DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 21/00012/D Applicant: Mr Peter Moyer Proposal: Installation of signage and window vinyls Site Address: Diamond House Westmoreland Road Douglas IM1 4AQ Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 09.03.2021 _________________________________________________________________

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 proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2, 6 and 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and The Control of Advertisements Regulations 2013, and therefore acceptable.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 11th January 2021:

• o Drawing No. 101
• o Drawing No. 102
• o Drawing No. 202 _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report 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. - 1.3 Whilst not mentioned on the application form it could be seen during the officer's site visit that the works are retrospective (other than the LED signage on the side of the building). THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for the installation of viynal window stickers to the front elevation of the property which will display a range of wording and stock photographs. Also proposed is the installation of a sign which measures approximately 17.3m by 0.9m which will have the wording SPAR to the middle. - 2.2 Also proposed to the side elevation of the property is a sign showing the SPAR wording and logo in powder coated aluminium measuring approximately 1m by 1.5m which will have LED backlights. PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 There are several applications on the site of which the change of use to retail for the "SPAR" part of the site was approved under PA08/02172/C. 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 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. - 4.3 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: - 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; (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality;

4.5 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'.

4.6 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'.

REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Highway Services have No Highways Interest in this application (05.02.21).

5.2 Douglas Borough Council have considered the proposal and have no objection (02.02.21). ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application is whether there would be an impact on the character of the area, the existing building and the overall streetscene.

6.2 With sites such as "Diamond House" whilst it is within an area zoned as residential the immediate area surround "Diamond House" lends itself to more of an industrial feel with the surrounding uses ranging from a children's school to a car garage. Since the original application to change the use to the retail that is currently in situ, there would have been some sort of signage upon the property to show that there was a local shop within the vicinity.

6.3 The proposed signage is to do with the current use of the property and relatively minimalistic in their approach as such the impact on the overall streetscene would be minimal due to the signage not being considered to result in any new visual or amenity impacts beyond what would generally be expected within such an area. - 6.4 The proposed illuminated signage is not considered to cause a detrimental impact to the public or private amenity given its position within the overall streetscene and the existing lighting within the area.

CONCLUSION

7.1 For the above reasons the proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2, 6 and 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and The Control of Advertisements Regulations 2013, 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 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: 10.03.2021 Determining officer

Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett Principal Planner

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