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24/00891/C Page 1 of 5
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 24/00891/C Applicant : Ms Megan Whitehead Proposal : Additional use of property as tourist accommodation Site Address : 22A Church Road Port Erin Isle Of Man IM9 6AQ
Planning Officer: Graham Northern Photo Taken : Site Visit : Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 04.11.2024 __
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 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The additional use of the site for tourist accommodation would not harm the use and enjoyment of neighbouring properties, complies with Strategic Policy 8, General Policy 2 and Business Policy 13 and would have a neutral impact upon the Port Erin Conservation area,in accordance with Environment Policy 35 of the Strategic Plan 2016.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This approval relates to the following drawings received 02.08.2024:
Right to Appeal
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):
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9 Lhag Beg Port Erin Isle Of Man IM9 6LZ 5 Parliament street
as they do not refer to the relevant issues in accordance with paragraph 2C of the Policy and/or 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. __
Officer’s Report
1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The site is 22A Church Road, Port Erin, a mid terraced building located centrally on the southern side of Church Road. The proposals relate to the first floor only.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The application seeks approval for the additional use of the upper two storeys for tourist accommodation (use class 3.6).
2.2 There would be no external alterations carried out under this application.
2.3 The application site would rely upon on-street parking or public car parks in the locality.
3.0 Planning History 3.1 There is no previous application considered materially relevant to this application.
4.0 Planning Policy Site Specific 4.1 In terms of local plan policy, the application site is within an area recognised as being 'Mixed Use' under the Area Plan for the South 2013 Map 7 Port Erin / Port St Mary.
4.2 The site is further identified as sitting within a 'Proposed Conservation Area'.
4.3 Furthermore there are no trees affected by the proposal and the site is not identified as being at flood risk.
Strategic Policy 4.2 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application: o Strategic Policy 5 o General Policy 2 (b), (g), (h), (i), (m), (n) o Transport Policy 7 o Appendix 7.6 o Business Policy 13 - Permission will generally be given for the use of private residential properties as tourist accommodation providing that it can be demonstrated that such use would not compromise the amenities of neighbouring residents.
4.3 Residential Design Guidance provides advice on the design of new houses and extensions to existing property as well as how to assess the impact of such development on the living conditions of those in adjacent residential property.
4.4 Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act (1999) states, "(4) Where any area is for the time being a conservation area, special attention shall be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing its character or appearance in the exercise, with respect to any buildings or other land in the area, of any powers under this Act".
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5.0 OTHER MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS Strategy and Guidance 5.1 There is no strategy or guidance materially relevant to this application.
6.0 REPRESENTATION 6.1 Port Erin Commissioners 14.08.2024 - have objected to the proposals on the basis that the property is not suitable for tourism use and that the proposals would result in the loss of a residential dwelling.
6.2 DoI Highway Services 09.08.2024 - Highway Services HDC finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking as the proposed use would have a similar or less parking demand compared to the existing use.
6.3 The owner/occupier of 9 Lhag Beg One, Port Erin has commented (28.08.2024) which states;
"i don't believe from comments and allegations made by a Port Erin commissioner and i believe them not to be factual about the applicant"
6.4 Island Escapes of 5 Parliament street have also made comments which support the application and refute teh claims by the Commissioners they stipulate that there is widespread demand for tourism across teh island and that this property is idealy situated, and that teh Strategic plan supports tourism.
7.0 ASSESSMENT
The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are; (i) Conservation Area (ii) Visual Impact (iii) Neighbouring amenities (iv) Highway Safety
Conservation Area 7.1 The property is situated within a Conservation Area, as such it is necessary to test the application under section 18(4) of the Town and Country Act (1999), see section 4.4 of this report, on whether the works preserve or enhance the Conservation Area.
7.2 The proposed additional change of use does not include any external alterations. With this in mind and noting that the additional use of tourist should not alter the Conservation Area as a whole, the proposal will pass the Section 18(4) test by preserving the Conservation Area.
Visual Impact 7.3 The property is currently used as a residential property and the application will enable the owners to rent the property for tourist accommodation. The dwelling is within a mixed use area and within the town of Port Erin within immediate access to the shops, beaches and public transport. As such the principle of development is considered acceptable. Furthermore, as the proposal does not intend to extend or add additional accommodation to the dwellinghouse but merely seek the additional use of the existing fabric of the building, it is considered the proposal would have a neutral visual impact on the surrounding streetscene. This aspect is deemed to be an acceptable additional use that complies with those sections of Strategic Policy 8 and General Policy 2(b) & (c).
(ii) Neighbouring amenities 7.4 Business Policy 13 indicates that permission will generally be given for the use of private residential properties as tourist accommodation providing that it can be demonstrated that such use would not compromise the amenities of neighbouring residents. There are a number of residential properties in the near locality and in terms of examples of additional use of those properties to tourist accommodation.
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7.5 In terms of differentiating a tourist and a permanent resident it is often difficult to define how each would behave. As a tourist, a person may be out a lot of the time, but may also have a greater number of late nights and be disruptive on return. On the other hand, permanent residents may be at home more, and could be more likely to invite friends or family over for dinner or parties that may be noisy. In general the majority of people tend to behave well and raise no concerns, although there will always be a percentage that may not behave. It should also be remembered that the use of the site for private rental accommodation would require no planning approval and could result in frequent and continual turnover of residents.
7.6 The Port Erin Commissioners have raised concern with regard to the property not being suitable for tourism use however they do not express reasoning for this other than they consider there to be sufficient tourism properties. The use for tourism accommodation and as a residential dwelling do not require different circumstances and the location of the property within the centre close to services and shops is in my view ideal for tourism. Additionally the commissioners raised loss of the dwelling, however the proposals are for additional use and as such could be used for either purposes and as such it is not considered the dwelling is lost.
7.7 Island Escapes have responded to the commissioner's comments highlighting demand for tourism accommodation and the support for it in the strategic plan.
7.8 In considering the proposal, there is little discernible difference between the use as residential and that of tourism. Furthermore it is not considered the proposed tourist use would be any different than that of a friend or family member occupying the unit, than a tourist use would be. In this case it is not considered there to be any adverse impact on the neighbouring residential amenity, as such this aspect complies with General Policy 2(g) and Business Policy 13.
Highway Safety 7.9 The property does not supply on-site parking and as such the parking provided for the property would be on-street parking, which would be used irrespectively if the property was used as a permanent residential accommodation or tourist purposes. The additional use as tourist use would not result in any changes beyond current occupation, and so the proposal is considered acceptable in these respects to General Policy 2(h&i).
8.0 RECOMMENDATION 8.1 The application would not harm the use and enjoyment of neighbouring properties and would comply with Strategic Policy 8, General Policy 2 and Business Policy 13 of the Strategic Plan 2016, and the Residential Design Guide 2021 and is recommended for approval.
9.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 9.1 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.
9.2 The decision maker must determine:
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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. 9.3 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 and/or rights to appeal.
Decision Made : Permitted
Date: 05.11.2024
Determining Officer Signed : J SINGLETON
Jason Singleton
Principal Planner
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