DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 22/00664/B Applicant: Mr Jonathan Gower-Jackson Proposal: Installation of a replacement front door Site Address: Harbourside East Quay Ramsey Isle Of Man IM8 1BA Enforcement/Planning Assistant: Ms Charlotte Gatt Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 21.07.2022

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.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.

The proposed new door is acceptable in terms of its form, mass and design which preserves the overall Conservation Area and as such complies with Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Act (1999) and Environment Policy 35 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and is approved.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision hereby approved relates to documents submitted to the Department titled: Location Plan Site Plan Front Door Location and Photograph All recorded as being electronically received by the Department on 25.05.22

_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

It is recommended that The Isle of Man Victorian Society should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 4(2).

The Isle of Man Victorian Society are not recommended to be granted party status as their comments do not comply with part 2(A) of the operation policy. _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of Harbourside, a traditional three storey end terraced dwelling sited on the eastern side of East Quay, Ramsey. The Old Custom House adjoins the application site to north elevation whilst the Harbour Bistro sits adjacent of the application site to the south. - 1.2 The existing dwelling has been rendered and had UPVC framed sliding sash and top opening casements installed. The dwelling is built directly on the footpath and adjacent highway. To the rear of the property is a two storey annex and rear yard bounded by a high rise wall to a rear lane. - 1.3 The surrounding area is characterised by a mix of uses including residential, industrial with the Mezeron and a number public houses and independent businesses. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for the replacement of the existing front door. - 2.2 The proposed door is to be black in colour, with 4 panels, the two uppers of which are glazed (half glazed 4 panel door). The top of the glazing is set at slight angles. The letter box is proposed to be central and of 'old style'. The weather bar is made from metal and is gold in colour. - 2.3 The door will measure 1950mm in height and 800mm in width. PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 PA 12/01416/B - Installation of replacement windows and rendering works (retrospective) - Permitted 30.11.2012 PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site is within an area designated as Mixed Use (Town Centre) in the Ramsey Local Plan 1998. The site situated within the Ramsey Conservation Area. The site is not within a Flood Risk Zone.

4.2 Given the nature of the of the land designation and the property being within a Conservation Area, Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act (1999) is the most relevant in the assessment of this application. Followed by paragraph 7.29.2 and Environment Policy 35 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, which set out development in Conservation Areas will only be permitted where they preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the area.

REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 The following representations can be found in full online;

5.2 Highway Services have considered the proposal and state "No Highways interest" (09.06.22).

5.3 Ramsey Town Commissioners have commented and raise "No objection" (04.07.22). - 5.4 No comments have been received from neighbouring properties at the time of writing. - 5.5 The Isle of Victorian Society have provided the following comments; "If it is proposed then given the prominence of the property on the quayside in the Conservation Area it is important that the door follows a traditional format and design. Whilst half glazed four panel doors were used in Victorian times the head to the glazed sections were square and not set on an angle. We note with interest that the illustration shows an old style letter box - this is commendable and we trust this will be carried out. It is possible to obtain squared headed half glazed doors and we would ask that this be a condition of approval. It would also be preferable that the weather board is painted to match the door rather than an incongruous shiny metal." (16.06.22)

They also provided further comment with - "a copy of a rough hand sketch showing how this should be with any replacement door. The property next door was formerly the Harbour Master's House/Office and had the Royal Cypher attached to the railings around the porch roof. The porch was considerably wider than this porch and in addition to the door had two sidelights. All were glazed on the top half and solid below. We were prepared to accept a half glazed on Harbourside on the basis of being four panelled and the top two panels glazed in plain glass or simple obscure glass ( not leaded or containing coloured glass patterns). We referred to the head of the upper panes being square and not angled as shown in the photograph submitted with the application." (29.06.22)

ASSESSMENT 6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are:

• - Section 18(4) test
• - character and appearance (GP2, b,c)

- 6.2 SECTION 18(4) TEST

• 6.2.1 Due to the proposed works being in a Conservation Area it is necessary to test the application under section 18(4) of the Town and Country Act (1999), see section 4.2 of this report, on whether the works preserve or enhance the Conservation Area.
• 6.2.2 Looking at the history of the building and the works that have been completed in more recent times, it is clear to see that the applicant has renovated the property to a much higher standard that the condition it had deteriorated to, and as a whole have enhanced the setting of the conservation area. The proposed door is an acceptable alteration and will preserve the existing Conservation Area.
• 6.2.3 With the above in mind the works will pass the Section 18(4) test by preserving the Conservation Area. 6.3 CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE

• 6.3.1 When looking at the character and appearance of the proposed works on the surrounding area, the main impact would be making sure that the works preserve or enhance the Conservation Area. As stated above the proposal will enhance the overall Conservation Area and is an alteration which is better suited for the dwelling itself and the surrounding streetscene.

• CONCLUSION
• 7.1 The proposed new door is acceptable in terms of its form, mass and design which preserves the overall Conservation Area and as such complies with Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Act (1999) and Environment Policy 35 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016. 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: 22.07.2022 Determining officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner

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