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                                      20/01252/B                                     Page  1  of  4

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 20/01252/B Applicant : Manx Utility Authority Proposal : Installation of an electric vehicle charging point Site Address : Sea Terminal Victoria Pier Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 2BX

Planning Officer: Mr Peiran Shen Photo Taken : 01.12.2020 Site Visit : 01.12.2020 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 04.01.2021 __

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

C 1. The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice.

Reason: To comply with Article 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. This application is considered to comply with General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 35 of the Strategic Plan.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to the submitted documents, location plans, site plans, photos date- stamped as having been received on 16th October 2020 and the product information date- stamped as having been received on 25th September 2020. __

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None __

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE

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1.1 The application site is the Sea Terminal and its premises, Victoria Pier, Douglas. The main structure is a two-storey civil structure. Opposite the building but on the same side of Peveril Square is a car park. There are wall-mounted bike racks at the southwest corner of the car park.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL

2.1 This application seeks approval for the installation of one electric vehicle charging station at the southwest corner of the car park.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 There is no previous application considered materially relevant to this application.

4.0 PLANNING POLICY

4.1 In terms of local policy, the site lies within an area designated as Mixed Use Area (Maritime Gateway), defined due to being within the Douglas Town Centre Boundary, in the Area Plan for the East. The written statement states that "there will be a presumption in favour of improvement of and development proposals for port and harbour purposes."

4.2 The site is next to the Raad ny Foillan national trail. The written statement states that "The environment of the Raad ny Foillan long-distance footpath will be protected from unsympathetic development." The site is within the Douglas Promenades Conservation Area.

4.3 In terms of strategic plan policy, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application:

4.4 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; (f) incorporates where possible existing topography and landscape features, particularly trees and sod banks; (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality; (h) provides satisfactory amenity standards in itself, including where appropriate safe and convenient access for all highway users, together with adequate parking, servicing and manoeuvring space; (i) does not have an unacceptable effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways; (n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."

4.5 Environment Policy 35 states: "Within Conservation Areas, the Department will permit only development which would preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Area, and will ensure that the special features contributing to the character and quality are protected against inappropriate development."

5.0 REPRESENTATION

5.1 Douglas Borough Council has no objection on this application (17/11/2020).

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5.2 DoI Highway Services does not oppose this application (20/11/2020).

6.0 ASSESSMENT

6.1 The main considerations for this application is its impact on the traffic, parking and on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area.

6.2 The Highway services does not consider there to be a negative impact on the traffic or parking so the proposal is considered acceptable. Although the proposal would lead to the loss of five wall-mounted bike racks. There are eight floor mounted bike racks available within the terminal so the loss of these bike racks is considered acceptable.

6.3 The installation of the electric vehicle charging station is a permitted development outside a Conservation Area. As the site is within a Conservation Area, assessment is needed to determine its impact on the character of the area. The charging station is white and stand- alone for 2 meters. The context of the site, including the low wall and railings that separate the car park from the pavement and back drop of the Sea Terminal, the charging station will still possibly stand out from its surroundings but not to a point which would harm the character of the area. In addition, the benefit of encouraging the use of alternative energy vehicles out weights the remaining impact on the character of the Area. Therefore, the application is considered to be acceptable.

7.0 CONCLUSION

7.1 For these reasons the proposal is considered to be appropriate in this location and comply with the relevant policies of the IOM Strategic Plan and the application is therefore recommended for an approval.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 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 which 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 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

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Decision Made : Permitted Date : 05.01.2021

Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER

Stephen Butler

Head of Development Management

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.