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24/00389/C Page 1 of 6
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Application No. : 24/00389/C Applicant : Allland Ltd Proposal : Change of use from Class 1.1 Retail area to Class 4.2 Children's Play Area Site Address : First Floor 9 - 11 Duke Street Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 2BB
Planning Officer: Vanessa Porter Photo Taken : Site Visit : Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 24.05.2024 __
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 property, hereby approved, shall be open for use by customers only between 9 am in the morning until 9pm in the evening (09:00 - 21:00 hrs) 7 days a week.
Reason: In the interests of the amenity of neighbouring residents in accordance with General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 22 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposed change of use is considered to be acceptable in principle and would result in a benefit to the local economy and vitality of the town centre without impacting the Conservation Area in term of character nor appearance nor impacting neighbouring amneity. The development therefore accords with the Area Plan for the East, Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999, Strategic Policy 1 & 4, General Policy 2, Environment Policy 22 & 23, Transport Policy 7 and Business Policy 1 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 8th April 2024:
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o Drawing No. 24/3227/01A o Drawing No. 24/3227/02 o Planning Statement __
Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should be given Interested Person Status as they are 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):
Occupant, 9-11 Duke Street as they satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status. __
Officer’s Report
THE APPLICATION SITE
1.1 The application site is within the curtilage of 9-11 Duke Street, Douglas which is a large ornate four storey property which is situated upon a corner plot where Lord Street meets Duke Street. To the rear of the property is Water Lane which separates the commercial part of the property from the residential terrace situated to the West of the site.
1.2 The premises as a whole has been used for several different use classes, the site is situated within the Douglas Map on the Town and Country Planning (Change of Use)(Development)(No.2) Order 2019.
1.3 The specific part of the site, which this application is applicable to is the first floor, of which the existing use was as a beauty salon.
1.4 The surrounding streetscene where the proposal is situated has a wide variety of uses from a bar to the North, a supermarket and public library to the East of the site, residential dwellings to the West of the site and retail shops to the South of the site. There are also a variety of uses within an immediate area of the application site which includes a bus station, offices, residential, café's and hairdressers/ beauty services.
THE PROPOSAL
2.1 The current planning application seeks approval to change the use of the first floor of 9-11 Dukes Street from Class 1.1 Retail to Class 4.2 Children's play area. There are proposed no external alterations nor changes to the floor plan as provided.
2.2 The opening and closing times proposed are 7 days a week, from 9am to 9pm. They estimate that the number of staff required will be around 5-6 people. The primary entrance is from the ground floor level, which has both a staircase and a lift.
2.3 The site does not provide any off street parking and state that any clients/ staff will use the existing public parking services situated within the area of the proposed facility within their planning statement.
PLANNING HISTORY
3.1 The following are applications situated upon the site as a whole; PA84/01061/B - Alterations to 3rd floor area for relocation of existing coffee shop - Permitted
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PA92/00253/B - Internal alterations to amalgamate Avantgarde and Salon De Beaute - Permitted PA13/00855/B - Change of use from a salon to yoga teaching/ training studio - Permitted PA16/00470/B - Creation of additional doorway - Permitted PA19/01351/B - Installation of a flue to rear elevation, re-location of attic restaurant to ground floor and change of use of attic area to retail (Class 1) - Permitted PA20/00313/B - Installation of replacement windows and shop front - Permitted PA21/01429/B - Installation of two aluminium grilles to the rear elevation - Permitted.
PLANNING POLICY
4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "Mixed Use - 3. Strand Street" on the Area Plan for the East, Map 4 - Douglas. The site is not within a Flood Risk Zone but is situated within a Conservation Area.
4.2 AREA PLAN FOR THE EAST
4.2.1 The following parts from the Area Plan for the East are deemed applicable to the assessment of this application;
4.2.2 Mixed Use Area 3 - Strand Street, "This area forms the core of the retail shopping area and is characterised by shops, food and drink uses, financial and professional services and other associated town centre uses such as hairdressers, beauticians and so on. The area is currently busy during the daytime but quiet of an evening and it is considered that more residential uses would benefit the area and help support the night time economy."
4.2.3 Town Centre - Mixed Use Proposal 3, "There will be a presumption in favour of retail and ancillary town centre uses such as food and drink and health and beauty uses along the primary shopping frontage. Outside of the primary shopping frontage a wider variety of town centre uses including financial and professional services open to visiting members of the public will also be acceptable. Entertainment venues, offices and residential use will be acceptable at first floor level and above, but not at ground floor level where an active frontage should be maintained and enhanced. These active frontages are essential to sustain an attractive town centre."
4.3 ISLE OF MAN STRATEGIC PLAN
4.3.1 Given the nature of the of the land designation and the property being within a Conservation Area, Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act (1999) is the most relevant in the assessment of this application. Followed by paragraph 7.29.2 and Environment Policy 35 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, which set out development in Conservation Areas will only be permitted where they preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the area.
4.3.2 This is then followed by Strategic Policy 1 which seeks that development make best use of resources, Strategic Policy 4, which seeks that proposals must protect or enhance Conservation Area, General Policy 2, which sets out general 'planning considerations,' Environment Policy 22 which seeks that development will not be permitted if it would unacceptably harm the environment and/or the amenity of nearby properties, Environment Policy 23 which seeks that consideration is given to the potential adverse impact of proposed changes on existing neighbours, Transport Policy 7 in connection with Appendix 7 which sets out general parking standards and Business Policy 1 which sets out that the growth of employment opportunities will be encouraged.
REPRESENTATIONS
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5.1 The following representations can be found in full online, below is a short summary;
5.2 Highway Services have considered the proposal and state, "After reviewing this Application, Highway Services HDC finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking, as the proposals are in Douglas city centre with car parking available within the centre for visitors and TRO parking restrictions in the vicinity of the site." (12.04.24)
5.3 Douglas Borough Council have considered the proposal and have no objection (19.04.24).
5.4 An occupant of No.9-11 Duke Street has raised concerns regarding the use of the area as a child's play area, with regards to accessibility, noise and impact on other businesses within the property.
ASSESSMENT
6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are;
6.2 SECTION 18(4) TEST - CHARACTER
6.2.1 In the first instance it is necessary to assess whether the proposed change of use of the first floor would have an impact upon the character of the Conservation Area. As stated within section 1 of this report, there are a variety of uses within the surrounding which range from residential to retail to a bar, as such it is unlikely that the proposal to change the first floor from its existing use to a children's play area would impact the character of the Conservation Area. Especially when noting that there is a likelihood of foot traffic to the site by dint of its location within the Douglas town centre.
6.3 SECTION 18(4) TEST - APPEARANCE
6.3.1 When looking at the appearance of the site, and whether the proposal will impact this, it is noted that no external proposals are requested within this application, as such there should be no impact from the proposal on the appearance of the application site within the context of the streetscene and Conservation Area.
6.4 PRINCIPLE
6.4.1 Turning towards the principle of the proposal, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and The Area Plan for the East makes reference to wanting to keep the vitality of the town centre through a variety of uses and specifically the Area Plan for the East states in Town Centre - - Mixed Use Proposal 3 that entertainment venues will be accepted on the first floor and above, as such the general principle of the proposal is deemed acceptable.
6.5 NEIGHBOURING AMENITY
6.5.1 When looking at the impact of the proposal on the neighbouring amenity of the area, it is noted that there has been concerns raised regarding the proposal with regards to the surrounding streetscene and also the proposed opening/closing times of the site. When looking at the surrounding streetscene there are a range of uses all of which fit within each other and have a variety of times in which they are open and closed.
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6.5.2 Taking into account the variety of uses within the surrounding streetscene it is deemed that there would be no concerns raised over the potential opening and closing hours in the context of neighbouring amenity impact. However, it would be considered necessary to place a restriction on the use of the premises to that which has been sought for, to ensure the premises could not subsequently be used for another use, which could pose a greater impact and require further assessment.
6.6 HIGHWAY SAFETY
6.6.1 No concerns have been raised by Highway Services over the proposal and whilst it is recognised that the proposed use would technically require additional parking relative to the lawful use of the premises (i.e. no spaces required for town centre retail vs 1 space per 15sqm of floorspace for assembly and leisure) as per the defined parking standard within Transport Policy 7 in connection with Appendix 7. That being said, the site is situated within a highly sustainable location which is well served by existing bus routes, and the bus station on Lord Street is less than a 5 minute walk away from the site, there are also high levels of public car parking available in the surrounding car parks. On this basis, the absence of dedicated car parking is considered to be acceptable.
CONCLUSION
7.1 The proposed change of use is considered to be acceptable in principle and would result in a benefit to the local economy and vitality of the town centre without impacting the Conservation Area in term of character nor appearance nor impacting neighbouring amenity.
7.2 The development therefore accords with the Area Plan for the East, Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999, Strategic Policy 1 & 4, General Policy 2, Environment Policy 22 & 23, Transport Policy 7 and Business Policy 1 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.
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.
8.3 The Department of Environment Food and Agriculture is responsible for the determination of planning applications. As a result, where officers within the Department make comments in a professional capacity they cannot be given Interested Person Status. __
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I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Principal Planner 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: 24.05.2024
Determining officer Signed : C BALMER
Chris Balmer
Principal Planner
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