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Government sisitsy. Ellon Vannie
Home Strategic Ltd Mr D Cain Millennium Park Studio Ballafletcher Road Cronkbourne Douglas IM4 4QJ
In pursuance of powers granted under the above Act and Order the Department of Infrastructure determined to APPROVE a planning application by IOM Hearing Solutions Ltd, Ref 13/00788/C, for the change of use of existing sun bed centre to hearing solutions clinic at 4 Summerhill Road Onchan Isle Of Man IM3 1LZ subject to compliance with the following condition(s):
Date of Issue: 5th September 2013
Director of Planning and Building Control
This decision was made by a Senior Planning Officer in accordance with the authority delegated to them.
This permission refers only to that required under the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005.
Any appeal against this decision must be in writing and must be received by this Department within 21 days of the date of this notice.
An appeal form and guidance notes are available from either the Planning Office, Tel 685950, or to download from the Department's website www.gov.im/transport/planning/plan/applications/decision.xml
Please note that a copy of the Officer's report which led to the decision, together with correspondence relative to the application, are available for inspection at the Department.
The proposed development must not be commenced until either;
Whichever is the later.
If no appeal is lodged within 21 days of the date of issue overleaf, and this decision becomes final, the Department's public reference copy (counter copy) of the planning application may be collected by the applicant or their agent from Murray House.
Please note that if the counter copy of the application is not collected within THIRTY DAYS following the last date on which a planning appeal can be made it will be destroyed without further notice.
Department of Infrastructure, Murray House, Mount Havelock, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2SF Tel (01624 685950) email; [email protected]
13/00788/C
| Application No. : | 13 / 00788 / \mathrm{C} | | --- | --- | | Applicant : | IOM Hearing Solutions Ltd | | Proposal : | Change of use of existing sun bed centre to hearing solutions | | | clinic | | Site Address : | 4 Summerhill Road | | | Onchan | | | Isle Of Man | | | IM3 1LZ |
| Case Officer : | Mr Edmond Riley | | --- | --- | | Photo Taken : | 14.08 .2013 | | Site Visit : | 14.08 .2013 | | Expected Decision Level : | Officer Delegation |
1.1 The application site is 4 Summerhill Road, Onchan. It one of four retail units on the south east side of Summerhill Road, at the roundabout that connects Summerhill Road with Governor's Road (the A2). The premises, a hearing aid shop, is two storeys high and it is likely that there are flats above. There are other business premises in the area (notably, CorkHills petrol station, a funeral director and a building supplies unit).
2.1 The planning application seeks the approval for the change of use at ground floor from a tanning salon (sui generis) to a retail use (Class A). 2.2 Internal changes only are proposed; new external advertising signage for the unit was granted earlier in 2013 under PA 13/00788 and has since been installed. The internal changes would result in the entirety of the unit being converted to retail use alongside the addition of new internal walls to create three separate elements. No change in floorspace would result.
3.1 The application site has been the subject of three previous planning applications, two of which are considered specifically relevant to the assessment of this current planning application given the nature and level of development proposed:
02/01835 - Change of use from Spar shop to solarium including the erection of signage APPROVED 13/00477 - Erection of advertising signage - APPROVED
4.1 The site is within an area recognised as being mixed use (office / residential / retail) in the Onchan Local Plan 2000.
4.2 In terms of strategic plan policy, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 contains three policies that is considered specifically material to the assessment of this current planning application. 4.3 General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan (adopted 2007) is an extensive policy, outlining the presumption in favour of development that complies with the land-use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of the Strategic Plan. The following parts of General Policy 2 are relevant to the determination of this planning application: '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, and (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality'. 4.4 Business Policy 9 states in part: "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". 4.5 Business Policy 10 states: "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". 4.6 The Strategic Plan refers to parking requirements for retail development. For purposes of guidance, Transport Policy 7 states: "The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards".
The current standards are set out in Appendix 7. Paragraph A.7.4 in Appendix 7 of the Strategic Plan states in part: "It is...essential that there are available sufficient areas of public car parking either in car parks or on street, and that adequate controls are in place for these spaces to be available to those who need them". In respect of neighbourhood shops, which the application site is considered best described as, paragraph A.7.6 of Appendix 7 states that "spaces for staff, customers, and service vehicles will be required".
5.1 The Department of Infrastructure Highways Division have no objection to the current planning application.
6.1 Approval is sought for the change of use of a tanning salon to retail use. It was apparent from the site visit that the change of use had already been carried out and that the retail unit had begun trading. As such, this planning application would be best considered as retrospective. The operators of Isle of Man Hearing Solutions Ltd. were advised to submit this application following the grant of advertisement consent earlier in the year, during the assessment of which the above circumstance was noted. That this has taken place is welcome. 6.2 The key issues to be assessed in the determination of this application are the impact of the proposed change of use on the surrounding area and whether the proposal would result in unacceptable impact on parking. It is, in essence, an assessment as to the impact of the proposal on public amenity.
6.3 The proposal would not include external alterations to the building and accordingly it is judged that the visual impacts upon the building and its surroundings would be minimal. The proposal is, therefore, judged to accord with General Policy 2. 6.4 The application site is designated for mixed use, one of which is retail. Adjacent, and in the immediate vicinity, a number of different uses are evident. Consequently, it is not considered that this proposal would be detrimental to the viability and vitality of the area. The proposal is therefore judged to accord with Business Policy 9. 6.5 There is, however, some conflict with Business Policy 10, which states "Retail development will be permitted only in established town and village centres, with the exceptions of neighbourhood shops in large residential areas". This is not within the shopping centre of Onchan, although its position within an established mixed-use area, of which retail is part, is considered sufficient to grant limited weight to this policy. 6.6 In terms of parking, it is noted that the Highways Division have raised no objection. An area used for car parking already exists to the front of the application site and, while the space shared by the four units present, there is considered sufficient space to ensure limited adverse impact in terms of highways safety and displaced parking will arise. It is further considered that the aforementioned existing parking area satisfies the requirements of Appendix 7 to the Strategic Plan. Public transport is also good in the immediate vicinity.
6.1 Overall, it is concluded that the level of harm likely to arise from the granting of planning approval is minimal and, as such, a recommendation of approval is made.
7.1 The local authority, Ramsey Town Commissioners, is by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, paragraph 6 (5)(d), considered "interested persons" and as such should be afforded party status. 7.2 The Highways Division is part of the Department of Infrastructure of which the planning authority is also part. As such, the Highways Division should not be afforded separate party status.
Recommended Decision: Permitted
Date of 02.09.2013 Recommendation:
N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal O : Notes attached to refusals
C 1. The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.
C 2. The development hereby permitted shall not be carried out except in full accordance with the following plans, received on 4th July 2013: IOMHS/04/13/B and IOMHS/06/13/A.
I confirm that this decision accords with the appropriate Government Circular delegating functions to Director of Planning and Building Control / Development Control Manager/ Senior Planning Officer.
Decision Made : Permitted Date : \qquad Determining officer (delete as appropriate) Signed : \qquad Anthony Holmes Senior Planning Officer Signed : \qquad Michael Gallagher Director of Planning and Building Control
Signed : \qquad Sarah Corlett Senior Planning Officer Signed : \qquad Jennifer Chance Development Control Manager
PA13/00788/C IOM Hearing Solutions Ltd Change of use of existing sun bed centre to hearing solutions clinic, 4 Summerhill Road Onchan Isle Of Man IM3 1LZ Planning Officer: Planning history and constraint detail extracted from the planning database for this site, collated for the benefit of the Planning Officer on 09.07.2013, includes;
Dev Control Polygons: Reference Number: 13/00477/D Status: Permitted Proposal: Erection of advertising signage Reference Number: 02/01835/B Status: Permitted Proposal: Change of use from Spar shop to solarium including the erection of signage Reference Number: 91/01447/B Status: Permitted Proposal: Construction of new roof over existing flat roof, 2- 14 Summerhill Road, Onchan.
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