DEC Officer Report

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Applicant: Linda Holden & Lelie Netherwood Proposal Erection of therapy office and sauna room Site Address Nauvoo Vicarage Road Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 2QF Case Officer : Mr Peiran Shen Site Visit: Expected Decision Level Planning Committee Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation 27.02.2023

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 hereby approved shall only be undertaken: 10:00-19:00 between Monday and Saturday; The use shall not be undertaken at any time on Public Holidays.

Reason: To ensure that the development is undertaken in accordance with the application details and in the interest of protecting neighbouring living conditions.

• C 3. There must be no more than three customer/client using the hut at any one time. Reason: In the interest of highway safety and residential amenity.
• C 4. The area of the site to be used for sauna/therapy service shall be limited to the hut that shown on the drawing no. AP100 Rev A and the use hereby permitted shall not extend into any other part of the premises.

Reason: To minimise the disturbance to adjacent residential occupiers and to protect the residential character of the locality.

• C 5. The use hereby approved shall only be for the benefit of the applicant while they are resident at Nauvoo, Vicarage Road, Douglas and no staff may be employed and/or work at the premises.

Reason: Although the specific details of this application have been found acceptable, any change to its operation will require fresh assessment.

• C 6. The driveway and access shall be kept available and unobstructed for parking at all times. Reason: To ensure a satisfactory access and in the interests of highway safety.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposed sauna/therapy hut would only be used by two operators and three customers at any time and the impact on the neighbouring amenities would not be significantly more than the applicant using the space by himself and neither does its impact on the parking demand of the area.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to the documents, location plan, operation statement and drawing no. AP103, AP 104 Rev A date stamped as having been received on 7th December 2022 and drawing no. AP100 Rev A which has been received on 13th January 2023.

_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should be given Interested Person Status as they are 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): Spring Lodge Vicarage Road Douglas; Rozanne Vicarage Road Douglas; Moorcroft Vicarage Road Douglas;

as they satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status. ________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

THE PLANNING APPLICATION IS BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AT THE REQUEST OF THE PRINCIPAL PLANNER

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of 'Heather View', Vicarage Road, Douglas. It is located at the south of Vicarage Road, close to its roundabout with Meadow Crescent. - 1.2 The site fronts onto the south of a private driveway that links with Vicarage Road. It is among a row of four single-storey detached dwellings on the same private driveway. They have a north-facing orientation and are aligning west-east. It is to the east of "Moorcroft", west of "Rozanne" and north of 5 the Meadows. - 1.3 There are tall trees around the side and rear boundaries of the site. The trees on the west and rear boundary of the site are within the boundary of the site. The trees on the east side of the site are within the boundary of "Rozanne" and they are taller than the existing roof.

1.4 The existing house is a single-story bungalow with two extensions on the northeast corner of the property and a conservatory on the east elevation. The main dwelling is set back from the private driveway for approx. 15m. There is a curved and grassed front garden to the west of the site in front of the dwelling, a small square front garden to the northeast corner of the site and a hard-surfaced driveway in front of the bungalow. The driveway is also used as off-street car parking spaces.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The proposed is the erection of a timber hut. The hut will be used for therapy and a sauna and will be open to the public as a business. - 2.2 The applicant states that the gym is proposed to operate 10:00-19:00 between Monday and Saturday. There will be a maximum of three customers within the hut at any given time.

3.0 Planning History - 3.1 Approval in principle for the erection of a dwelling, including siting of dwelling was REFUSED under PA 20/01248/A. The reason was: "the size and positioning of the proposed dwelling is considered to lead to an overdevelopment of the site, with negative impact on the street scene and insufficient amenities for future occupiers."

4.0 Planning Policy Site Specific - 4.1 The site is within an area designated as Predominantly Residential in the Area Plan for the East. Strategic Policy - 4.2 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application:

• o Strategic Policy 2, 3, 5
• o Spatial Policy 3
• o General Policy 2 (b) (c) (g) (h) (i) (m) (n)
• o Business Policy 1
• o Transport Policy 7
• o Appendix 7.6
• o Community Policy 7, 10 and 11
• o Infrastructure Policy 5

5.0 OTHER MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS Strategy and Guidance - 5.1 There is no relevant strategy or guidance that directly applies to this application.

6.0 REPRESENTATION This section provides a summary of all representations received. Full details are available on the government website. - 6.1 Douglas Borough Council has no objection to this application (26.01.2023). - 6.2 DoI Highway Services does not oppose this application (16.01.2023). The comment states that there is no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking. - 6.3 The owners/occupiers of the following properties (in no particular order) have written in objection to this application (08.08.2021-28.09.2021).

• o Spring Lodge Vicarage Road Douglas;
• o Rozanne Vicarage Road Douglas;
• o Moorcroft Vicarage Road Douglas;

6.4 The representations which include material planning considerations can be summarised (in no particular order) as the following:

• o land use designation
• o impact on traffic safety on the private drive and parking provision
• o noise

6.5 Issue was also raised about the clarity of the submission and the visibility of the decision notice, an amended site plan with parking arrangement has been received later and a new site notice was issued following re-advertisement.

7.0 ASSESSMENT Elements of Assessment

7.1 The key considerations in the determination of the application are the principle of development, its impact on the character and streetscene of the area, on traffic and parking provision and the amenities of the neighbours. Principle of the Development - 7.2 When looking at the principle of the additional use it should be acknowledged that permission has been approved and refused for the operation of businesses from a residential property, throughout the Island. - 7.3 The use class for a sauna is considered assembly and leisure (Class 4.4). The use class for massage and therapy is considered professional services (Class 1.2). While the services proposed are for people's health benefits, they fit in with the description of Class 1.2 and the exception of class 4.1. - 7.4 The site is within an area designated as Predominantly Residential (predominantly Class 3.3). As such, the proposal could be seen as contrary to the land use designation. Since the 2022 (Planning Committee) Standing Order, this type of application can be decided on the delegation level instead of being submitted to the planning committee. - 7.5 It should be noted that although the site is within a predominantly residential area, the proposal is of small scale in size, being only able to serve 3 people maximum at any one time. Therefore, if the impact is considered acceptable after the full assessment, the proposal would not change the predominantly residential land use of the area and is considered principally acceptable. Character and Streetsecne of the Area - 7.6 The proposed dwelling is not visible to the public and is therefore considered to not have an impact on the character and streetscene of the area. Traffic and Parking Provision - 7.7 According to TP7, the dwelling would require two parking spaces and the proposed sauna/ therapy hut would require two parking spaces. Considering there could be three customers at one time, this leads to the need for one more parking space. As the owner of the dwelling is also the sole operator of the gym, it is considered that there should be five parking spaces for the dwelling and the sauna/therapy hut together. - 7.8 The front driveway can accommodate five cars. Therefore, it is considered that the proposal meets the parking standard. - 7.9 The proposal would attract more traffic to the private driveway from the travelling of clients, which would be three cars per hour during opening times. It is considered that the increase would not create an unreasonable level of noise than that of someone who has frequent visitors and is considered acceptable.

• Neighbouring Amenities
• 7.10 Given the nature of the business, it is believed that the hut would not generate more noise than the applicant using the hut for their personal enjoyment, which would be ancillary to the use of the dwelling and not controlled by planning. Therefore, it is considered that the potential noise and disturbance created is not enough reason to recommend a refusal.
• 7.11 A condition would be attached to confine the business within the hut as this is the base of the application and its assessment. Planning Balance Assessment
• 7.12 The proposed use has similar impacts as using the hut for sauna and therapy by the applicant alone. The increase in parking demand can be accommodated within the site. The traffic generated is similar to a house with frequent visitors. Since both using the hut for the enjoyment of the dwelling and having frequent visitors are considered domestic and would not require planning approval, it is considered that only significant adverse impacts on the area would mount enough reason for a recommendation of refusal, especially with a condition being attached restricting the use to three customer/client using the gym at any one time.
• 7.13 The main concern from neighbouring properties is the impact of the increased number of visitors. Generally speaking, a condition would be attached that the applicant cannot hire any employees, which is a sign for a small business to relocate to commercial areas. With only one employee, the number of customers that can be served on any given day is not likely to be continuous but sporadic, which is unlikely to generate impact at the same scale as a business within a commercial area.
• 7.14 As the assessment is conducted according to the operation details provided by the applicant. These details will be conditioned to ensure the impact on neighbouring amenities is minimised.

- 8.0 CONCLUSION

8.1 The proposed sauna/therapy hut would only be used by two operators and three customers at any time and the impact on the neighbouring amenities would not be significantly more than the applicant using the space by himself and neither does its impact on the parking demand of the area. 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 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:…13.03.2023

Signed :…………C BALMER…………….. 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.

PLANNING COMMITTEE DECISION 13.03.2023 Application No 22/01527/B Applicant Linda Holden & Lelie Netherwood Proposal Erection of therapy office and sauna room Site Address Nauvoo Vicarage Road Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 2QF Planning Officer Mr Peiran Shen Presenting Officer C BALMER Addendum to the Officer Report

The Committee were minded to approve the application subject to the Planning Officer revising their recommendation to include an additional condition;

C7 The proposed building hereby approved shall only be used in association with the main dwelling house " Nauvoo " and for ancillary purposes incidental to the use of main dwelling house " Nauvoo " as a single dwelling, and only in accordance with the internal layout shown on drawing referenced; AP103 received on the 7th December 2022.

Reason: The dwelling is within a single residential plot and does not propose to create separate units of accommodation within the site and has not been considered as such.