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In response to the Conservation Officer's request for a Statement on the Justification for this Application on behalf of the Planning Committee we would respond on behalf of the Applicant as follows -
Conister House consists of two buildings which have been converted in the past to form a single unit. The whole structure is Registered.
The existing building is a series of small rooms fed from two staircases. There are two structural spine walls (forming a "cross" on plan) which make it almost impossible to make the existing compartments any larger.
There is a current planning approval for the site which constitutes a modest extension at the rear and surface level car parking. The commercial interest in this approval however has been poor, prompting the current application for a larger scheme.
Modern office space requires large open plan floors capable of an open plan arrangement or being split into smaller spaces via demountable partitioning to enable flexibility in future layouts. This type of accommodation cannot be created in the existing building.
The concept design for Conister House is to use the existing building as the entrance and "gateway" to the open plan extensions behind leaving the existing buildings largely untouched - other than restoration. The rooms that remain in the existing building will become Meeting Rooms, Boardrooms or Directors Offices. The new open plan space at the rear will become the general office. This space requires to be highly serviced via underfloor and suspended ceiling services distribution. Again this could not be achieved in the existing building without substantial alteration - for example cornices, skirtings and architraves would all be affected and the existing staircases would also have to be altered to reflect the new floor heights.
The inherent flexibility in large open plan offices also make them more sustainable in the longer term in that they can adapt to changing commercial needs. In addition the development makes the best use of the land on this site allowing town centre development in preference to green field development eg. The IOM Business Park which now has a limited take up remaining.
The extension has been designed to contrast entirely with the existing building and be as simple and modern as possible - thus not competing with it and allowing it to retain its integrity. It is true that the rear elevation will be largely obscured but this is weakest façade of the building and the transparency of the extension still allows it to be seen all be it through the glazing of the new.
The Commercial interest in this application is very different to the current approval in that four Owner Occupiers are currently looking at the scheme. In each case the feedback from this interest has been that whilst properties such as Conister House exist all over Douglas - ie period buildings with small internal spaces incapable of anything other than modest extension - the difference in the current application is that it offers the "best of both worlds" in that it creates large open plan modern office space and plentiful car parking with access through an imposing period building after restoration. To an Owner Occupier this is a unique and attractive offer. Indeed such owner occupiers are currently sprawled across several separate buildings, with minimal or no car parking and therefore have their expansion severely compromised. This proposal however would allow for and encourage growth.
In summary this application allows Conister House to be re used practically and successfully. This is not a short term "re decorate and re let" it is a long haul sustainable proposal that will ensure the maintenance and care of the existing buildings for many, many years to come.
Savage and Chadwick, Architects December 2008
In response to the Conservation Officer's request for a Statement on the Justification for this Application on behalf of the Planning Committee we would respond on behalf of the Applicant as follows -
Conister House consists of two buildings which have been converted in the past to form a single unit. The whole structure is Registered.
The existing building is a series of small rooms fed from two staircases. There are two structural spine walls (forming a "cross" on plan) which make it almost impossible to make the existing compartments any larger.
There is a current planning approval for the site which constitutes a modest extension at the rear and surface level car parking. The commercial interest in this approval however has been poor, prompting the current application for a larger scheme.
Modern office space requires large open plan floors capable of an open plan arrangement or being split into smaller spaces via demountable partitioning to enable flexibility in future layouts. This type of accommodation cannot be created in the existing building.
The concept design for Conister House is to use the existing building as the entrance and "gateway" to the open plan extensions behind leaving the existing buildings largely untouched - other than restoration. The rooms that remain in the existing building will become Meeting Rooms, Boardrooms or Directors Offices. The new open plan space at the rear will become the general office. This space requires to be highly serviced via underfloor and suspended ceiling services distribution. Again this could not be achieved in the existing building without substantial alteration - for example cornices, skirtings and architraves would all be affected and the existing staircases would also have to be altered to reflect the new floor heights.
The inherent flexibility in large open plan offices also make them more sustainable in the longer term in that they can adapt to changing commercial needs. In addition the development makes the best use of the land on this site allowing town centre development in preference to green field development eg. The IOM Business Park which now has a limited take up remaining.
The extension has been designed to contrast entirely with the existing building and be as simple and modern as possible - thus not competing with it and allowing it to retain its integrity. It is true that the rear elevation will be largely obscured but this is weakest façade of the building and the transparency of the extension still allows it to be seen all be it through the glazing of the new.
The Commercial interest in this application is very different to the current approval in that four Owner Occupiers are currently looking at the scheme. In each case the feedback from this interest has been that whilst properties such as Conister House exist all over Douglas - ie period buildings with small internal spaces incapable of anything other than modest extension - the difference in the current application is that it offers the "best of both worlds" in that it creates large open plan modern office space and plentiful car parking with access through an imposing period building after restoration. To an Owner Occupier this is a unique and attractive offer. Indeed such owner occupiers are currently sprawled across several separate buildings, with minimal or no car parking and therefore have their expansion severely compromised. This proposal however would allow for and encourage growth.
In summary this application allows Conister House to be re used practically and successfully. This is not a short term "re decorate and re let" it is a long haul sustainable proposal that will ensure the maintenance and care of the existing buildings for many, many years to come.
Savage and Chadwick, Architects December 2008
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