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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No. : 22/00642/B Applicant : Barclays Proposal : Replacement of mechanical plant on the first-floor level roof at the rear of the building Site Address : First Floor Office Barclays House Victoria Street Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 2LE

Planning Officer: Mr Peiran Shen Photo Taken :

Site Visit :

Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 26.09.2022 __

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. The proposed screen must be installed within 3 month from the date of the completion of the installation or prior to the units coming into use, whichever comes sooner. The screen should then be maintained thereafter.

Reason: to preserve the character and appearance of the conservation area

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. This application is considered to comply with General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 35 of the Strategic Plan.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to the documents, design and access statement, heritage statement, location plan, site plan, product details, Technical summary, existing floor plan, proposed floor

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plan, photos which have been received on 1st June 2022, and existing and proposed elevation which have been received on 25th August 2022.

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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None __

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The site is the commercial curtilage of Barclays House, Victoria Street, Douglas, a five- storey building located on the north of Victoria Street.

1.2 The building is L-shaped and there is a flat-roof extension on the rear of the building.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The proposed is the replacement of mechanical plants on the first-floor level roof at the rear of the building. There will also be a screen approx. 1.1m high around the roof and a maintenance ladder.

3.0 Planning History 3.1 There is no previous application considered materially relevant to this application.

4.0 Planning Policy Site Specific 4.1 The site is within an area designated as Mixed Use (Strand Street) in the Area Plan for the East.

4.2 The site is within the Douglas Athol Street/Victoria Street Conservation Area.

Strategic Policy 4.3 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application:

Principles of Developments 4.4 Strategic Policy 4 states: "Proposals for development must: (a) Protect or enhance the fabric and setting of Ancient Monuments, Registered Buildings, Conservation Areas, buildings and structures within National Heritage Areas and sites of archaeological interest."

4.5 General Policy 2, which provides an overall requirement for all development, 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; (i) does not have an unacceptable effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways; (m) takes account of community and personal safety and security in the design of buildings and the spaces around them; and (n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."

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Visual Design 4.6 Environment Policy 35 states: "Within Conservation Areas, the Department will permit only development which would preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Area, and will ensure that the special features contributing to the character and quality are protected against inappropriate development."

Environment 4.7 Strategic Policy 5 states: "New development, including individual buildings, should be designed so as to make a positive contribution to the environment of the Island."

Safety and Security 4.8 Community Policy 7, 10 and 11 states that the design of new development must, as far as is reasonable and practicable, pay due regard to existing best practise such as to prevent criminal and anti-social behaviour and outbreak and spread of fire. In addition, development should also provide proper access for fire-fighting vehicles and adequate supplies of water for fire-fighting purposes."

PPS and NPD 4.9 Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man is the only adopted PPS at the moment. It provides supplementary policy on developments within any conservation area.

5.0 OTHER MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS Legislation 5.1 Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act (1999) states, "(4) Where any area is for the time being a conservation area, special attention shall be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing its character or appearance in the exercise, with respect to any buildings or other land in the area, of any powers under this Act".

6.0 REPRESENTATION 6.1 Douglas Borough Council has no objection to this application (08.07.2022).

6.2 DoI Highway Services states there is no highway interest in this application (31.08.2022).

7.0 ASSESSMENT Conservation Area Statutory Test 7.1 The building is a modern office building and its surroundings are modern structures. The new air condition units do not stand out from this modern setting. However, the arrangements of the units are too industrial for their settings. With the proposed screening, the units would be mostly shielded and will remain in the background. Therefore, it is considered that the proposal would preserve the character and appearance of the conservation area and it is considered to pass the test.

Elements of Assessments 7.2 The key considerations in the determination of the application are its impact on the character and appearance of the conservation area and the amenities of the neighbours.

Character and Appearance of the Conservation Area 7.3 As mentioned in 7.1, the proposal is considered to have no impact on and, therefore, preserves the character and appearance of the conservation area.

Neighbouring Amenities

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7.4 As the development is within a mixed-use area, and there is no residential use around the area, it is considered that the proposal would not have an additional noise impact on the neighbouring properties.

8.0 CONCLUSION 8.1 The proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 35 of the Strategic Plan. Therefore, it is recommended for an approval.

9.0 INTEREST PERSON STATUS 9.1 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 which 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.

9.2 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: 28.09.2022

Determining officer

Signed : C BALMER

Chris Balmer

Principal Planner

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