**Document:** DEC Officer Report
**Application:** 22/00289/GB — Installation of replacement windows (in association with 22/00291/CON)
**Decision:** Refused
**Decision Date:** 2022-04-07
**Parish:** German
**Document Type:** report / officer_report
**Source:** https://planningportal.im/a/25159-german-harbour-view-31-castle-street-windows-replacement/documents/1032612

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# DEC Officer Report

**Application No.:** 22/00289/GB
**Applicant:** HVC Ltd
**Proposal:** Installation of replacement windows (in association with 22/00291/CON)
**Site Address:** Harbour View 31 Castle Street Peel Isle Of Man IM5 1AL Technical Officer: Mr Thomas Sinden
**Expected Decision Level:** Officer Delegation
**Recommended Decision:** Refused
**Date of Recommendation:** 01.04.2022 _________________________________________________________________ R : Reasons for Refusal O : Notes attached to reasons Reasons for Refusal R . The proposals fail the statutory tests within section 16 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 as they do not preserve the building or its special interest. In addition to the statutory test, it is also judged that the proposals fail the tests of Strategic Policy 4, Environment Policies 32 and 34 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016 as the registered building is not being protected, the registered building's character is being detrimentally affected and the materials are not traditional. It is also judged that the proposals fail to meet the tests of Planning Policy Statement 1/01 and environment policy 35, as the character of the conservation area is not being preserved or enhanced. It is therefore judged to be unacceptable.

_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

## Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site is Harbour View and The Foundry (formerly known as Farrows Foundry), fronting on to Castle Street and East Quay. The site is a Registered Building (RB104), and sits within the town's Conservation Area. The site has a varied history, having been known to be used as a foundry, workshops and with subterranean cellars that may pre-date the above ground structures. The site's precise age is difficult to establish, although a photograph from Peel Hill taken between 1900 and 1907 shows the site in a very similar layout to that in place today. - 1.2 The site is broadly divided in to three elements. Fronting on to Castle Street is a two storey building with a natural slate pitched roof, painted smooth render walls, and double glazed timber sliding sash windows. Fronting on to East Quay is a single storey flat roof building with an exposed sandstone boundary wall sited directly on the highway, with double glazed timber sliding sash windows. Behind the boundary wall is an internal courtyard that gives access to a takeaway and restaurant. The third element of the property is the network of subterranean cellars that form part of the restaurant. The cellars have historic vaulted ceilings with significant interest and importance in respect of the Town's industrial past. - 1.3 Whilst the site has been heavily altered to enable its current mixed use as residential apartments and a separate takeaway and restaurant, the alterations have been relatively sympathetic in preserving the site's historic plan form and the use of appropriate traditional materials, with painted smooth render, exposed local sandstone, and timber windows all in evidence. The style of windows and doors within the internal courtyard are not as traditional in appearance as those facing Castle Street or East Quay, but as this area is of modern construction generally and cannot be viewed from outside the site, it does not greatly impact the building's special interest.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 This application proposes to replace all of the windows on the site. All of the existing windows are double glazed timber frame units. The application proposes to replace all the windows with uPVC units in a like for like style.

3.0 PLANNING POLICY - 3.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Peel Local Plan of 1989 as Mixed Use and within the town's Conservation Area where Environment Policy 35 of the Strategic Plan 2016 and Planning Policy Statement 1/01 require development to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the area and to take into account in any decision, the special character of the area. The site is in an area at high risk of tidal flooding. - 3.2 TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1999 S16 Registered buildings: supplementary provisions

- (3) In considering —

- (a) whether to grant planning approval for development which affects a registered building or its setting, or
- (b) whether to grant registered building consent for any works, the relevant Department shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses.

S18 Designation of conservation areas

- (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.

3.3 National policy: THE ISLE OF MAN STRATEGIC PLAN 2016

General Policy 2: 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; and (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality.

Environment Policy 32: Extensions or alterations to a Registered Building which would affect detrimentally its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest will not be permitted.

Environment Policy 34: In the maintenance, alteration or extension of pre-1920 buildings, the use of traditional materials will be preferred.

### 3.4 Planning Circular 1/98: The Alteration And Replacement Of Windows

Category a) Registered Buildings Policy 5 If the original windows are still in place they should be preferably repaired. If the repair is impracticable, replacement windows MUST BE THE SAME as the originals in all respects, including the method of opening, materials and detailed design. This policy will be strictly applied other than where the particular circumstances are so exceptional as to justify a relaxation.

4.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 There are various historic planning applications on the site that are of relevance to this application. Applications 91/01533/A and subsequent applications 92/01181/B and 93/00619/B permitted works to create four apartments and refurbish the existing workshops. Applications 98/01161/GA and 98/02194/GB permitted the conversion of the former workshops to create a restaurant. Since 1998, applications have been permitted for the installation of an extraction flue (02/00327/GB), an extension to provide an additional kitchen and function suite in three cellars (04/00106/CON and 04/00106/GB), and the replacement of restaurant doors (15/00998/GB and 15/00999/CON). - 4.2 Most recently, planning application 20/01022/GB and registered building application 20/01023/CON permitted the installation of three replacement doors, together with replacement of the existing timber framed windows with metal framed windows.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 The Department of Infrastructure Highways Division have stated that there is no highways interest in the application (17.3.2022).

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The issue here is whether the proposals would affect detrimentally the building's special interest, and the special character of the Peel Conservation Area. - 6.2 Applications 20/01022/GB and 20/01023/CON initially proposed the replacement of the existing double glazed timber windows with UPVC units. Extensive discussions took place with

the applicant's agent during the assessment of those applications, which resulted in the application proposal being revised to replacement metal framed windows. The application now submitted (together with registered building application 22/00291/CON) is identical to the originally submitted application in respect of the proposed replacement of the existing windows with UPVC units.

6.3 The proposed installation of double glazed UPVC windows within this registered building is judged to clearly fail to preserve the building and its special interest. In this respect, the proposals clearly fail to meet the statutory tests of Section 16 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999. In addition to the statutory test, the proposals also fail the tests of Strategic Policy 4, Environment Policies 32 and 34 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016 as the registered building is not being protected, the registered building's character is being detrimentally affected and the materials are not traditional. It is also judged that the proposals fail to meet the tests of Planning Policy Statement 1/01 and environment policy 35, as the character of the conservation area is not being preserved or enhanced. - 6.4 Whilst the site lies within an area at high risk of flooding, the nature of the development will not change the resilience or susceptibility of the site and surrounding area from flooding and as such, this is not considered to be a reason to refuse the application in this case.

7.0 CONCLUSION - 7.1 It is judged that the proposals fail the statutory tests within section 16 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 as they do not preserve the building or its special interest. In addition to the statutory test, it is also judged that the proposals fail the tests of Strategic Policy 4, Environment Policies 32 and 34 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016 as the registered building is not being protected, the registered building's character is being detrimentally affected and the materials are not traditional. It is also judged that the proposals fail to meet the tests of Planning Policy Statement 1/01 and environment policy 35, as the character of the conservation area is not being preserved or enhanced. It is therefore recommended that the application be refused.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSONS 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 : Refused Date: 06.04.2022 Determining officer Signed : J SINGLETON Jason Singleton Principal Planner

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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*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/25159-german-harbour-view-31-castle-street-windows-replacement/documents/1032612*