13 June 2025 · Delegated - Principal Planner (Chris Balmer)
Church/Chapel, Main Road, St Johns, Isle Of Man, IM4 3na
The proposal involves adding stainless steel handrails to the steps at the southern and western entrances of the historic Royal Chapel of St John the Baptist, the Island's National Civic Church, and constructing a low-profile access ramp finished in matching granite stone adjacent to the southern entrance to improve ac…
Click a button above to find applications similar to this one.
See how this application compares to similar ones — policies, conditions, and outcomes side by side.
The proposals are judged to be in accordance with General Policy 2 and Strategic Policy 4 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016 as the handrails and accessible ramp would not affect adversely the character o…
General Policy 2
Requires development to respect site and surroundings in terms of siting, layout, scale, form, design; not adversely affect character of landscape/townscape or amenity. Officer assessed that handrails and ramp respect the chapel's form, scale and design, with limited impact on south elevation and no adverse effect on landscape character.
Strategic Policy 4
Requires proposals to protect or enhance fabric and setting of sites of archaeological interest. Officer found ramp and handrails do not impact fabric or setting of the archaeologically significant Tynwald assembly site and chapel, with modest scale justifying small harm for accessibility benefits.
Environment Policy 34
Prefers traditional materials in maintenance/alteration of pre-1920 buildings. Officer noted ramp uses dressed granite to match chapel stone, steps in matching granite, ensuring finishes appropriate to the historic site, with conditions for sample approval.
Time limit
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.
Ramp finishes approval
Prior to the installation of any ramp finishes, samples of the natural stone wall and steps are to be submitted to and approved in writing by the Department. Thereafter the ramp finishes are to be installed in accordance with the approved details and retained as such. Reason: To ensure that the finishes of the development hereby approved are appropriate to the form and design of the site.
Handrails details approval
Notwithstanding the notes on drawing 03revA relating to handrails, prior to the installation of any ramp or entrance handrails, details of the metal handrails are to be submitted to and approved in writing by the Department. Thereafter the handrails are to be installed in accordance with the approved details and retained as such. Reason: To ensure that the finishes of the development hereby approved are appropriate to the form and design of the site.
no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking
