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The site represents the curtilages of three buildings - 5, 6 (Balcony House) and 6A, The Parade which all sit on the south western side of The Parade in the heart of Castletown. The buildings front onto The Parade and number 5 sides onto Queen Street: all three back onto Farrant's Way opposite the public car park. The three buildings are physically attached to each other but different in height and detailing. Balcony House is the dominant, central building with number 5 next in height and 6A lower still.
The buildings all lie within an area designated on both the draft Castletown Area Plan and the adopted 1991 Castletown Area Plan as Mixed Use reflecting the mixture of uses in the area - offices,
shops, interpretative historical buildings and residential. The buildings are also Registered (numbers 34, 35 and 36) and within Castletown's Conservation Area.
The buildings have been the subject of a number of applications for a range of alterations, including demolition, which was refused. Most recently planning and Registered Building consent have been sought and granted for the demolition of an existing building at the rear of Balcony House and the rearrangement of the roofing over number 5 (PAs 07/1632, 07/1689, 07/1770, 07/2126 and 07/2126). There is a contemporaneous application for Registered Building consent for the works proposed in this application.
Proposed is the conversion of the three buildings into a single residence, amending the previously approved scheme by omitting the new lift shaft housing which was proposed on the rear elevation and replacing it on the side of Balcony House, with the second floor top part only being visible from the front, side and rear, the remainder below being enclosed within the main building.
The proposal has been amended following discussions with the Conservation Officer. The proposed changes shown in drawings 111B, 113B and 114B show the replacement of the lift with a platform lift, the installation of a boiler and flue on the external side of 6A, the omission of the peristyle (open colonnade) and fountain in the rear yard/garden, the omission of a glazed shaft at the rear of 6A and insertion of rooflights in the outlet at the rear of number 5. Also the amended elevations show patio doors in the side of the outlet behind number 5 in place of the previous door and window, omission of the orangery on the rear elevation, omission of the external lift housing on the side of number 5 at second floor level, reduction by 0.8m in the height of the rear building behind 6A and consequent reduction in the height of the flat roofed frontage to 6A with the resultant shortening of the arched windows in the front and rear of 6A.
The previous application contained a design brief which included reference to the replacement of windows and balconies - despite annotation on the floor plans rather than the elevations, there are no specifications of the replacements - which windows are to be replaced and by what so the relevant conditions of that proposal are not required here as it is not considered that the replacement of any windows is part of this application.
REPRESENTATIONS Department of Transport Highways and Traffic Division raise no objection to the application Department of Transport Drainage Division recommend conditions regarding the disposal of surface water
The Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service recommend consultation regarding the internal layout of the property. This is a matter for the Building Regulations and should not be referred to in the planning decision notice.
ASSESSMENT
The proposed changes reduce the visual change to the Registered Buildings compared with previously approved schemes for these three buildings. The impact on the rear elevation will also be greatly reduced from the already approved scheme. The use of the buildings as one dwelling with ancillary accommodation will also result in a significant decrease in the requirement for parking and the consequent release of rear space for landscaping which is much more appropriate for the buildings rather than having the rear used as a car park.
As such, the proposed alterations should be encouraged and the proposal is considered acceptable.
CONSERVATION OFFICER'S SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT:
5 August 2008
As the properties, No. 5, 6 (Balcony House) and 6a, The Parade, Castletown are all Registered Buildings (RB 34, 35 and 36) the content of this application has been considered with particular regard to POLICY RB/5 ALTERATIONS AND EXTENSIONS as set out within Planning Policy Statement 1/01.
This application seeks to amend the proposals formerly approved under applications 07/02126/GB and 07/02127/CON.
The main amendments are the relocation of the liftshaft from the rear to an internal location within No. 6a, the omission of the proposed rear extensions, the omission of the raising of the roof to No 6a, the addition of the cast iron columns to aid the support of the balcony to No 6 and various, minor amendments.
Relocating the liftshaft internally within No. 6a and using a Platform Lift will minimise the impact of adding a lift to the existing buildings. It is certainly an improvement over the previously approved location to the rear of Balcony House. The major impact of these works is the minimal addition of a roof over and the penetration of the lift shaft through the building. The former is not overly visible other than from the rear of the property and the latter is of little concern as it is sited in the location of a modern staircase.
The omission of the former proposed rear extensions is also acceptable as this results in a minimum impact to the rear of all three properties. There is a re-organisation of the rear windows but again, this is minimal and acceptable in order to provide some rear aspect to the buildings that always faced onto the Parade.
Of most concern, is the addition of the columns to aid in the support of the balcony to Balcony House as, given the height off the ground, the columns end up looking too tall and thin. An increase in the slenderness ratio of the columns will result in too major a detrimental impact on the façade. I have discussed it with the Architect who has agreed to withdraw this part of the application.
To conclude, these proposals respect the status of the Registered Buildings and their location within the Castletown Conservation Area and are therefore acceptable.
PARTY STATUS The Department of Transport and the local authority are, by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, paragraph 6 (5) (c) and (d), considered "interested persons" and as such should be afforded party status.
The points raised by the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service are the responsibility of the Building Regulations and as such this party should not be afforded party status in this instance.
Recommendation
Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 22.04.2008 Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal 5 August 2008
C 1. The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.
C 2. This permission relates to the conversion of the three dwellings into one property and the construction of a lift all as shown in drawings 12, 109, 110 and 111 all received on 7th March, 2008.
C 3. There must be no discharge of surface water to the main foul sewer. C 4. All roofing must be finished in natural slate to match that of the existing buildings on site. C 5. PRIOR to the commencement of any building works, further large scale (1:20 / 1:10) detail drawings of the skirtings, architraves and all new internal doors are to be provided for approval by the Planning Authority.
C 6. PRIOR to the commencement of any building works, further large scale (1:20 / 1:10) detail drawings of the external balustrade to the front entrance steps of No. 5 are be provided for approval by the Planning Authority.
C 7. PRIOR to the commencement of any building works, further large scale (1:20 / 1:10) detail drawings of the external balustrade to the front of No. 6a are be provided for approval by the Planning Authority.
C 8. No approval is given to the installation of the columns to support the balcony to Balcony House. This is to be the content of a further application.
N 1. Whilst there is annotation on the floor plans concerning replacement windows, there is no specification in the application for the replacement of any windows, balconies or doors so no approval is granted in this application to the replacement of any windows, doors or balconies/balustrading.
Decision Made : Committee Meeting Date :
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