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22/00993/C Page 1 of 7
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. 22/00993/C Applicant : Isle Of Man Development Co Ltd Proposal Change of use of unit for use as assembly, showroom and distribution of furniture & leisure buildings Site Address Unit 42 Spring Valley Industrial Estate Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 2QS Case Officer :
Ms Charlotte Gatt Photo Taken :
Site Visit :
Expected Decision Level Planning Committee
Recommendation
Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation 02.12.2022
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 use of Unit 42, Spring Valley Industrial Estate hereby approved may only be used as Class 2.3 - General Industrial Use and Class 2.4 -Storage or Distribution Use.
Reason: Permission has been sought for these uses only and this is what has been considered.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The storage, showing and sale of the goods outlined in the planning application would by reason of the scale, type of products and location within the industrial site, not materially affect the viability of local retail stores nor the vitality of the Douglas Town Centre. As such the proposal accords with Strategic Policy 9 and Business Policy 5 of the Strategic Plan.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This application hereby approved relates to drawings and documents submitted to the Department titled:
Application Form Cover Letter Site location plan, floor plan and photos
All recorded as being electronically received by the Department on 19th August 2022.
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
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Officer’s Report
THIS APPLICATION IS BROUGHT BEFORE PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR DETERMINATION AS IT COULD BE CONSIDERED TO BE A DEPARTURE FROM THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN BUT IS RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL.
1.0 SITE 1.1 The application site compromises Unit 42, Spring Valley Industrial Estate, Braddan and consists of a modern industrial and storage unit, within the Isle of Man Business Park. It has a floor area of approximately 240m2 and is part of a block of five industrial/warehousing units. There is a surface parking area adjacent to this block. The Isle of Man Business Park covers an extensive area to the north of Cooil Road. In addition to industrial and storage businesses, it includes the premises of firms offering financial services, as well some information technology businesses, car dealerships, and retail outlets.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 The application is for the use of the interior floor space of the industrial unit for the sale of bulky goods including bespoke furniture and leisure buildings.
2.2 The leisure buildings which mainly constitute timber summerhouse & garden buildings are generally fabricated at their destination site. Some minor assembly and preparation operations may be undertaken at the application site. The application site will partly be used as a showroom for the display of samples of materials & workmanship, to store some materials, tools & equipment and distribute to the destination site. There will be no direct (over the counter) retailing of products and materials from the application site.
3.0 PLANNING HISTORY AND BACKGROUND 3.1 The planning history for the wider site is substantive. The application site itself (Unit 42) has been subject to a handful of applications which may be considered materially relevant in the assessment of this application.
3.2 PA 21/00108/B - External alterations including replacing & upgrading cladding, replacement of windows and rendering of facades of three industrial Units - Permitted 19.03.2021
3.3 PA 88/01514/D - Erection of sign on front elevation, IOM Industrial Development Co. Ltd
4.0 PLANNING POLICY 4.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Area Plan for the East 2020 as Industrial Use. The site. Given the substantial level of development which has taken place in recent times in various different properties under the 'Industrial Use Zone', it is considered reasonable to acknowledge that the wider site use goes beyond the current designation.
4.2 The following policies of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan are considered to be material relevance given the land use zoning and the proposal.
4.2.1 Strategic Policy 1: Development should make the best use of resources by:
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(a) optimising the use of previously developed land, redundant buildings, unused and under- used land and buildings, and re-using scarce indigenous building materials; (b) ensuring efficient use of sites, taking into account the needs for access, landscaping, open space(1) and amenity standards; and (c) being located so as to utilise existing and planned infrastructure, facilities and services.
4.2.2 Strategic Policy 6: Major employment-generating development should be located in existing centres on land zoned for such purposes and identified as such in existing Local or new Area Plans.
4.2.3 Strategic Policy 9: All new retail development (excepting neighbourhood shops and those instances identified in Business Policy 5) and all new office development (excepting corporate headquarters suitable for a business park(1) location) must be sited within the town and village centres on land zoned for these purposes in Area Plans, whilst taking into consideration Business Policies 7 and 8.
4.2.4 Strategic Policy 10: New development should be located and designed such as to promote a more integrated transport network with the aim to: (a) minimise journeys, especially by private car; (b) make best use of public transport; (c) not adversely affect highway safety for all users, and (d) encourage pedestrian movement
4.2.5 Spatial Policy 5: New development will be located within the defined settlements. Development will only be permitted in the countryside in accordance with General Policy 3.
4.2.6 General Policy 3: Development will not be permitted outside of those areas which are zoned for development on the appropriate Area Plan with the exception of:
(c) previously developed land(1) which contains a significant amount of building; where the continued use is redundant; where redevelopment would reduce the impact of the current situation on the landscape or the wider environment; and where the development proposed would result in improvements to the landscape or wider environment. Previously developed land is defined in Appendix 1 of the Strategic Plan as "land is that which is or was occupied by a permanent structure, including the curtilage of the developed land and any associated fixed surface infrastructure."
4.2.7 Business Policy 1: The growth of employment opportunities throughout the Island will be encouraged provided that development proposals accord with the policies of this Plan.
4.2.8 Business Policy 5: On land zoned for industrial use, permission will be given only for industrial development or for storage and distribution; retailing will not be permitted except where either: (a) the items to be sold could not reasonably be sold from a town centre location because of their size or nature; or (b) the items to be sold are produced on the site and their sale could not reasonably be severed from the overall business; and, in respect of (a) or (b), where it can be demonstrated that the sales would not detract from the vitality and viability of the appropriate town centre shopping area.
4.2.9 Paragraph 9.2.5 of the Strategic Plan is also particularly relevant to this assessment: "There has been pressure on Government to permit retailing within industrial areas, particularly those on the outskirts of Douglas. Following the development of the large-span "do it yourself" retail facility by B & Q in the Spring valley industrial estate in the mid-1980s, Tynwald took an immediate stance against out of town retailing by a resolution in 1987 which stated that "Positive steps should now be taken to revitalise existing town and village centres for the
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benefit of the whole community...and no further major out of town retailing developments should be permitted". The Braddan Local Plan adopted by Tynwald in 1991 reiterated this policy, and successive local and Area Plans have been formulated to concentrate retailing on existing centres in defined settlements."
4.2.10 Business Policy 9: The Department will support new retail provision in existing retail areas at a scale appropriate to the existing area and which will not have an adverse effect on adjacent retail areas. Major retail development proposals will require to be supported by a Retail Impact Assessment(1).
4.2.11 Business Policy 10: Retail development will be permitted only in established town and village centres, with the exceptions of neighbourhood shops in large residential areas and those instances identified in Business Policy 5.
4.2.12 Community Policy 11: The design and use of all new buildings and of extensions to existing buildings must, as far as is reasonable and practicable, pay due regard to best practice such as to prevent the outbreak and spread of fire.
4.2.13 Transport Policy 7: The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards.
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Braddan Commissioners have no objection to the application (06.09.22).
5.2 DOI Highways Services have supplied the following comment - "After reviewing this Application, Highway Services HDC finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and /or parking." (07.09.22)
6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 The key considerations in the assessment of this application are: o The principle of the retail use in question being operated from this site; o The impact on Douglas Town Centre; and o The parking and highways impact.
6.2 The principle of the use
6.2.1 Strategic Policy 9 is clear in that it states that all new retail development must be sited within town and village centre on land zoned for such purposes. In assessing whether the sale of bulky good as outlined is a 'new retail development', it is considered that the proposed use is a use which could not reasonably be sold from the town centre. There is an exception within Business Policy 5; however, for items which could not reasonably be sold from a town centre location because of their size or nature, or items which could not reasonably be severed from the overall business. Both of these exceptions are subject to the test at the end of Business Policy 5 - that it must be demonstrated that the sales would not detract from the vitality and viability of the appropriate town centre shopping area (in this case, Douglas).
6.2.2 As noted in 4.2.9 of this report, there is a wider Government desire to restrict the level of out-of-town retail development in general, and this is backed up by the Business and Strategic policies outlined above. The sale of bulky goods is somewhat unique however, in that it is not necessarily the case that items such as leisure cabins and bespoke furniture could be sold from the existing retail core of Douglas - such as the Strand Street area or retail periphery. Indeed, the sale of such items given their size and potential noise and pollution could be regarded as unsuitable for sale in town centre retail areas.
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6.3 Impact on the town centre
6.3.1 Following on from the above, the sale of the bulky items outlined from the covering letter in this aplication is unlikely to have a significant or unacceptable detrimental impact on the vitality of Douglas town centre as the suitability of the town centre for this retail use is questionable. Furthermore, the sale of large bulky goods is already established in such areas such as in the adjacent Business Park. It is considered that the sale of these goods from the application site is an acceptable exemption to the aforementioned policies and is, on balance, acceptable in principle - subject to the considerations below.
6.4 Parking and Highways 6.4.1 As there is no increase in floor space proposed, and the general sale of leisure cabins etc. with use of the industrial unit as a showroom may be classed as retail, it is considered that there is no specific intensification of the use resulting from the sale of the bulky items outlined in the proposal description. Therefore, the impact on parking demand on the site, and on highway safety and access onto the main Cooil Road, is unlikely to be significantly altered with or without the use being undertaken. The proposal is therefore considered acceptable from a parking and highway safety perspective.
7.0 CONCLUSION 7.1 In summary, the broad principle of the sale of bulky items such as leisure cabins and bespoke furniture from the site is considered acceptable as an exception to general presumptions against retail development in such an area. It is considered that the viability of Douglas Town Centre would not be unacceptable impacted, nor would highway safety. The application is therefore recommended for approval.
8.0 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.
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I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to the it by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Committee has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status.
Decision Made : ...Permitted... Committee Meeting Date:...19.12.2022
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Signed :...P VISIGAH... Presenting Officer
Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph to the officer report).
Signatory to delete as appropriate YES/NO See below
Customer note
This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the file copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online services/customers and archive records.
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PLANNING COMMITTEE DECISION 19.12.2022
Application No 22/00993/C Applicant Isle Of Man Development Co Ltd Proposal Change of use of unit for use as assembly, showroom and distribution of furniture & leisure buildings Site Address Unit 42 Spring Valley Industrial Estate Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 2QS Enforcement/Planning Assistant Ms Charlotte Gatt Presenting Officer P VISIGAH Addendum to the Officer Report
Planning Committee approved the application on the Officers amendment to the recommendation and inclusion of a Note reaffirming that no retail sales can be undertaken.
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