland Proposal : Installation of 13 windows in an office building (retrospective). Site Address : Mountain View Innovation Centre Jurby Road Ramsey Isle Of Man IM7 2DZ
Principal Planning Officer: Belinda Fettis Photo Taken : 08.05.2024 Site Visit : 08.05.2024 Expected Decision Level :
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 14.05.2024 __
Conditions and Notes for Approval
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. White UPVC windows existed in the building therefore the proposed windows are considered to be in character with the host building and within the setting of the business site. Overall the development is in accordance with Strategic Policy 3 and General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the documents and drawings received on the 19th of February 2024.
o Drawing no.1 - Site Location Plan o Drawing no.2 - Site Plan o Drawing no.4 - Window specification o Drawing no.6 - Elevations north and east - proposed o Drawing no.7 - Elevations south and west - proposed o Drawing no.9 - Proposed first floor plan o Photo 1 - south side o Photo 2 - east side o Photo 3 - north side __
Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
None
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24/00150/B Page 2 of 4
Officer’s Report
THE APPLICATION SITE 1.1. The application site relates to an office building within a group of buildings known as / associated as the Mountain View Innovation Centre; the application business address is given as is ZipAddress Ltd. The site is approximately 515m east of the built form of Ramsey. The building is a large metal finish building in the style associated with business units and large agricultural units.
1.2. The site is accessed via a long private lane approximately 260m south from the junction with Jurby Road (A13). Approximately 192m south of the site and on a lower land level is Sulby River, the land then rises to Lezayre Road (A3).
THE PROPOSAL 3. This application seeks retrospective approval to retain 13 white UPVC windows across the elevations of the office building. The 13 windows match the existing in colour and style and are as follows; 2 on the south elevation, 4 on the north elevation, 7 on the east elevation.
PLANNING HISTORY 4.1. There have been a number of previous planning applications on this site and associated applications relating to the wider site. The application considered relevant in the assessment and determination of this application is listed below.
4.1.1. 18/00854/B - Installation of three windows (retrospective). Permitted.
PLANNING POLICY 5.1. Under the Isle of Man Development Plan Order 1982 the site has no specific designation; The designation is carried forward to the proposed Area Plan for the North and West; Draft Proposals Map 4 which is in the process of adoption. The site is not a Registered Building or within a Conservation Area, nor within the setting of either.
5.2. Policies within the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and Design Guide are used to assess the proposal.
5.3. Strategic Policy 3 requires development to ensure that the individual character of an area is protected or enhanced. Where development is in keeping with its designation within the area plan, it still needs to meet any relevant criteria of General Policy 2, (a) to (n).
REPRESENTATIONS 6.1. The following representations had been received at the time of this report and can be found in full online, below is a short summary;
6.2. Highway: No interest (26.02.2024)
ASSESSMENT 7.1. The application is retrospective and as such the main consideration is whether the impact of the additional windows has caused harm to neighbouring amenity and or the character of the site and, given the open countryside location, the impact upon the wider setting.
7.2. CHARACTER 7.2.1. The group of buildings are visible to varying degrees from varying positions along Jury Road and in wider distant views the southern side of Sulby River, areas from Lezayre Road to the south across the valley, and from parts of Garey Road, and residential properties on Jury Road, northwest of the site. In views of the site, the group is dominated by the principal film studio building which is on the southern edge of the site.
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24/00150/B Page 3 of 4
7.2.2. The site has been planted with a mix of trees and shrubs and the planted vegetation continues to increase screening of the whole site in the wider landscape.
7.2.3. Had the additional windows been proposed at the time the building was constructed they would have probably been in a green to match the building colour and with less reflective glass. However white UPVC windows in the building exist therefore the proposed windows are considered to be in character with the host building and within the setting of the business site.
7.2.4. By virtue of the white frames and reflective glass, cumulatively the number of windows cause some harm in the wider landscape. However this application is assessed on the additional 13 windows, 11 of which are not in the wider landscape. Therefore on balance the proposal is in keeping with the site and is acceptable.
7.3. NEIGHBOUR AMENITY 7.3.1. There are residential and business neighbours adjacent to the application site.
7.3.2. The new windows do not cause harm to the adjacent business unit.
7.3.3. In 2011, application number 11/01586/C was permitted for a change of use of Baldromma Farm Bungalow, post code IM7 2EB from office accommodation into a residential dwelling. During an assessment of planning application no.18/00854/B in 2018 the impact on the residential property of the proposed change of uses of some of the buildings was considered, and found to have a moderate impact. Later there are references to the media company buying the bungalow and using it for office purposes.
7.3.4. The bungalow building is shown within the blue line of ownership and having visited the site it does not appear to be used as a residential dwellinghouse. A staff member confirmed on site that the building was used in association with the business site and that no one lived there.
7.3.5. Notwithstanding the above assessment, in respect of this application, the windows potentially in view of the bungalow are on the south side of the application site. Due to the separation distance and orientation of the buildings, the windows do not cause harm to the amenity of the bungalow be it in residential use or not.
CONCLUSION 8.1. White UPVC windows exist in the building therefore the proposed windows are considered to be in character with the host building and within the setting of the business site. Overall the development is in accordance with Strategic Policy 3 and General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.
INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 9.1. By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 (Article 6(4), the following persons 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 or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested; c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.
9.2. 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.
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24/00150/B Page 4 of 4
I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Acting Head of Development Management 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 : 16.05.2024
Determining officer
Signed : A MORGAN Abigail Morgan
Acting Head of Development Management
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