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24/91200/B Page 1 of 4
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 24/91200/B Applicant : Mr Martin Jones Proposal : Installation of retractable awning to front elevation Site Address : 11 Castle Street Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 2EX
Planning Officer: Peiran Shen Photo Taken : Site Visit : Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 18.03.2025 __
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.
N. The applicant is reminded that a Section 69 over sailing licence of the Highways Act 1986 is required from Department of Infrastructure for the awning.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposal is considered to have no negative impact on the character and appearance of the area or highway safety. It is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This approval relates to the documents, statement, location plan, site plan, exiting drawings, proposed drawings and production information, which have all been received on 18th February 2025. __
Right to Appeal
It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should NOT be given the Right to Appeal because: Douglas City Council - Objection does not relate to material planning considerations Department of Infrastructure - Objection does not relate to material planning considerations __
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24/91200/B Page 2 of 4
Officer’s Report
1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The site is 11 Castle Street, a two-storey end-of-terrace building at the south end of Castle Street. Its ground floor is a café/restaurant/bar, and the first floor is a flat.
1.2 On the front elevation, the ground floor has a three-section shop front, with a recessed entrance in the middle. A sign for the ground floor business hangs above the shop front. The front elevation of the first floor is half-timbered and has an arched window with a Juliet balcony in the middle.
1.3 Castle Street is part of Douglas's main shopping street. The street consists mainly of terraces with ground-floor shops. Various shopfronts and signage are present on the street.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The proposed is the installation of a retractable awning just above the shopfront and below the signage. The awning is just short of the entire width of the building and projects approx. 3m from the front elevation. It has a pitch of around 10 degrees.
2.2 The awning is for an outdoor seating area on a public highway. An outdoor seating area is controlled by Highway Services and Douglas City Council rather than planning.
3.0 PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 Conversion from retail (Class 1) to ground floor retail (Class 1) and café/restaurant (Class 3) and first floor to residential / tourist accommodation was APPROVED under PA 19/01103/B.
3.2 Although the approved change of use in 3.1 has taken place, there is no record of an advertisement consent for the current signage of the existing business.
4.0 PLANNING POLICY Site Specific 4.1 The site is within an area designated as Mixed Use (Strand Street) in the Area Plan for the East. The site is along the Primary Retail Frontage.
4.2 The Written Statement of the Area Plan states: "... active frontages are essential to sustain an attractive town centre".
Strategic Policy 4.3 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 has the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application: o General Policy 2 (b) (c) (g)
PPS and NPD 4.4 No planning policy statement or national policy directive is considered materially relevant to this application.
5.0 OTHER MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS Strategy and Guidance 5.1 There is no strategy or guidance considered materially relevant to this application.
6.0 REPRESENTATIONS This section is a summary. The original texts of the consultations and comments received are available on the Planning Application Search on the government website.
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6.1 Douglas City Council has no objection to the proposed works subject to an access agreement for maintenance works (25.02.2025).
6.2 DoI Highway Services (26.02.2025) requests that the lowest point of the awning be higher than 2.6m to comply with the Manual for Manx Road. The comment also requests that the projection of the awning be no more than the width of the approved seating area to ensure its robustness/completeness.
7.0 ASSESSMENT Elements of Assessment 7.1 The key considerations of this application are its impact on the building itself, the character and streetscene of the area and highway safety.
Design of the House Itself 7.2 The awning is sympathetic to the existing design of the building.
Character and Appearance 7.3 There are existing awnings within the area. Given the variety of existing shopfront designs, the awning is not considered to harm the predominantly retail character and commercial appearance of the area.
Highway Safety and Access 7.4 The lowest part of the awning is approx. 2.9m above ground level, which is more than the 2.6m requested by Highway Services.
7.5 The awning's product safety and structure integrity is the owner's responsibility and is not regulated by planning. There isn't sufficient evidence for conditioning or restricting the awning's projection besides what is required in paragraph 7.4 above.
7.6 The accessibility of the lights on a highway is not regulated by planning and cannot be conditioned.
8.0 CONCLUSION 8.1 The proposal is considered to have no negative impact on the character and appearance of the area or highway safety. Therefore, the proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan and is recommended for an approval.
9.0 RIGHT TO APPEAL AND RIGHT TO GIVE EVIDENCE 9.1 The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 sets out the process for determining planning applications (including appeals). It sets out a Right to Appeal (i.e. to submit an appeal against a planning decision) and a Right to Give Evidence at Appeals (i.e. to participate in an appeal if one is submitted).
9.2 Article A10 sets out that the right to appeal is available to: o applicant (in all cases); o a Local Authority; Government Department; Manx Utilities; and Manx National Heritage that submit a relevant objection; and o any other person who has made an objection that meets specified criteria.
9.3 Article 8(2)(a) requires that in determining an application, the Department must decide who has a right to appeal, in accordance with the criteria set out in article A10.
9.4 The Order automatically affords the Right to Give Evidence to the following (no determination is required): o any appellant or potential appellant (which includes the applicant);
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o the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, the Department of Infrastructure and the local authority for the area; o any other person who has submitted written representations (this can include other Government Departments and Local Authorities); and o in the case of a petition, a single representative.
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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: 14.04.2025
Determining Officer Signed : J SINGLETON
Jason Singleton
Principal Planner
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