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AT
Unit 1a Village Walk Onchan IM3 4EA
RECEIVED ON
DEPT. OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENT
20th December 2006
PREPARED BY: CH2M HILL
CH2MHILL
CABLE & WIRELESS ISLE OF MAN REF: 7 - Former Shoprite CABLE & WIRELESS
Received 090107 07000028 Town and Country Planning Act 1999 PLANNING and BUILDING CONTROL DIRECTORATE
| Initial | Decision | Date and Officer Initials |
|---|---|---|
| AD1 | 27/2/07 | |
| Appeal | ||
| Amended | ||
| Returned |
Cable and Wireless Isle of Man Limited (C & W) have recently been awarded an Isle of Man (IOM) Mobile Operators License issued by the Island's Communications Commission to provide a mobile phone network and service to the Island's inhabitants and visitors. This service will compete with the incumbent operator (Manx Telecom) and will allow greater choice and competition for the consumers.
The Mobile phone network will consist of a number of sites that have a combination of equipment, such as panel antenna that provide coverage in the vicinity and also transmission dishes that link sites together and with others in the wider network to provide continuous coverage throughout the Island.
Where possible C&W will endeavour to install their equipment on existing infrastructure or radio transmitters. The aim always is to minimise the visual impact of providing this new mobile phone network.
Where this is not possible and it is necessary to introduce additional telecommunications infrastructure onto the Island this supporting statement will justify both why the infrastructure is required and demonstrate that the best possible available site has been identified keeping visual amenity as a priority at all times.
It will also help to explain the decisions which led to the specific location being chosen and what alternatives were discounted.
A variety of supporting information may be included with each application but ultimately the C&W aim is to minimise the number of new structures and the overall visual impact of the network whilst providing sufficient signal strength to provide coverage for customers to take advantage of the C&W services that will become available.
The proposed development will consist of the placement of 3 no. panel antennas and 2 no. 300mm diameter transmission dishes onto the roof of the building, and an equipment cabin of approximately 17.5 cubic metres at ground level at the east side of the building. The colour of the cabin is currently suggested as original manufacturer olive green (BS4800 12B27), but this can be controlled by condition if appropriate. Additional 1.1m high hand railing is to be installed at points on the roof for heath and safety reasons. The roof-mounted antennas and dishes are to be left in their original manufacturer grey shades to keep in line with the existing Manx Telecom antennas and dishes. Again, this controlled by condition where appropriate.
For further details, please refer to the general arrangement plans that accompany this application.
The site is the roof of the former Shoprite building off Village Walk. The building is a three-storey structure 11.5m high from ground level at the south east elevation and 7.8m high from ground level at the north west elevation. The building is located at the eastern edge of a small commercial/shopping precinct and in front of the new (existing) Shoprite store and car park off Birchley Terrace. The wider area is a mixture of commercial units and shops, and residential areas.
The former Shoprite building houses the only existing telecommunications site in this search area, and thus was the obvious initial option to pursue. It is also one of only a very small number of flat-roofed buildings in the Onchan area suitable for a telecommunications
installation. The other building of note is the CVI Technical Optics Ltd building off Second Avenue, Onchan. Whilst this option has not been fully discounted, we are of the opinion that the building is much closer to residential properties, significantly more overlooked, and its two-storey structure would offer inferior coverage and line-of-site capability than the three-storey former Shoprite building.
Any alternative option that would be able to offer equal levels of technical benefits would have to be a new mast structure which was deemed to be unsuitable at this time unless all rooftop options had been exhausted.
The former Shoprite building was chosen as prime option for several reasons, which include:
We have met on several occasions with Ian Brooks to discuss various proposals, including this site. Mr Brooks has accepted the need for sites such as this and was supportive of choosing a location with the least visual impact. We very much believe this rooftop option complies with this strategy, and especially as there is existing telecommunications on this building. Mr Brooks proposed that that merits of the scheme could be considered in more detail upon receipt of the formal planning application and drawings.
At the request of the planning officer, we have also included additional elevation plans in order to demonstrate the appearance of the site from the north east, as well as the north west.
We are not aware of any other planning history or application relevant to this application, apart from Manx Telecom’s own equipment at this site which is likely to have been installed under their Code Powers.
Cable and Wireless do not have any existing sites on the Isle of Man. In order to provide coverage to potential customers in the central Onchan area, a telecommunications base station site is needed in this area. Where new sites are required, we are looking to colocate with existing Manx Telecom sites where the planning precedent has already been set. In this particular instance, we believe this site is very much the optimum option in the area from both a coverage and line-of-site perspective, as well as from a visual amenity perspective.
If this location is not supported, there will still be a need for site in this area, and we feel the very best alternative location has already been identified by this application. Without a site in this area, many residents, businesses, and tourists will not be able take advantage of having a choice of Mobile Operator the issuing of new licences was (in part) designed to accommodate.
The enclosed coverage plots demonstrate how this site will contribute to the Cable and Wireless network, and the extent of the coverage it is anticipated to provide. In addition to coverage, the site is also part of a network of sites that communicate by dish link. The links must have direct line-of-site to one another to operate, which this option provides.
The appearance of the site has been carefully considered, to ensure the site has as little impact on visual amenity in the area as possible. The site chosen is, in our view, the best in the search area.
The existing building provides either screening or backdrop for the equipment cabin located at ground level. This will be located directly adjacent to the existing Manx Telecom equipment cabin which is of similar dimensions to the one proposed application. The building does not provide any notable screening or backdrop for the roof-mounted antennas and dishes, but the existing antennas and dishes of Manx Telecom have already set the precedent and will provide context for the additional Cable & Wireless equipment.
Given the above, we believe the addition of the Cable & Wireless equipment will not detract from the existing character or appearance of the site, and the visual appearance of the site from general view will remain largely unchanged. If this site is not supported, we believe the development of alternative options – or even the construction of a new mast – would represent a significantly more obtrusive than that proposed by way of this application.
Planning Scheme Development Plan Provisional Order, 1982:
The proposed site does not have a specific or restrictive designation under the 1982 Development Plan, nor does it fall within an area of restricted building height due to Air Safety.
Draft Strategic Plan November 2004:
We have reviewed the draft strategic plan in order that we adhere to the requirements and directives contained therein wherever possible.
The following was particularly noted:
1.6.1 "where unusual matters arise, or where there is no Manx guidance, it will often be appropriate and helpful to have regard to legal judgements or advice published in the UK or the EU".
In cases where there is no clear guidance we have followed the UK best practice as outlined in PPG8.
It was evident from the 6 main strategic aims looking at maintaining 'Quality of Life' then there must be a balance between economic progress in the pursuit of "manageable and sustainable growth" 2.3(2) and the need "to protect and improve the quality of the environment" 2.3(4)
This is further highlighted as follows:
3.3 (d) - "to protect the individual character of and identity of settlements and to identify and protect those green spaces in built areas which contribute positively to public amenity".
3.4 (c) - "to safeguard and provide for the needs and aspirations of existing and new location dependant businesses".
Within the transport and Communications section it states:
3.5 (h) – "to ensure that the island is well served by modern telecommunications without compromising the protection of our landscape".
Finally within Transport Infrastructure and Utilities:
11.9.2 – “It is important that a balance be struck between the need for new evolving telecommunications systems to satisfy residential and business demand and the impact that the necessary infrastructure will have on the environment. Measures which may help to achieve a satisfactory balance will include a presumption against visually intrusive masts in sensitive landscapes, the encouragement of mast sharing by different operators and the removal of redundant infrastructure. Exceptions to this policy would need to demonstrate a strategic national need which cannot be otherwise secured by mast sharing or alternative locations.
The inspector’s comments were also viewed in relation to the draft plan.
Policies in EP1-3 set out protective policies for the countryside. Development which would have an adverse effect on the character and appearance of the landscape within the existing designated areas will not be permitted. In these areas the protection and conservation of the landscape will be the most important consideration. However development will be permitted where;
In all cases during the search and planning consultation we have endeavoured always to compromise our technical requirements with the need to reduce visual impact of the proposed development by best use of design and location.
We believe that the design and location have been carefully considered in this instance and we also believe we have demonstrated the importance of this site to give vital coverage. This therefore forms an important part of this ‘national need’ to provide the Isle of Man with a competitive mobile network.
This site has been designed in accordance with the current mainland UK Cellular operator’s guidance for both Occupational & Public ICNIRP compliance. Our design consultants are satisfied that this site design complies with the above guidelines and therefore a signed ICNIRP certificate is enclosed with this application.
1) Isle of Man Government Statutory Boards, Offices & Agencies Plans 2006-2009. Volume 3. Page 25, under Communications Commission Aims & Objectives Section:
Objective: Social inclusion – To enhance access to services for the whole population:
“We will enforce universal service obligations by telecoms operators with significant market power. They must provide telephone services throughout the Island, ...”
2) Isle of Man Government Statutory Boards, Offices & Agencies Plans 2005-2008. Volume 3 Page 20, under Communications Commission Aims & Objectives Section:
Objective: The Built Environment – to reduce the visual impact of telecommunications and radio infrastructure on the Island’s landscape: “We will encourage increased mast sharing by broadcasters, under the Radio Masts Regulation Act Limitations”. Cable and Wireless believe the installation complies with the Islands Telecoms Policies above.
We consider in summary therefore;
a) There is a definite need for the site to provide important coverage to the residents, businesses, and tourists in the area.
b) The siting and appearance has been carefully considered to provide the least visual impact possible as we are using the roof space of an existing building to mount and house the proposed equipment, where existing telecommunications are already in situ.
c) The visual amenity of the area shall not be significantly affected, as the proposed building and surrounding buildings already have roof-mounted equipment and steelwork in situ.
The design proposed represents both the optimum planning/environmental and technical solution in this instance. As such, we believe the development as proposed is in accordance with planning guidance as defined above.
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