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                                      23/01341/D                                     Page  1  of  4

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No. : 23/01341/D Applicant : Living Hope Church Proposal : Installation of non-illuminated signage to front elevation Site Address : St Josephs Church Snaefell Road Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 6PD

Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Photo Taken : 05.12.2023 Site Visit : 05.12.2023 Expected Decision Level : Planning Committee

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 04.01.2024 __

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

C 1. The advertisement(s) hereby granted consent shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.

Reason: To avoid the accumulation of unimplemented advertisement consents.

C 2. There shall be no internal or external illumination of the signage hereby approved.

Reason: for the avoidance of doubt and in the interest of the amenity of the neighbours.

C 3. In the event that the signage hereby approved is no longer required, the signage and any associated supports shall be removed within 6 months and the building restored to its former condition.

Reason: to avoid the accumulation of unwarranted structures in the interest of visual amenity.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The installation of the non-illuminated signage on the site complies with The Control of Advertisements Regulations 2013 and is also in accordance with General Policy 6 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, dated received on 14th November 2023; o Drawing No.P01 Rev A

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                                      23/01341/D                                     Page  2  of  4

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 4(2):

Owner/Occupier of No.43 Oakhill Close, Douglas as they do not satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status. __

Officer’s Report

THIS APPLICATION IS REFFERED TO PLANNING COMMITTEE AS IT IS IN CONNECTION WITH PA23/01332/B AND AT THE REQUEST OF THE HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT

THE APPLICATION SITE 1.1 The application site is within St. Joseph's Church and its associated grounds within the centre of Williaston's residential estate in Douglas. St Jos. The site is situated upon a central plot where Fenella Avenue splits in 2 and meets Snaefell Road.

1.2 The main building is situated within a T shape, predominantly single-storey, with the front entrance facing onto Snaefell Road. The building has a slate roof and is mainly red brick.

1.3 To the front of the site, there are large double doors, six windows on both the ground and first floor, a cross to the upper point and a statue of St Joseph above the door.

THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the installation of a non-illuminated sign to the front elevation which is going to read Living Hope in capitals, the first half of the sign is bold and the second half isn't. Overall the sign is going to measure 0.375m high by 3m in length.

2.2 The signage is to be 5mm acrylic lettering on 20mm locator fixings, front - Lato Black/ Lato Light, colour black.

PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 There is one concurrent application which is relevant in the assessment of this application, as if the statue to the front elevation is not permitted, the proposed signage within this application cannot be installed.

PA23/01332/B, which is for the "Removal of wall mounted statue to front elevation," and is currently PENDING.

PLANNING POLICY 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as Predominantly Residential on the Area Plan for the East, Map 4 - Douglas. The site isn't within a Conservation Area nor a Flood Risk Zone.

4.2 The Control of Advertisements Regulations 2013 make it clear that the only considerations which can be applied to applications made under them are in the interests of amenity and public safety. In the case of amenity, such things as the general characteristics of the area need to be taken into account along with the presence of any features of historic, architectural, cultural or similar interest and the public safety should consider the safety of any person using a road, railway, tramway, harbour or aerodrome including the obscuration of any traffic sign or similar.

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                                      23/01341/D                                     Page  3  of  4

4.3 Further to the above it is relevant to assess the application under General Policy 2 which sets out general development standards, General Policy 6 which sets out what is expected for the display of external advertisements and General policy 7 which sets out that the display of adverts must be in relation to the site they are situated upon.

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

5.2 Highway Services have considered the proposal and state, "No Highways Interest." (24.11.23)

5.3 Douglas Borough Council have considered the application and state, No objections. (01.12.23)

5.4 DOI Public Transport have considered the application and state they have no concerns. (16.11.23)

5.4 The owner/occupier of No.43 Oakhill Close has written in on the basis of the character and appearance of the removal of the statue will do to the streetscene. (26.11.23)

ASSESSMENT 6.1 The Control of Advertisements Regulations 2013 make it clear that the only considerations which can be applied to applications made under them are in the interests of amenity and public safety. In the case of amenity, such things as the general characteristics of the area need to be taken into account along with the presence of any features of historic, architectural, cultural or similar interest and the public safety should consider the safety of any person using a road, railway, tramway, harbour or aerodrome including the obscuration of any traffic sign or similar.

6.2 Further to this paragraph 6.6.2 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016 makes it clear that "within our towns and villages, well designed and sensitively sited advertisements can contribute positively to the character of a building or area, and can be of help to the general public. However, advertisements which are too bright, overlarge or poorly sited may endanger safety by distracting or confusing highway users and may, both individually and cumulatively, detract from amenity by being intrusive, by introducing clutter and visual confusion or by masking features of interest or attraction". Paragraph 6.6.3 furthers on this stating that "within rural areas, advertisements can be disruptive features which affect adversely the appearance of the landscape and the countryside. Lighting can pollute the night sky, and may be contrary to nature conservation interests".

6.3 Overall the signage is considered acceptable in size and scale, with the signage not containing any illumination and as such it is considered the design and siting of the sign is acceptable and would comply with General Policies 6 and 7 and would meets the general standards set out in The Control of Advertisements Regulations 2013.

CONCLUSION 7.1 Overall it is considered that the size, scale, siting and design of the sign is deemed acceptable and relates to the use of the site, would have no adverse visual or amenity harm to the public or public safety. As such the application would accord with The Control of Advertisements Regulations 2013, as well as meeting with the principles of General Policies 6, 7 and 8 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016.

7.2 For the avoidance of doubt there shall be two conditions added, one to ensure no illumination and a second to require its removal in the event that it is no longer needed.

INTERESTED PERSON STATUS

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                                      23/01341/D                                     Page  4  of  4

8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons: (a) the applicant (including an agent acting on their behalf); (b) any Government Department that has made written representations that the Department considers material; (c) the Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure; (d) Manx National Heritage where it has made written representations that the Department considers material; (e) Manx Utilities where it has made written representations that the Department considers material; (f) the local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated; and (g) a local authority adjoining the authority referred to in paragraph (f) where that adjoining authority has made written representations that the Department considers material.

8.2 The decision maker must determine: o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than the Department of Infrastructure Highway Services Division) are material; and o whether there are other persons to those listed above who should be given Interested Person Status __

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.

Decision Made : Permitted

Committee Meeting Date: 15.01.2024

Signed : V PORTER Presenting Officer

Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph to the officer report).

Signatory to delete as appropriate YES/NO See below

Customer note

This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the file copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online services/customers and archive records.