DEC Officer Report

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No.: 23/01478/D Applicant: Sporting Club Isle Of Man Limited Proposal: Erection of a non-illuminated sign in the Bowl car park on the back of an existing sign on Pulrose Bridge Site Address: Car Park Pulrose Road Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 1RB Planning Officer: Mr Hamish Laird Photo Taken: 28.02.2024 Site Visit: 28.02.2024 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 18.03.2024

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. This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.

The application has acceptable visual and amenity impact and accords with The Control of Advertisements Regulations 2013, as well as meeting with the principles of General Policies 6 and 7 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to Drawing Numbers 01 - Site Location Plan; 02 Site Plan; and 03 Proposed Elevations all date-stamped received 15/12/2023.

_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons None _____________________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE SITE

1.1 The application site comprises the northern corner of the road junction serving The Bowl Sports Centre car park where vehicular access to it is derived from Pulrose Bridge. The surrounding land use are a mix of industrial, leisure and commercial. THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The application seeks approval for a directional sign for directing drivers of vehicles heading south from Douglas to The Bowl Sports complex car park from Pulrose Bridge. The application form states:

"To Erection of a non-illuminated sign in the Bowl car park on the back of an existing sign on Pulrose Bridge. Constructed of metal, will be to direct visiting fans to the ground, and will be exactly same dimensions as the existing highways sign already in situ."

2.2 The sign will be attached to the reverse side of the existing road traffic directional sign in this location. It will measure: 1620mm wide x 720mm high and will be set at a height of 2200mm above the pavement surface to the lowest part of the sign. - 2.3 It will contain the following wording: FC Isle of Man - Home of the Ravens - 'THIS WAY' with an arrow pointing into the car park. The Club Crest will also form part of the signs details. Colours are a red background; black Raven symbol; and, white lettering. No illumination is proposed.

PLANNING POLICY

3.1 The application site is shown on the xxx as being within an area designated as xxx.

3.2 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. - 3.3 Due to the designation of the site and the nature of the application it is appropriate to consider the following polices of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016: - 3.4 General Policy 2 states: "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;

3.5 General Policy 6 states: 'Within our towns and villages, the display of external advertisements will be permitted on the site or building to which they relate provided they:

• (a) are of a high standard of design and materials and relate well to the building and site on which they are to be displayed;
• (b) are in keeping with and do not detract from the surrounding area; and
• (c) are located so as not to cause a highway safety hazard'.

3.6 General Policy 7 states: 'Within our towns and villages, the display of external advertisements on sites or buildings other than those to which they relate will not generally be permitted'.

3.7 Environment Policy 37 states: 'As a general policy, advertisements within Conservation Areas will be permitted only if:

• i) the proposal preserves or enhances the Conservation Area;
• ii) the signage is in a style appropriate to the character of the area;
• iii) traditional materials and finishes are used and glossy and highly reflective materials are excluded from proposals; and
• iv) internally illuminated box fascia and projecting box signs are excluded from the proposals'.

3.8 Environment Policy 38 states: 'Advertisements close to Conservation Areas must respect and preserve the character and appearance of the area to ensure that views into and out of such areas are protected'.

PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 None of relevance

REPRESENTATIONS It should be noted that full comments made by all representations are available on the Online Services - Planning Applications.

5.1 Highway Services (22.12.2023) comment: " 23/01478/D - After reviewing this Application, Highway Services HDC finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking. A Section 69 overhanging the highway licence from Highway Services is required for the sign."

5.2 DoI Public Transport Services (19/12/2023) - raises no objection. - 5.3 Douglas Borough Council have no objections (4.01.2024).

ASSESSMENT

6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of the application are the potential impact upon the street scene and highway safety.

6.2 The proposed sign would be attached to the rear of an existing road direction sign directing traffic entering Douglas from the south to routes into Douglas Town Centre and all "other routes". The proposed direction sign would be attached to the opposite side of the support poles which holds thie highways road traffic direction sign in place. The new sign would direct traffic to The Ravens Football Club who use the car park serving The Bowl Sports Complex. There would be no new engineering works involved to erect the sign. - 6.3 It is considered that the sign would be appropriate in scale and design and would not appear as an incongruous feature. It would not have an adverse impact on the character and appearance of the site and surroundings, especially being non-illuminated. POTENTIAL IMPACT UPON HIGHWAY SAFETY/PARKING PROVISION - 6.4 Highway Services have considered the application in terms of the impact upon highway safety for all road users. The sign would not affect the existing level of parking provided at The Bowl Car Park. They have raised no objection. Given this, it is considered the works would be acceptable from this respect

CONCLUSION

7.1 Overall, it is considered the proposal would have no significant adverse impacts upon public or private amenities, or highway safety and would comply with the provisions of General Policies 2, 6 & 7 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016.

7.2 It is recommended that the advertisement application be approved for the reasons given within this report. INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013 (As Amended), the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• o Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material;
• o The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.
• o the Highways, Ports and Railways divisions of the Department of Infrastructure.

8.2 The decision maker must determine:

• o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than those explicitly listed above) are material; and
• o whether there are other persons to those listed above who should be given Interested Person Status.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Head of Development Management in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 18.03.2024 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

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