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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 21/00937/C Applicant : SMS Trading Proposal : Change of use from light industrial to the assemblage, storage and sales of furniture goods Site Address : Unit 24 Gladstone Park Industrial Estate Ramsey Isle Of Man IM8 2LA
Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Photo Taken : 23.09.2021 Site Visit : 23.09.2021 Expected Decision Level :
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Refused Date of Recommendation: 27.10.2021 __
Reasons for Refusal
R : Reasons for Refusal O : Notes attached to reasons
R 1. The proposed change of use from light industrial for the sale of furniture goods of this size and nature would be contrary to the Strategic Policies within the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 which aim to protect the vitality of towns centres, specifically Business Policies 5, 9 and 10 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 which are all in place to direct retailing development to town centres where the proposed retail could be reasonably sold from within a town centre location, or due to their size and nature from an area zoned as industrial use.
The proposed items for sale can be sold (and were sold) from within the town centre location, of which there are several sites on the Island who already do this. __
Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
None __
Officer’s Report
THE APPLICATION SITE 1.1 The application site is Unit 24, Gladstone Park Industrial Estate, Ramsey which is a unit situated within a block of eight units within the Gladstone Park Industrial Estate.
1.2 There are two car parking spaces associated with the unit to the front.
1.3 The unit is within an existing industrial site which is accessed via the Poyll Dooney Road. To the North of the site is several fields which are zoned as "Light Industrial" on the Ramsey Local
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Plan 1998, to the East of the site is the Ramsey Sorting office and housing situated to the South and West.
THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for the change of use from "light industrial" to assemblage, storage and sales of furniture goods.
2.2 The agent has added additional information regarding the reasoning for the change of use as follows, "SMS Trading is an existing business relocated within the town and has been established for 10 years and this is a natural progression of the business as it has had to expand due to the supply and demand of the business which requires more space in order to make the furniture. Storage of the goods is essential to have onsite. The goods are too large to assemble and be displayed in a High Street Shop Unit. Customers need direct access in order to collect goods."
2.3 The proposed opening and closing hours have been given as follows; MONDAY - 10am - 4pm TUESDAY - 10am - 4pm WEDNESDAY - CLOSED THURSDAY - 10am - 4pm FRIDAY - 10am - 4pm SATURDAY - 10am - 3pm
PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 There have been several applications upon the site of which the following applications and in turn specific conditions are considered relevant to this application;
3.2 PA18/00526/B - Sub Division of existing units to create eight units with associated doors and use of unit 25 as a bakery (retrospective) - Permitted
3.2.1 Condition 2 for the above application states, "All Units hereby approved may only be used for light industrial or research and development, as defined by the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2012, Schedule 4, Use Class Order, Class 5 or any future subsequent Permitted Development Order. Reason: The overall estate has been designed for light industrial purposes only and the application does not seek to alter the use classes of the previously approval and therefore the application has been considered on this basis only."
3.3 08/00059/B - Demolition of Unit 1, alterations to existing units, creation of two site accesses and erection of five industrial units with associated parking and landscaping - Permitted
3.3.1 Condition 5 for the above application states, "Insofar as it relates to new buildings, this permission is for the uses set out in Class 5 of Schedule 4 to the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005; any proposals for other industrial uses should form the subject of separate applications."
PLANNING POLICY 4.1 The site lies within a site designated as "Light Industrial" on the Ramsey Local Plan 1998, Map 2. The site is not within a Conservation Area but is within a Surface Water - High Likelihood Flood Risk Zone.
4.2 The following Strategic Policies from the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 are relevant; o Strategic Policy 1 - development should be located to make best use of previously developed land, redundant and underused buildings and utilising existing infrastructure; o Strategic Policy 2 - focus new development in existing settlements unless complies with GP3; o Strategic Policy 5 - development should be well designed;
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o Strategic Policy 9 - All new retail development must be located within the town and village centres o Strategic Policy 10 - development should promote integrated journeys, minimise car use and facilitate other modes of travel; o Spatial Policy 1: Douglas will remain the main employment area; o Spatial Policy 5: New development will be in defined settlements only or in the countryside only in accordance with General Policy 3; o General Policy 2 - detailed 'development control' considerations; o Environment Policies 10 and 13 - flood risk; o Environment Policy 43 - regeneration of run down rural areas and re-use of built fabric rather than demolition; o Business Policy 1 - encourages growth of opportunities; o Business Policy 5 - land zoned for industrial retailing will not be permitted for items which could be sold from a town centre location or items which are produced on site and could not be reasonably severed from the overall business and where they would not detract from the vitality and viability of the appropriate town centre. o Business Policy 9 - supporting new retail in existing retail areas; o Business Policy 10 - retail development will be permitted only in established town and village centres. o Community Policy 7 - designed to prevent criminal and antisocial behaviour; o Community Policies 10 and 11 - implement best practice so as to reduce outbreak and spread of fire; o Transport Policy 1- best located close to existing transport links; o Transport Policy 3 - should not compromise railway routes; o Transport Policy 4 - safe and appropriate provision for journeys; o Transport Policy 6 - needs of pedestrians; o Transport Policy 7 - parking standards; o Infrastructure Policy 5 - methods for water conservation; o Energy Policy 5 - energy impact assessment;
4.3 LIGHT INDUSTRIAL 4.3.1 Light Industrial is defined within section 9.2.3 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 as, "Light industrial building means an industrial building (not being a special industry building) in which the process carried on or the machinery installed are such as could be carried on or installed in any residential area without detriment to the amenity of that area by reason of noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke, soot, ash, dust or grit, or undue generation of traffic or parking of vehicles; the use of light industrial buildings for research and development of products or processes is permitted by the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005."
REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 The following representations can be seen online in full;
5.2 Highway Services have considered the application and "Do not oppose."
5.3 Ramsey Town Commissioners have considered the application and Object to the proposal on the grounds that the estate is not designed for pedestrian activity associated with retail use and that the development is contrary to Business Policy 5.
ASSESSMENT 6.1 The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of the planning application are;
6.2 PRINCIPLE & IMPACT ON TOWN CENTRE 6.2.1 The relatively recent Employment Land Review makes it clear that there is a longer term shortfall in the amount of land for employment purposes (industrial, offices, storage and
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distribution) within the Island and the conclusion from this, coupled with the Strategic Plan policies which generally presume against retail use of industrial premises, is that industrial land should be protected for such uses only.
6.2.2 As such when looking at the principle of the change of use of the site, Strategic Policy 9 is the most relevant and requires that new retail development must be sited within a town or village centre, on land zoned for retail purposes, exceptions for what is allowed can be found within Business Policy 5.
6.2.3 Business Policy 5 indicates that retailing may exceptionally be permitted on land zoned for industrial use, if the items for sale could not reasonably be sold from a town centre location because of their size; or if the items to be sold are produced on site, and their sale could not reasonably be severed from the overall business. In either case, it would be necessary to demonstrate that retailing on land zoned as industrial would not detract from the vitality and viability of the appropriate town centre shopping area.
6.2.4 No details of what has been proposed for sale have been given with this application bar the blanket term "furniture" and neither has anything been provided to demonstrate that the proposed new site would not affect the vitality or viability of Ramsey Town centre.
6.2.5 As such due to the site already being in use a site visit was conducted to assess what is currently for sale and the overall size of the site. When looking at the storage unit, to the rear there was a small office which had space available for storage above, the rest of the space was taken up by furniture on the smaller side available for sale. These included small side tables, small draw sets, chairs, small storage units and bedside cupboards. There was also a small number of larger items which included one single bed frame, a few wooden headboards, toasters and a few single mattresses. There was also a large number of smaller items such as coat racks, paintings, clothing drying frames, pillows, mirrors and wooden cosmetic mirrors. The furniture was set out with the furniture situated to each side of the unit and one main block in the middle with enough space to walk around the middle block.
6.2.6 With regards to the direct selling of furniture it can be seen that there is a clear distinction in the size of the items with furniture generally referring to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating, eating and sleeping and there are several sites both in the town centre and within other sites which sell furniture.
6.2.7 There are several furniture shops around the Island, which sell a wide range of furniture from side tables to double beds. When looking at SMS Trading themselves they have been selling furniture and second hand items since 2011, of which it is noted from the information given and looking into the history of the company that the previous retailing for the company was from a couple of sites within Ramsey Town Centre.
6.2.8 When looking at the application given the information provided for why the applicant has moved from their town centre position is, "SMS Trading is an existing business relocated within the town and has been established for 10 years and this is a natural progression of the business as it has had to expand due to the supply and demand of the business which requires more space in order to make the furniture. Storage of the goods is essential to have onsite. The goods are too large to assemble and be displayed in a high street shop unit. Customers need direct access in order to collect goods."
6.2.9 Throughout the town centres on the Island there is a wide range of furniture shops from antique shops to charity shops with most of the shops selling small sized second hand furniture. There are also a few large scale furniture stores within the town centres, with specific mention of Ramsey which has Millichaps, Peel which has Paradise & Gell and Douglas which apart from M&S, Next, TKMaxx & Rehab Squared within the main town centre and Homeco/ Bedco situated to the outskirts of the town centre.
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6.2.10 There are also a number of large scale furniture shops situated within the industrial estates around the Island such as Lifestyle Furniture, Select Furniture, B&B and a few charity shops. Having looked at the information for the sites above (apart from the separate charity shops), free delivery is given Island wide on items or collection is available.
6.2.11 There seems to be a wide divide in the items available from each site, with the smaller scaled furniture items being sold from town centre positions and the larger scale furniture items being sold from outside the town centre positions. This can be seen to be the case for the applicants company which for the last 10 years has functioned from a town centre location.
6.2.12 Having visited the site, the reasoning for the change from a town centre position to an industrial unit does not hold true. The shop itself did not have the space within it, with the current furniture, to provide space for assembly of large scale furniture items and having looked at historic photos of the previous locations that the company has occupied, the furniture items have not changed in size or type.
6.2.13 As stated above Business Policy 5 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan is specific in that the items which are sold cannot be reasonably sold from a town centre location because of their size or nature. The site around the Island which sell furniture from town centre positions, sell the same sized second hand furniture that SMS Trading sell with a few sites selling larger scaled items.
6.2.14 It is possible that the sale of furniture from the proposed site, where they could have otherwise been sold from a town centre location is likely to contribute to a reduced footfall in the town centre and therefore in the reduction in the vitality and viability of the town centre which is the main reason for Strategic Policy 9, "Viable and vibrant town and village centres not only provide the opportunity for economic success, but also provide convenient and accessible amenities for all members of the community and an opportunity to obtain renewal of our poorer built fabric."
6.2.15 It is well known that vacant retail units have a negative impact on the vibrancy of the town centre, with the properties often suffering from a lack of maintenance which in turn has an adverse effect on the town's built environment, of which Ramsey Town Centre has several.
6.2.16 As such it is considered that the retail use in question would be unacceptable in terms of its impact or potential impact on the Islands town centres and that the relatively small amount of items available from the unit at the time of the officers site visit was not enough to warrant a departure from this Strategic Policy and as such the proposed change of use is contrary to Business Policy 5 & Strategic Policy 9.
6.3 PARKING AND/OR TRAFFIC IMPLICATIONS 6.3.1 A site visit was conducted after clarification wasn't received regarding the parking available specifically available to the unit. It could be seen that directly outside the unit was two available car parking spaces and a variety of parking available on the Gladstone Park Industrial Estate which were not directly associated with a unit, as such the parking available is sufficient enough for the proposed use of the unit.
6.4 FLOODING 6.4.1 It can be seen from the DOI Flood Risk Maps that the site itself is within a Flood Risk zone. DOI Flood Risk Management Team have not commented on the application at the time of writing but as the proposal is not adding or increasing the built development but only changing a use of the space, the absence of comments is understandable.
6.4.2 On balance given the nature of the proposed and existing use of various parts of the estate, the proposed change of use would not exacerbate the risk of surface water flooding to the unit or adjacent units. It is also noted that the unit is raised above the main road slightly
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which will help assist any flooding which may happen. For these reasons it is not considered necessary to request a flood risk assessment for this development as identified in EP10 and 13.
CONCLUSION 7.1 In summary, the overall principle of the change of use is contrary to the strategic policies within the strategic plan to protect the town centre. Having this type of retail in an out of town premises is contrary to Strategic Policy 9 and Business Policy 5 & 10 and is considered detrimental to the viability and vitality of Ramsey or another town centre. The application is therefore recommended for refusal.
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 in this case Douglas Borough Council have not made material comments and should not be afforded Interest Person Status.
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: Refused
Date: 27.10.2021
Determining officer
Signed : J SINGLETON Jason Singleton Principal Planner
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