DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 20/01399/C Applicant: Mr Peter Halpin Proposal: Change of use from existing gym into nursery facilities (class 4.2) Site Address: Diamond House Demesne Road Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 3DS Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Planning Committee Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 20.04.2021 _________________________________________________________________

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.

• C 2. Prior to the occupation of the additional areas of nursery shown on drawing no. 20/3036/04 hereby approved, the parking layout (including line painting and hooped parking barriers) as shown on drawing no. 20/3036/06 shall be completed & retained as such thereafter. Reason: In the interest of highway safety and ensure adequate parking provisions.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and therefore acceptable.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 10th December 2020:

• o 20/3036/01
• o 20/3036/02
• o 20/3036/03
• o 20/3036/04
• o 20/3036/05
• o 20/3036/06

_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

It is considered that the following Government Department should be afforded Interested Person Status as they have raised material consideration in their representations in accordance with Article 4(2):

DOI Flood Risk Management Division _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO COMMITTEE AS IT IS A DEPARTURE BUT IS RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL

THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is "Diamond House" which is situated upon a corner plot where Westmoreland Road meets Demesne Road. The building takes up a large plot space with there being a courtyard to the front of the property and to the side of the property. - 1.2 The surrounding area has a mix of uses, including car sales and workshop units, offices, retail, education, healthcare and residential. Diamond House is prominently sited on the corner of Demesne Road and Westmoreland Road, albeit that the part of the building to which this application relates fronts directly onto Demesne Road. The building has something of the appearance of an industrial unit. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval to change the use of the existing first floor ladies gym area and associated areas to a childcare facility for children aged 2 years upwards. The change of use also includes a part of the ground floor area. - 2.2 The proposed change of use will mean that the majority of "Diamond House" will be a Nursery with the area not being used as a nursery being the Spar which is located to the Westmoreland Road elevation. - 2.3 The proposal also includes the installation of three windows situated to the first floor level on the north west elevation and four windows situated to the south east elevation.

PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 The site has been the subject of over 30 previous planning applications, the more recent of which point clearly to the building's evolution from office uses to its current, more commercial, uses. The most relevant are set out below for reference, and inasmuch as they show this evolution they are material to the assessment of this current application:

• o PA 17/00746/B: Conversion of ground floor from various current uses (changing area, salon and storage) to an extension of existing nursery facility, including alteration to parking/drop off area
• o PA 15/00265/B: Conversion of loft / storage space to an exercise area for combined use by the children's nursery and ladies gym
• o PA 14/01227/B: Conversion of ground floor into a children's nursery (retrospective).

Condition 2 of this approval ensured that the maximum number of children attending the building at any one time shall not exceed thirty two. This condition was added in the

interest of the amenity of the surrounding area along with highway safety and parking and to safeguard the welfare of children.

• o PA 13/00633/B: Conversion of vacant warehouse / workshop to provide gymnasium to ground floor and a childcare facility to first floor with associated parking provision.
• o PA 13/00017/C: Change of use of part of existing therapy room facilities to provide crèche for use by members during their visit to the gym.
• o PA 12/01173/B: Enclosure of area under existing canopy to front of shop area to create

• a coffee lounge.

• o PA 12/00899/B: Alteration and conversion of redundant storage area to a gymnasium to be used in conjunction with existing health/beauty facility (Amendment to PA 11/01148/B).
• o PA 11/01148/B: Alteration and conversion of redundant storage area to a gymnasium to be used in conjunction with existing health/beauty facility.
• o PA 10/01307/B: Conversion of existing ground floor office and first floor store to a hairdresser's salon with treatment and therapy rooms.

PLANNING POLICY 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as Predominantly Residential on the Area Plan for the East, Map 4, Douglas.

4.2 Of specific relevance to the assessment of this application is General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 which 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;

• n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."

REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Highway Services considered the application and initially Opposed to the application, requesting for a car parking survey. This was done and now Highway Services state the following, "Accordingly, as parking matters have been addressed by the additional information, Highway Services raise no opposition subject to parking layout according to Drawing No: 20/3036/06, and conditions for reserved parking signs and bollards to clarify parking arrangements at the shop." (14.04.21)

5.2 Douglas Corporation have considered the application and have no objections. (6.01.21)

5.3 DOI Flood Risk Management Division have considered the application and state the following, "No Flood Risk Management Interest." (11.02.21) ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are whether the increase of the nursery space will increase the impact on the existing highway services and how the external alterations might affect the character or amenity of the local area taking into account the residential living conditions of neighbouring properties.

6.2 Highways

• 6.2.1 When looking at the information provided by the agent on behalf of the applicant they state that the gym since lockdown has seen a reduction of a third of its normal occupancy whereas the nursery has seen an increase in the request for additional facilities which has brought about the possibility of changing the use from gym into additional nursery facilities.

• 6.2.2 When looking at possible highway implications it is relevant to note that the proposal will accommodate children of varying ages and will provide general nursery facilities, before and after school hours "school clubs" and will provide care for children during the school holidays. There is currently 15 staff hired with the proposed opening times between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday and depending on events 10am to 5pm Saturday/Sunday.
• 6.2.3 The initial information Highway Services objected to the application stating that there was not enough information provided to sufficiently assess the potential Highway implications.
• 6.2.4 Additional information was received regarding the parking within the surrounding level and information provided from a survey done by the existing clients of the nursery. Highway Services subsequently stated, "The submitted parking statement presents a strong, reasoned argument on the operational and parking arrangements and issues at the site and in the vicinity which are not all related to the current use of the buildings associated with this proposal. Additionally, it provides clarity over the land ownerships indicating that the Applicant has sufficient parking within its site for the existing and proposed use without parking for staff, allowing the highway concerns to be overcome."
• 6.2.5 With the above in mind the main issue with the application would be the parking which with the additional information it has shown that there is sufficient for the use. The proposed Site Plan provided from the agent on behalf of the applicants show the proposed parking spaces within the site and as such to assist the parking within the area a condition should be attached to state that the linework for the parking spaces must be done prior to commencement.

6.3 Character of Area

• 6.3.1 As stated within part 1 of this report the area is surrounded by a wide range of uses and the building itself lends to an industrial feel, with this in mind the addition of the proposed windows to both the north west elevation and the south east elevation will not change the character and appearance of the area.

6.4 Residential Amenity

• 6.4.1 It is also necessary to note that on the original planning application (PA14/01227/B) and the subsequent application afterwards (PA15/00265/B) there was a planning condition which limited the number of children within the site at one time. This condition was not followed through on the 2017 application (PA17/00746/B) with the planning officer stating in his report, "6.4 It is considered that a condition limiting the numbers of children that could be within the building at any one time is not necessary should the application be approved. This is a matter determined by the Children and Families Social Care Directorate, and in the understandable absence of clarity that that Directorate are able to offer at this stage, no such condition is considered either necessary or possible with the necessary certainty such a condition should provide."

• 6.4.2 When looking at whether putting a condition on this application restricting the number of children would be acceptable it is relevant to note that such a condition is more to assist the amenity of the area and neighbouring properties. Where "Diamond House" is situated whilst there are several residential properties nearby, there are also several different types of business which change the overall streetscene.
• 6.4.3 The applicants have stated within the additional information received that "Based on the requirements to provide one toilet per eight children, this would limit the maximum capacity of

• the new space to 96 children. Whilst this would be a theoretical capacity, operationally, running a facility with this number of children would be neither feasible nor desirable. However, having the full capacity available is important if, for example, all children attending the nursery are required to use the first floor for a period whilst facilities on the ground floor are upgraded."
• 6.4.4 With the above in mind from the applicants and taking into account that the statutory nuisance are different (and lower) to what might be a material impact in planning terms (not least as the statutory nuisance test takes account of the lawful use of the site and what a reasonable minimum noise may be). It can be seen that there are other factors which would limit the amount of children within the site prior to the local amenities, with regards to Planning, being affected. The local authority and the Highways Division do not raise any objections on the application which deems that the amenities of the surrounding area would not be affected, either by traffic or by noise, especially when taking into account that there a couple of car garages within the immediate area which would create a certain amount of noise.
• 6.4.5 The above assessment has assessed the considerations made for the application and the proposal is deemed to satisfy the criteria that the scale of operation is appropriate for the specific site and the surrounding area. A condition to limit the number of children on this site is not necessary as part of this application as the site, parking provisions, proximity to neighbouring properties and the accessibility of certain aspects required for a nursery would limit the amount of children naturally.

CONCLUSION

7.1 For the above reasons the proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and therefore acceptable. 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 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: 10.05.2021

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

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