Officer Report

Application No.: 25/90403/C Applicant: Onchan District Commissioners Proposal: Change of use from soft play area to gym Site Address: Onchan Park Onchan Isle Of Man IM3 1HU Planning Officer: Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Planning Committee Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 11.08.2025 _________________________________________________________________

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.

• C 2. The property, hereby approved, shall be open for use by customers only between; Monday - 6am to 19.30pm Tuesday - 6am to 19.30pm Wednesday - 16.00pm to 19.00pm Thursday - 6am to 19.30pm Friday - 6am to 19.30pm Saturday - 6am to 11am Sunday - 9am to 13pm.

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.

• C 3. The area of the building to be used for group classes shall be limited to that shown on the floor plan, Drawing No. P-01 which formed part of the application and the use hereby permitted shall not extend into any other part of the premises.

Reason: To minimise the disturbance to adjacent residential occupiers and to protect the residential character of the locality.

• C 4. No approval is given for the installation of any external lighting as part of this approval.

• Reason: for the avoidance of doubt and to ensure the development is carried out in accordance with the submitted details.
• C 5. Notwithstanding the provisions of Class 4.4 - Assembly and leisure of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 2019, the development hereby approved shall only be used as a gym.

Reason: the proposal has been approved as a departure from the development plan on the basis of the specific use applied for, therefore any different use would need to be fully assesssed by way of a planning application.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposal is deemed to comply with the land zoning and in turn General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 22 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and therefore acceptable.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 15th April 2025;

• o Drawing No. EX-01
• o Drawing No. P-01 _________________________________________________________________

Right to Appeal

It is recommended that the following organisations/ properties should NOT be given the Right to Appeal: DOI Highway Services - No objection 14 Birchleigh Close, Onchan - Objection but more than 20m away from the application site.

_________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION IS BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AS IT IS CONTRARY TO THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN BUT RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is within the curtilage of the existing Dance Studio/ Soft Play Area which is situated within the centre of the Onchan Pleasure Park complex. - 1.2 There are two pain car parks for the site which are situated to the East of the proposal opposite Marion Road and to the North West opposite The Park, both have enough parking for several cars, with there being on street car parking available within most of the housing estate surrounding the site. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval to change the use of the existing Dance Studio/ Soft Play area into a gym. The gym will be providing There are proposed no external alterations nor changes to the floor plan as provided.

2.2 The proposed hours of operation are as follows; Monday - 6am to 19.30pm Tuesday - 6am to 19.30pm Wednesday - 16.00pm to 19.00pm Thursday - 6am to 19.30pm Friday - 6am to 19.30pm Saturday - 6am to 11am Sunday - 9am to 13pm. - 2.3 No parking has been provided as part of the application, nor have the amount of staff/ potential amount of clients been provided. PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 The following are applications situated upon the application site; PA14/00146/B - Conversion of majority of squash courts to a dance school and indoor play area (retrospective) - Permitted PA10/00794/B - Replace existing window with a door (retrospective) - Permitted PA87/04801/B - Siting of salelite dish of roof of Shimbumi Club - Refused. PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "Open Space, Park" on the Area Plan for the East, Map

• 6 - Onchan. 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; 11.5.2 Recreation facilities/land can be either formal, such as a sports hall, running tracks and pitches or more informal, such as public parks, gardens and landscaped amenity areas. They are typically maintained, well managed with a good walking surface, within or close to towns and villages.
• 4.2.2 "Open Space and Community Recommendation 1 This plan supports, as highlighted in the Programme for Government, the need for public/private partnerships to provide additional sports, recreation and informal play and amenity spaces to encourage people to become more active. This should be linked with any Active Travel Plan and any future measures or strategies to better link green infrastructure and open/ landscapes spaces in the East to provide a network of accessible and practical 'greened' space (see Natural Environment Policy 1)."
• 4.2.3 11.7.3 Table 17 shows children's open space and recreation in Onchan at 0.17 which is the highest in the Area Plan for the East sites.
• 4.2.4 Natural Environment Proposal 7 "Proposals for development in the vicinity of Dark Sky Discovery Sites are to have minimal outdoor lighting and be encouraged to have a design response which is non-intrusive into the darkness of night. Baffling and directionality of lighting must be sensitive to contain any necessary lighting within a subject site only."

- 4.3 ISLE OF MAN STRATEGIC PLAN

• 4.3.1 10.3.2 states, "Open Space forms part of our heritage as well as beign an attractive and usable asset, and, in the wider context, provides visual and spiritual relief from the developed urban settlements on the Island. In addition, it provides recreational enjoyment in respect of various active and some less active forms of sporting activity. Open Spaces also provide a means to improving the health and fitness of the Island's population. Open Space is defined in this context as land used for recreational purposes, both formal and informal, including amenity space whether privately or publically owned."

• 4.3.2 Given the nature of the application it is appropriate to consider the following Strategic Policies;

• Strategic Policy 1 - development should be located to make best use of previously developed land, redundant and underused buildings and utilising existing infrastructure;
• Strategic Policy 2 - focuses new development in existing settlements unless complies with GP3;

• Strategic Policy 4 - development must protect or enhance special interest areas including nature conservation;
• Strategic Policy 5 - development must be well designed; Strategic Policy 10 - development should promote integrated journeys, minimise car use and facilitate other modes of travel; Spatial Policy 3 - identifying service villages Spatial Policy 5 - new development will be in defined settlements only or in the countryside only in accordance with GP3;

• General Policy 2 - detailed 'development control' considerations;
• General Policy 3 - acceptable development in areas not zoned for development; Environment Policy 22 - (in part) will not unacceptable harm the amenity of nearby properties in terms of noise Community Policy 7 - designed to prevent criminal and antisocial behaviour; Community Policies 10 & 11 - implement best practice so as to reduce the outbreak and spread of fire; Transport Policy 1 - best located close to existing transport links Transport Policy 4 - safe and appropriate provisions for journeys; Transport Policy 7 - parking standards

REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 The following representations can be found in full online, below is a short summary;

5.2 Highway Services have considered the application 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 proposed use would have a similar parking demand to the existing uses and there are multiple opportunities to park in the Onchan Park grounds." (25.04.25) - 5.3 Onchan Commissioners were consulted on the 16th April 2025, of which no comments have been received at the time of writing this report. - 5.4 The Owner/ Occupier of 14 Birchleigh Close has written in to object (08.05.25) against the proposal and raised the below several points, of which a rebuttal was received from the agent on behalf of the applicant;

• o Is a class-based gym aligned with the forward vision and purpose of a family-oriented pleasure park?
• o Could this space be better used for family-based activities and entertainment with a direct benefit to families visiting Onchan Pleasure Park?
• o Will increased traffic, noise, or lighting from the gym affect the desired outlook and scenery
• or safety of the park?
• o What provisions are being made for pedestrian safety, especially children, with the likely increase in vehicle and foot traffic in surrounding roads, car parks and in the park itself?
• o Is there adequate parking to support both families visiting the park and a busy gym with 100's of users? Particularly during peak times?
• o Has a traffic impact assessment been done to evaluate the potential congestion or conflict between gym-goers and family park users? The roads are narrow and busy surrounding the park complex as it is.
• o Were alternative uses considered that would better align with the park's family-oriented purpose?

• o Given the suggested use of the facility will be children's gym sessions, is there evidence to support safety within the premises. A staff to child ratio? DBS checks and competent insurance in place?
• o Is the building structurally fit for the purpose of a heavy footfall functional gym that will include the dropping of equipment, throwing weighted balls at walls etc?
• o Will tax payers money be used for any repairs to the building to make it fit for intended purpose?

ASSESSMENT

6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are as follows;

• - principle
• - neighbouring amenity
• - highway safety

- 6.2 PRINCIPLE

• 6.2.1 When looking at the principle of the change of use of the site, the first point of call is the land zoning, which for the area in question is "Open space, Park," open space as discussed in part 10.3.2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, is defined as "land used for recreational purposes, both formal and informal, including amenity space whether privately or publically owned." With this in mind, the proposal whilst not fully complying with the land zoning would meet the overall principle of Open Space.
• 6.2.2 Whilst the principle of the proposal is accepted, it is necessary to assess whether the detail of the proposed use on this site is acceptable. The main two fundamental issues to look at are whether there is an impact on the neighbouring amenity and whether there are any highway implications with the proposed change of use.
• 6.3 NEIGHBOURING AMENITY

• 6.3.1 When looking at whether there would be an impact on the neighbouring amenity, it is necessary to assess the proposed hours of operation, as explained above in section 2, between everything proposed the opening times would be 6am to 19.30pm, Monday to Sunday.
• 6.3.2 The site lies within a pleasure park complex, which has a variety of use from parks, to lake to a raceway, all of which have a variety of opening and closing times, whilst this is the case, the most likely to create a neighbouring amenity impact is the Raceway which has afternoon events starting at 2pm and evening events starting at 6pm.
• 6.3.3 The closest properties to the application site are Mayfield, No.29 Ridgeway Road at 47m away, No.27 Ridgeway Road at 53m away and No.25 Ridgeway Road at 63m away. It should be noted that between the application site and the properties there is a play park.
• 6.3.4 Whilst it's noted with the surrounding uses that the opening until 19.30pm is unlikely to impact the neighbouring amenity of the residential properties, the opening at 6am could create an impact, especially when noting that the park is unlikely to be used at that time, especially in winter when it will be dark.
• 6.3.5 Gyms themselves have recently been progressing to out of town environments such as industrial estates due to the size requirements and parking available, whilst this is the case there are still several gyms which are situated within residential environments. Whilst the site is situated within a residential environment, these properties are located at a distance away from the main site, with the likelihood that the general workforce within these residential areas would create their own amount of noise from traffic generation. There is also nothing to stop anyone from visiting the site and exercising at 6am themselves or with a group of friends.
• 6.3.6 Whilst there are several reasons why someone might not object to an application, it's noted for this application that nearby neighbours haven't objected to the proposal or raised any

• concerns, with the objection being raised by a property some 757m away from the application site in a straight line.
• 6.3.7 Ultimately the site is owned by Onchan Commissioners, which means that it would be within the applicants best interest to not cause issues with the neighbouring properties. Noting no objections are on the application from neighbouring properties and noting that the overall proposal is for groups of people to do a certain type of exercise, any potential noise should blend into the background with the already existing noise that the site would generate, and this area of Onchan as a whole. The proposal should not be so adverse or unreasonable as to significantly detriment the general living conditions of the immediate neighbours mentioned above.

- 6.4 HIGHWAY IMPLICATIONS

• 6.4.1 It noted that no parking has been provided as part of this application, whist this is the case 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 use of the premises (i.e. 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.
• 6.4.2 That being said, the site is situated within a highly sustainable location, which is well served by existing bus routes (with a short walk into the site), there are also high levels of public car parking available in the nearby car parks and surrounding residential estates. As such on this basis, the absence of dedicated car parking is considered to be acceptable.

CONCLUSION

7.1 Overall the proposal is deemed to comply with the land zoning and in turn General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 22 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and therefore acceptable. RIGHT TO APPEAL AND RIGHT TO GIVE EVIDENCE - 8.1 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).

8.2 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.

8.3 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. - 8.4 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);
• 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.

I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to that body by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Committee has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded interested person status and/or rights to appeal.

Decision Made: Permitted Date: 26.08.2025 Signed : Lucy Kinrade Presenting Officer

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