APL Planning Statement

Andrew Bentley RIBA Chartered Architect

8 Ravens Wharf South Quay

Douglas Isle of Man

IM1 5BT

Planning and Design Statement V1

Project: Proposed Brewery in Unit 25 Snugborough Trading Estate, Union Mills, Braddan.

Project no: 2317-OD Date: October 2023

Proposed Brewery in Unit 25, Snugborough Trading Estate, Union Mills, Braddan

Planning and Design Statement

Contents

• 1.0 Site and Surroundings
• 2.0 Planning History and Policy
• 3.0 Parking
• 4.0 The Proposal
• 5.0 Summary

• 1.0 Site and Surroundings
• 1.1 Unit 25 is one of three units in an existing building at the northwestern end of the Snugborough Trading Estate. The building is single storey and has a footprint of 1,240sqm.
• 1.2 Unit 25 is the middle unit and sits between the existing occupants, Manx Glass & Glazing and Unique Fire Protection.
• 1.3 Unit 25 is an L shaped unit with a floor area of 250sqm with a main entrance on the southeast elevation and a service entrance on the northeast elevation. There are roller doors to both elevations.
• 1.4 The previous use for the unit was as a bathroom showroom.
• 1.5 There are no trees or watercourses within the immediate vicinity of the unit.
• 1.6 The unit is on an industrial estate and is well serviced with existing utilities. Water, electric and foul & surface water drainage are available on site.

• 2.0 Planning History and Policy
• 2.1 The site is zoned as industrial on Map 8 of the Area plan for the East.

• 2.2 The following relevant planning applications have been studied prior to the submission of this planning application.

• • PA19/00404/C – Change of use of part of workshop as microbrewery - APPROVED.
• • PA20/00909/C – Additional use of residence as brewery business - APPROVED.
• • PA23/01034/B – Change of use of former garage to a 1000L commercial microbrewery and taproom - APPROVED.

• 2.3 The following planning policies of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan have been deemed relevant to planning applications for other microbreweries.

• • Strategic Policy 1
• • General Policy 2
• • Environment Policy 22
• • Environment Policy 23
• • Environment Policy 24
• • Business Policy 1
• • Business Policy 5
• • Transport Policy 7

• 2.4 The building has been the subject of a number of planning applications over the last 40 years, however, none are relevant to this planning application. The last planning application for this particular unit was in 1987.
• 2.5 The proposed change of use is exempt from the TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (USE CLASSES) ORDER

2019 as brewing and malting is listed in Appendix 5 of the Strategic Plan as an activity requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment.

• 3.0 Parking
• 3.1 There is currently parking provision on site for up to 9 cars/vans, 6 at the front and 3 to the rear.

• 4.0 The Proposal
• 4.1 The client wishes to install a 1,000 litre brewery with 4 fermenters within the existing industrial unit. This is a similar size to the proposed breweries in the planning applications PA23/01034/B (1,000 L) and PA19/00404/C (900 L).
• 4.2 The proposed brewing and fermenting apparatus will be new and fully enclosed to limit any smells associated with brewing. The equipment is all electric with very few moving parts so there is no risk of noise or vibration as a result of the brewing process.
• 4.3 In addition to the 1,000 litre brewery the unit will also accommodate the following spaces to support the brewing.

• • Grain store
• • Cold room

• 4.4 The operation will be restricted to brewing and associated activities such as cask washing and

packaging, there will not be any malting taking place on the premises.

• 4.5 There is a small office area by the front door and this will be retained for brewery administration.
• 4.6 The area outside the rear door will be used for loading, unloading and cask washing and will no longer be available for parking on a regular basis. A partial enclosure will be built around the cask washing area to contain any spray. The enclosure will be built in masonry to height of 2.4m and roofed.
• 4.7 The client intends to have a small retail area at the front of the brewery occupying around 25sqm – 30sqm. This area will be for the produce of the brewery and for branded merchandise associated with the brewery. The client does not envisage this being busy with daily visitors likely to be in single figures.
• 4.8 The front roller door will NOT be used for loading and unloading. This will become the entrance to the retail area and therefore the parking spaces in front of the door will be available to customers.
• 4.9 At present there are only two employees of Odin’s Manx Beer. It is not envisaged that there would ever be a need for more than three members of staff.

• 4.10 A chiller unit will be installed to the rear elevation for the cold store and tank cooling. This unit requires clearances of between 1m and 1.5m on all four sides.
• 5.0 Environmental Impact Assessment

• 5.1 The environmental policies of the Strategic Plan expect an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to take place to ensure that the likely effects of a new development on the environment are fully understood.
• 5.2 Appendix 5 of the Strategic Plan advises that an EIA will be necessary for brewing and malting.
• 5.3 Appendix 5 also advises that until the Isle of Man has its own EIA regulations, the current practice from England & Wales would be adopted.
• 5.4 The 3 microbrewery planning applications listed earlier have all avoided the need for carrying out an EIA.
• 5.5 Reference is made in the officer report to PA 19/00404/C to an earlier microbrewery application 19/00291/B in which a planning inspector believed that a small-scale microbrewery did not equate to “brewing and malting” and that an EIA was unnecessary.
• 5.6 The inspector’s report goes on to say that the UK EIA system has size thresholds and that below 1,000sqm would not require an EIA. The proposed

microbrewery has an internal area of 250sqm and the total site area is 390sqm and is therefore below any threshold which would require an EIA to be carried out.

• 6.0 Summary
• 6.1 The proposed brewery makes best use of an unused industrial unit which has all the utilities that are needed to allow brewing to take place.
• 6.2 The proposed light industrial use is compatible with the defined land use specified on Map 8 of the Area Plan for the East.
• 6.3 The proposed brewing and associate equipment is enclosed and electric meaning that there will be very little risk of noise or smells.
• 6.4 The items sold at the brewery will be produced at the brewery or merchandise associated with the brewery. Most of the brewery’s output will be sold through existing public houses and retail outlets.
• 6.5 There will be 6 parking spaces at the front of, and allocated to, the brewery. These are tandem spaces so the staff will take 2 or 3 of the spaces leaving up to 3 spaces available for visitors.
• 6.6 Consultation has taken place with Manx Utilities who have advised that the existing sewers can accommodate the addition of the microbrewery.

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