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16 September 2014 14/00960/C Page 1 of 4 PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 14/00960/C Applicant : Stacey Kimberley Barnes Proposal : Change of use of existing second floor office to a beauty salon Site Address : Stanley House 7 - 9 Market Hill Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 2BF

Case Officer : Miss Laura Davy Photo Taken :

Site Visit :

Expected Decision Level :

Officer Delegation

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The application site is the curtilage of Stanley House, 7 - 9 Market Hill, Douglas which a end of terrace property which is situated on the corner of Lord Street and Market Hill. The application relates specifically to the 2nd floor. The building is accessed from Lord Street; this provides access to each floor in the building. The 2nd floor has a toilet, kitchen, reception and two offices.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The application seeks approval for the change of use from office use to beauty salon. The two offices would be converted to a studio and treatment room, no external alterations are proposed.

2.3 The business would be operated during the following hours: Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 7pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 9pm Friday 9am - 5pm Saturday 9am - 5pm

2.4 There would be two full time members of staff and one part time member of staff. No more than two clients would be in the salon at any one time as there would only be two therapists working at any one time.

2.5 They offer basic beauty treatments such as facials, massage, fake tanning, waxing and nail treatments.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 The previous applications are not considered to be specifically material in the assessment of the current application.

4.0 DEVELOPMENT PLAN POLICIES 4.1 The application site is within an area zoned as "Predominantly Shopping" identified on the Douglas Local Plan 1998. General Policy 2 deals with development which is in accordance with the land use zoning, whilst the proposal does not strictly comply with this, the points set out under General Policy 2 are general principles that a development should consider. Business

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16 September 2014 14/00960/C Page 2 of 4 Policy 9 and Business Policy 10 of The Isle of Man Strategic Plan (20th June 2007) are also relevant in the assessment of the current application.

4.2 General Policy 2 Development which is in accordance with the land-use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted, provided that the development: (b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them; (c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality; (h) provides satisfactory amenity standards in itself, including where appropriate safe and convenient access for all highway users, together with adequate parking, servicing and manoeuvring space, and (i) does not have an unacceptable effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways.

4.3 Business Policy 9 The Department will support new retail provision in existing retail areas at a scale appropriate to the existing area and which will not have an adverse effect on adjacent retail areas. Major retail development proposals will require to be supported by a Retail Impact Assessment.

4.4 Business Policy 10 Retail development will be permitted only in established town and village centres, with the exceptions of neighbourhood shops in large residential areas and those instances identified in Business Policy 5.

5.0 CONSULTATIONS 5.1 Douglas Corporation have no objection to the proposal.

6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 The application seeks approval for the change of use of the second floor from office use to beauty salon. The main issues to consider in the assessment of the application are the principle of the use, the impact upon the character of the area and impact upon the amenities of the local residents.

6.2 The site is within an area zoned as "Predominantly Shopping", the ground floor of the building is retail and the floors above are used as offices. Many of the buildings in the town centre have retail at ground floor level and office use above. There is a presumption in favour of retaining retail at ground floor level but accepted that it is unlikely to retain retail at all floors above.

6.3 The proposal would result in the loss of the office accommodation on the second floor but the accommodation on the other floors would be retained. The town centre is generally considered to be an acceptable place for such uses as beauty salons and hairdressers and whilst it does not strictly fall within the land use designation it is judged to be an acceptable alternative.

6.4 The building is currently used for offices and retail; the proposed use is likely to have similar hours to the existing businesses and therefore would not result in undue noise and disturbance to any residential properties as the different businesses are likely to be in use at similar times. It is considered that the proposal would not have an adverse impact upon the amenities of the adjacent properties.

6.5 The proposed use is similar to the adjacent properties and therefore would not have an adverse impact upon the character of the area.

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16 September 2014 14/00960/C Page 3 of 4 6.6 There is no designated parking associated with the site, but given that the site is in a town centre location and within walking distance of the bus station it is considered that there is not a need for designated parking for the property.

6.7 For the above reasons the application is considered to be acceptable and is recommended for approval.

7.0 PARTY STATUS 7.1 In line with Article 6(4) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure)(No2) Order 2013, the following Persons are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings relating to the application: the applicant or, if there is one, the applicant's agent; the owner and occupier of the land the subject of the application; and the Local Authority, Douglas Borough Council in whose district the land the subject of the application sits.

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted

Date of Recommendation:

16.09.2014

Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal O : Notes attached to refusals

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.

C 2. The use hereby approved shall not be undertaken outside the following times:

0900hrs and 1800hrs Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. 0900hrs and 1900hrs Tuesday. 0900hrs and 2100hrs Thursday.

Reason: In order to maintain the amenities of the area.

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This approval relates to Drawing Numbers 1256.1, 1256.2 and Location Plan date stamped 12th August 2014.

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16 September 2014 14/00960/C Page 4 of 4

I confirm that this decision accords with the appropriate Government Circular delegating functions to Director of Planning and Building Control /Head of Development Management/ Senior Planning Officer.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 16/9/14

Determining officer (delete as appropriate)

Signed :... Chris Balmer

Senior Planning Officer

Signed :... Sarah Corlett

Senior Planning Officer

Signed : Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher

Director of Planning and Building Control

Signed :... Jennifer Chance

Head of Development Management