47813

==== PAGE 1 ====

                                      20/01394/B                                     Page  1  of  4

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 20/01394/B Applicant : Department Of Enterprise Proposal : Creation of grasscrete roadway and pathway Site Address : Nobles Park Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 4BD

Planning Officer: Mr Peiran Shen Photo Taken : 22.01.2020 Site Visit : 22.01.2020 Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 02.02.2021 __

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 of the Strategic Plan.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the submitted documents, location plan, planning statement, illustrations, and photos all date stamped as having been received on 20th November 2020. __

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None __

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The application site is Nobles Park, Douglas, a sets of Public Open Space, sitting southwest to north east located on the south of Glencrutchery Road (A2). There is a vehicle access road on the west side of the park from St Ninians Road across to Dukes Avenue. Leisure facilities and relevant amenities spread along this road.

==== PAGE 2 ====

                                      20/01394/B                                     Page  2  of  4

1.2 The north east part of the site is the Grandstand area, the hub of the TT Race. The existing vehicular road runs across the south side of the Grandstand area. The road has a branch extending along the west side of the Grandstand area and indirectly connected to Glencrutchery Road through the race track.

1.3 The west of the side road are grassed area, separated by a line of trees as well as a north-south footpath, there are two football fields sitting west-east.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the erection of a footpath and a roadway extending from the side road into the grassed area. Both of ways will connect with and stop at the existing foot path. The proposed footpath will be north of the roadway. The proposal also includes the erection of a driveway from the race track to the proposed footpath and an extension of the proposed foot path to connect with this driveway.

2.2 The proposal is mostly for reducing cost and improve attendance experience of the TT Race.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 Creation of road and pathway for vehicle and pedestrian access (PA 20/00542/B) was WITHDRAWN by the application. The main reason of the withdraw was over 30 objection received from residents of St Ninian's Court, which is located close to the west side of the park and close to the existing vehicle access, regarding traffic entrances and management. The current application removed the section regarding traffic management measures around the west side of the park and focused on the erection of ways on the grassed area.

4.0 PLANNING POLICY 4.1 In terms of local policy, the site lies within an area designated as Mixed Use Open Space - Park on the Area Plan for the East. Tourism Proposal 5 within the Written Statement state that: " The use of Nobles Park to support TT and Manx Grand Prix related uses will normally be supported, while applying the appropriate protection measures to open space and associated leisure and recreational facilities." 4.2 In terms of strategic 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:

4.3 General Policy 2: "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; (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".

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Douglas Borough Council request an extension for this application so the residents of St Ninians Court can have sufficient time to make informed comment on this application (17/12/2020).

==== PAGE 3 ====

                                      20/01394/B                                     Page  3  of  4

5.2 DoI Highway Services does not oppose to this application. (18/12/2020). The comments state there is no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network efficiency and/or parking.

6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 The main concerns for this application are its principle, its impact on the character and landscape of the area and the amenities of the neighbouring properties.

Principle of the Development 6.2 The creation of the footpath and vehicle access within public open space is a common measure to improve the usability of such space, especially when such space are vast, allowing more even access to different parts of such space. However, the hardening of surface, especially for vehicles, are essentially removing open space as they will only be able to function as means for foot or vehicle traffic. In addition, fragmentation of large-size open space reduces its function for large public recreation events. The increase in traffic could also results in a decrease sense of safety and quietness which prevents such space from serving as many residents as possible. Therefore, the principle of the development is depended on the impact of the development to the function of the public open space.

Impact of the Development 6.3 The proposed footpath and roadway could takes up a very small part of the grassed area. They will be visible to the public and will not have negative impact on the public perception of the area. Therefore, the impact on the street scene is considered acceptable.

6.4 The proposal has already proven to be effective when erected in a temporary manner during the previous TT Races. During the rest of the year, the footpath and road way provide an additional option for crossing the park. The harden surface will benefit stroller and wheelchair users. As the Highway Services does not object, the impact on traffic is considered acceptable.

Amenities of the Neighbouring properties 6.5 This application is only regarding the internal accessibility of the park, as well as the access from the north side, particularly regarding the layout during the TT Race. The proposal does not relate to the traffic entrance settings during the TT Race, which was a main contention for the previous application. Therefore, I believe that there is no negative impact to the neighbouring properties created from this proposal.

7.0 CONCLUSION 7.1 The proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan. Therefore, it is recommended for an approval.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 (Article 6(4), the following persons are automatically interested persons: (a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent; (b) The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested; (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material (d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and (e) The local authority in whose district the land which the subject of the application is situated.

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

==== PAGE 4 ====

                                      20/01394/B                                     Page  4  of  4

O whether there are other persons to those listed in Article 6(4) who should be given Interested Person Status. __

I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Principal Planner 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: 03.02.2021

Determining officer

Signed : C BALMER

Chris Balmer

Principal Planner

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.