**Document:** Officer Report **Application:** 17/00741/B — Installation of replacement windows **Decision:** Permitted **Decision Date:** 2017-09-05 **Parish:** German **Document Type:** report / officer_report **Source:** https://planningportal.im/a/22181-german-1-mona-street-windows-replacement/documents/1020369 --- # Officer Report **Application No.:** 17/00741/B **Applicant:** Mr Owain Brimfield **Proposal:** Installation of replacement windows **Site Address:** 1 Mona Street Peel Isle Of Man IM5 1HJ Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley **Photo Taken:** 04.01.2017 **Site Visit:** 04.01.2017 **Expected Decision Level:** Planning Committee **Recommended Decision:** Permitted **Date of Recommendation:** 16.08.2017 _________________________________________________________________ ## 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 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals. - C 2. For the avoidance of doubt the windows hereby approved for installation shall be formed of sliding sash frames with a single, central glazing bar and external decorative horns, with the exception of two windows in the ground floor annex as shown on approved Drawing REF 8 (date-stamped as having been received 11th July 2017). Reason: In the interest of protecting the character and appearance of the Conservation Area. ## The Plans on which this recommendation is based are; The development hereby approved relates to the Drawings, Plans and information carrying the Reference numbers REF1, REF 2, REF 3, REF 4, REF 5, REF 6, REF 7, REF 8, REF 9, REF 10 and REF 11, all date-stamped as having been received 11th July 2017. ## Interested Person Status By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, the following persons are automatically interested persons: - o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent; - o The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any - other person in whose interest the land becomes vested; - o Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material, which in this case includes Highway Services of the Department of Infrastructure, and - o The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated. _____________________________________________________________________________ ## Officer’s Report THIS APPLICATION IS BROUGHT BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMITTEE OWING TO THE PLANNING HISTORY OF THE SITE. 1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE - 1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of a three-storey property located at the corner of Mona Street and Christian Street in Peel's Conservation Area. The dwelling is prominent in the streetscene, particularly when viewed from Christian Street to the west, and has an unusual appearance owing to the Georgian glazing bars in the windows almost throughout the dwelling: the front (Mona Street), side (Christian Street) and rear (facing east onto the yard). The windows are single glazed timber, each with a top-opening section of frame that comprises three lights, and are not original to the dwelling. On the ground and first floors, the fixed element of the frame are three lights in height, while on the second floor the windows are two lights in height. - 1.2 It is understood that the Georgian-style windows were installed during the early 1980s, prior to the Conservation Area being designated. These replaced the more traditional, Victorian-style windows that were sliding sash in a manner replicated notably, albeit not ubiquitously, along Mona Street. Moreover, at the chamfered corner of the property, facing onto the junction of Mona and Christian Streets, a door was present, sat centrally between two apertures, each containing sliding sash units of slightly different appearance. This feature would presumably have been original to the building, reflecting the fact that the property was, at ground floor, once a butcher shop. - 1.3 Photographs of the previous windows in the Mona Street / Christian Street elevations will be shown to Members during the officer presentation of this application. - 1.4 There is a smaller, two-storey outlet at the rear (east) of the dwelling, which connects into 4 Christian Street to the rear, and this has top-opening casement windows (one aperture has two frames, the others only one) with none of the Georgian styling. These windows are less prominent than those with the Georgian detailing owing to the ground floor being wholly obscured by the rear yard wall, and also the two-storey massing of the outlet itself, relative to the three-storey massing of the majority of the dwelling. 2.0 THE DEVELOPMENT PROPOSED - 2.1 Full planning approval is sought for the installation of replacement windows throughout the dwelling. - 2.2 These would be formed of uPVC frames and in the majority would be sliding sash units along with externally expressed decorative horns. Two exceptions to this are at the side - elevation in the outrigger facing onto the rear yard and which cannot be seen from public positions. These units are proposed to be casement in opening style. - 2.3 All the units would have a single vertical glazing bar, and all would be coloured white. - 2.4 At the chamfered corner of the property, where there was probably once a door, would be a single sliding sash unit. Either side, on the elevations facing Mona and Christian Streets, would be a pair of sliding sash units, resulting in five in total wrapping around the ground floor of the property. ## - 3.0 THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND PLANNING CIRCULAR 1/98 3.1 The site lies within a wider area zoned as Mixed Use on the Peel Local Plan, and is also within the town's Conservation Area. There is no Character Appraisal accompanying the Conservation Area, and so the application falls to be assessed against two policies of the Strategic Plan. - 3.2 General Policy 2 states, in part: "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; (n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption." 3.3 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." - 3.4 In addition, and in support of EP35, Circular 1/98 ('The Alteration and Replacement of Windows') sets down the policies in respect of the alteration or replacement of windows. (Part 6 Category b) Buildings in Conservation Areas states: "If the original windows are in place they should preferably be repaired. If repair is impracticable, replacement windows which would be readily visible from a public thoroughfare MUST HAVE THE SAME method of opening as the originals. Whatever the material used in their construction, the windows MUST HAVE THE SAME pattern and section of glazing bars and the same frame sections as the original windows. "Windows not readily visible from a public thoroughfare must have the same or similar pattern of glazing bars as the original method of opening, whatever the material used in the construction." ## - 4.0 PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 Unfortunately, it has not been possible to determine under what planning approval the existing windows were installed. The historic mapping on which the planning reference number has been written is too badly obscured to read. However, from records submitted to the Department of the works undertaken, it is possible to presume these windows were installed during the early 1980s. 4.2 Much more recently, some members of the Planning Committee may recall refusing PA 16/01384/B, which sought approval for replacement windows throughout the property. Those windows would have been formed of uPVC, painted black, and with glazing bars to match the existing frames. The Planning Committee refused the application for the following two reasons, the issue covered by the latter being raised during the Planning Committee meeting: - R1 - "The existing windows are not original to the dwelling and nor are they traditional to the dwelling. The proposed replacement of those timber-framed windows with plastic-framed units would harmfully worsen the existing situation in a manner that would fail to preserve or enhance the Conservation Area and, in particular, Mona Street where a number of dwellings have timber and / or sliding sash windows. Accordingly, the proposal would harmfully impact upon the character and appearance of the Conservation Area, contrary to Planning Circular 1/98, and also to Environment Policy 35 and parts (b), (c) and (g) of General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016." - R2 - "The proposed windows would open out over a pavement at a height lower than the normally-sought 2.1m, and would therefore cause a danger to pedestrian safety by potentially forcing pedestrians into the road when having to avoid open windows. This is contrary to Transport Policy 4 and part (h) of General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016." 4.3 The front door to the dwelling was installed following the grant of approval to PA 11/00029/B. - 4.4 Although there have been a number of planning applications seeking approval for replacement windows throughout Mona Street and also the parallel Church Street (to the east), it is not considered that any of these is material to the assessment of the current proposal. Each of those applications was assessed having regard to the particular circumstances of the dwelling in question, which is of course a fundamental planning principle, but in the case of the current application the evident uniqueness of the dwelling is such that reference to other applications is unlikely to be particularly helpful. - 4.5 For completeness, those applications submitted on these streets for replacement windows (and doors) since the adoption of the Strategic Plan in 2007 are set out below, in date order: Approved: - o 16/00914/B - 7 Church Street - o 15/00490/B - 1 Church Street - o 15/00433/B - 12 Church Street - o 15/00420/B - 23 Church Street - o 15/00373/B - 1 Church Street - o 14/01000/B - 21 Mona Street - o 14/00233/B - 9 Church Street - o 13/00723/B - 23 Church Street - o 13/00398/B - 4 Church Street - o 13/00707/B - 13 Mona Street - o 12/01183/B - 21 Mona Street - o 10/00739/B - 15 Church Street - o 09/01504/B - 3 Church Street - o 09/01959/B - 17 Mona Street - o 08/01644/B - 5 Mona Street - o 07/00872/B - 5 Church Street Refused: - o 07/01567/B - 15 Mona Street, for the following reason: "The installation of the replacement casement windows would be contrary to Environment Policy 35 and Planning Circular 1/98 in that the replacement windows would be out of keeping with the general character of the street and would not preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the Conservation Area, to the detriment of the visual amenities of the locality." 4.6 In the one case where non-sliding sash windows were approved (PA 15/00490/B), the case officer was mindful of the existence of inappropriate windows at the time the application was submitted. This reflects an important principle of the planning system, which requires the Department to be mindful of an existing situation in making decisions. ## - 5.0 REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 At the time of writing (16th August 2017), some five days after the end of the consultation period (11th August 2017), no comments have been received in respect of this application. - 6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 It is worth noting the case officer's opening paragraph in respect of the previous scheme: "There can be little doubt that the reversion of the building's appearance to its previous state would be an enhancement to what is a prominently sited property in Peel's Conservation Area. The insertion of a shopfront-style window and door arrangement would better allow for the commercial use of the property at the ground floor to be understood and appreciated. The existing, unusual arrangement, though quirkily characterful, is inaccurate to the age and use of the building. Such works as were undertaken to install the windows currently in place would not be viewed favourably today, although it should of course be remembered that the role of the planning system is to manage, rather than dictate, change." This was stated in respect of the previous application submitted on this site and remains the case now. 6.2 However, the use of sliding sash units is appropriate for this area and for the era this dwelling was built in. Those dwellings with more traditional domestic frontages that have sliding sash units contribute very positively to the streetscene. As stated above, the unique nature of the application site is such that reinstating the commercial nature of the frontage would therefore allow it to sit more comfortably (and accurately) in its historic context. However, it is in residential use and the installation of residential-style windows would therefore not be wholly inappropriate. These would help the building contribute to this context in a manner far more appropriately than it does at present, albeit that it is freely accepted that many people will view the existing appearance's idiosyncratic kdhf as important to retain. - 6.3 However, this is not considered to be a sufficiently substantive argument given the existing use of the building or those surrounding it, and moreover given that the fundamental test lies in Environment Policy 35 with regards ensuring the preservation or enhancement of the appearance of the Conservation Area. The existing windows are both idiosyncratic and historically inaccurate throughout, while those here proposed are historically accurate throughout - with the exception of the (admittedly prominent) ground floor chamfer. Accordingly, it is concluded that the proposal represents an acceptable way forward - and one that complies with the Development Plan - without being the best way forward. ## - 7.0 RECOMMENDATION 7.1 In view of the above assessment, it is concluded that the application should be approved. ## Decision Made : ………PERMITTED Committee Meeting Date:…04.09.2017 I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the appropriate delegated authority. Signed :………E RILEY………….. Presenting Officer Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph in the Officer’s report). Signatory to delete as appropriate YES/NO --- *Data sourced from the Isle of Man public planning register under the [Isle of Man Open Government Licence](https://www.gov.im/about-this-site/open-government-licence/).* *Canonical page: https://planningportal.im/a/22181-german-1-mona-street-windows-replacement/documents/1020369*