**Document:** Planning Officer Report
**Application:** 11/01447/B — Replacement of existing retail and residential units with office building (Use Classes 2a, 2b and 4), (amendment to PA 08/00924/B)
**Decision:** Permitted
**Decision Date:** 2011-12-02
**Parish:** Braddan
**Document Type:** report / officer_report
**Source:** https://planningportal.im/a/1734-braddan-nos-replacement/documents/1256905

---

# Planning Officer Report

Case Officer: Mr Steve Stanley Photo Taken: Site Visit: 02.11.2011 Expected Decision Level: Planning Committee

### Officer's Report

THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AS IT PROPOSES AN AMENDMENT TO AN EXTANT SCHEME WHICH WAS CONSIDERED BY THE PLANNING COMMITTEE.

### Summary

1. The application seeks approval for a development of offices on land that is designated for office use. The proposal is the same as an existing approval, save for the removal of a cafe area and its replacement with additional office space. The application is considered to be acceptable and is recommended for approval.

### The Site

2. The site is a parcel of land which includes 38 and 40, Finch Road, 40a and 40b, Finch Road (the single storey units on the western side of Well Road Hill between Finch Road and Market Street) and the open area to the rear of 38 and 40, Finch Road.

3. 38 and 40 Finch Road are a pair of three storey plain fronted dwellings with slated roofs, a chimney on each gable with conjoined solid square porches in the centre of the ground floor frontage onto Finch Road. The buildings are detached from number 36 to the south but adjoin numbers 40a and 40b to the north. These properties are single storey, flat roofed retail units. It would seem that neither of these premises is occupied however one was used as a newsagents, the other as a hairdressers. These buildings are significantly lower than number 38 and 49, allowing much of the northern gable of the larger properties to be visible from the north as one proceeds uphill past Chester Street Car Park. Parking is restricted along parts of Finch Road to make provision for the various vehicular accesses to the individual buildings. To the front of the retail units retail units there is only limited authorised parking available. When the buildings were being used, this often led to vehicles being parked on double yellow lines whilst their drivers were delivering to or visiting the units.

4. Well Road Hill has small, single storey units at the top half on the right hand side as one proceeds downhill towards Market Street. Both of these units are presently vacant (previously one was used for the sale of sofas and the other for the sale of food for consumption off and on the premises). Below the retail units there is a stone wall which is approximately 2.5m high which leads to the side of Markwell House, the premises of the DSC. There is a pedestrian door in the wall alongside Markwell House. Behind the wall there is open, undeveloped space which accommodates a small number of trees.

[Table omitted in markdown export]

5. The site is prominent and the buildings on it are directly in front of those proceeding down Christian Street or up/down Well Road Hill. The buildings within the site vary considerably in size, use and massing, with 38 and 40, Finch Road dominating the other buildings in the site as viewed from virtually all angles. The smaller single storey units are quite distinct from the other buildings in the immediate vicinity, and are generally of basic form.

6. There is presently no on-site parking available within the land identified as the application site.

### The Proposal

7. The development proposed by this application is an amendment to that approved under 08/00924/B and 08/01953/C. The development is the same in all respects save for the exclusion of the previously proposed cafe area. The applicant sets out that at the time of the 2008 approval, the owner of the cafe at that time wished to continue trading from the replacement cafe. This is no longer the case and the existing cafe unit has been sold and is vacant. This application proposes to remove this and instead use the area to provide more office space.

8. Proposed is the demolition of all structures on site - the dwellings and shop units together with the stone wall alongside Well Road Hill, and their replacement by a complex of buildings which would accommodate offices at the lowest level alongside Markwell House off Well Road Hill. There would be approximately 3,729 sq. m of office floor space. The nett floor area would be approximately 2200 sq m (excluding circulation space, toilets etc).

9. The building would be 4.5m higher, at its highest point, above the existing buildings at 36, Finch Road and between 2m and 3m lower than the building approved under PA 08/0933 to replace these buildings (not yet implemented). The frontage to Finch Road would be approximately 9.5m higher than the top of Markwell House which is approximately 23m to the east. The principal part of the building would be 18m tall fronting onto Finch Road, stepping down a floor towards the corner with Well Road Hill. The design of the building takes a tiered approach so that at the lowest level, the site would be totally developed and as the building would get higher above ground level, it would step back from Markwell House and Well Road Hill. Where the building would step back, the opportunity is being taken to introduce planting. It is not proposed to retain the existing trees or open area but to replace these by managed landscaped areas created within and atop various parts of the building.

10. The building would step down in three stages alongside Well Road Hill, reducing the highest expanse of walling to 3m which is a very small section mid-way down the hill. This part of the building is to be finished in stone. As such the view from pedestrian level of the side of the building would not be a large expanse of uninterrupted walling but a variety of differing materials, shapes and floors.

11. The overall design concept is one of dominant vertical elements to the Finch Road frontage and horizontal edges, turning the corner onto Well Road Hill from where the building would be very horizontal to take account of the depth of the site and the stepping down of the building to take account of the contours of the land. The materials proposed to be used would be a combination of coloured stucco, grey coloured aluminium windows with contrasting, mainly horizontal lines of stucco around windows and under the eaves at the upper levels. The roof would be finished in slate grey single ply roofing membrane and the decked areas would be finished in paving.

12. At the time of the 2008 application, the applicant confirmed that they had consulted with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (now DEFA) Forester who suggested that the trees on site were of limited value and that the site is more suited to shrubbery type vegetation rather than trees.

13. An energy impact assessment is provided which explains that the building will be well insulated, high efficiency condensing boilers to be installed, with many internal features which will be installed at the discretion of the occupant of the building and which are not controllable by the planning process. Water butts are to be installed where practicable and all building materials would be sourced locally where possible. There is nothing in particular which describes how the building itself has been designed or positioned to maximise energy efficiency and much, if not all of what is proposed is not subject to planning control. However, what has been provided satisfies the requirement of the Strategic Plan Energy Policy 5 to include such an impact assessment.

### Planning Status

14. The site lies within an area designated in the Douglas Local Plan 1998 as Predominantly Offices. As such, it is considered that the following policies within the Strategic Plan are applicable to the consideration of this application:

Strategic Aim: "To plan for the efficient and effective provision of services and infrastructure and to direct and control development and the use of land to meet the community's needs, having particular regard to the principles of sustainability whilst at the same time preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment, giving particular regard to our uniquely Manx natural, wildlife, cultural and built heritage".

Strategic Policy 1: "Development should make the best use of resources by: 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 and amenity standards and c) being located so as to utilise existing and planned infrastructure, facilities and services".

Strategic Policy 4; "Proposals for development must: a) protect or enhance the fabric and setting of Ancient Monuments, Registered Buildings (1), Conservation Areas (2), buildings and structures within National heritage Areas and sites of archaeological interest; b) protect or enhance the landscape quality and nature conservation value or urban as well as rural areas but especially in respect to development adjacent to Areas of Special Scientific Interest and other designations; and c) not cause or lead to unacceptable environmental pollution or disturbance"

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."

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:

a) is in accordance with the design brief in the Area Plan where there is such a brief; b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the space around them; c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; d) does not adversely affect the protected wildlife or locally important habitats on the site or adjacent land, including water courses; e) does not affect adversely public views of the sea; f) incorporates where possible existing topography and landscape features, particularly trees and sod banks; g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality;

h) provides satisfactory amenity standards in itself, including where appropriate safe and convenient access for all highway users, together with adequate parking, servicing and manoeuvring space; i) does not have an adverse effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways; j) can be provided with all necessary services; k) does not prejudice the use or development of adjoining land in accordance with the appropriate Area Plan; l) is not on contaminated land or subject to unreasonable risk of erosion or flooding; m) takes account of community and personal safety and security in the design of buildings and the spaces around them; and n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."

Environment Policy 42: "New development in existing settlements must be designed to take account of the particular character and identity, in terms of buildings and landscape features of the immediate locality. Inappropriate backland development, and the removal of open or green spaces which contribute to the visual amenity and sense of place of a particular area will not be permitted. Those open or green spaces which are to be preserved will be identified in Area Plans."

Transport Policy 7 "The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards".

Appendix 7 sets out that the parking requirement for new office space will be 1 space per 50 square metres of nett floor space and which goes on to state:

"These standards may be relaxed where development: a) would secure the re-use of a Registered Building or a building of architectural or historic interest; or b) would result in the preservation of a sensitive streetscape, or c) is otherwise of benefit to the character of a Conservation Area d) is within a reasonable distance of an existing or proposed bus route and it can be demonstrated a reduced level of parking will not result in unacceptable on street parking in the locality" (A.7.6).

15. Many of the buildings on this, the eastern side of Finch Road are Registered: numbers 4 to 24, Finch Road represent Registered Buildings 93 - 102 inclusive. In the middle of this row of properties is number 10, Finch Road which is not Registered (it is a relatively new building built under the provisions of PA 87/4821). The application site is separated from the Registered Buildings by numbers 26 - 36, Finch Road, which are not Registered and which are the subject of a contemporaneous application - PA 08/0933 - which is presently being considered and which proposes demolition of the existing buildings and their replacement by a single office building with on-site parking.

16. The site lies opposite, but not within, the Windsor Road Conservation Area. The Conservation Area includes the musical instrument shop and offices for AE Corkill Removals - the AE Corkill site referred to later (on the opposite side of Finch Road) as well as the Bank of Ireland Building (to the rear of the AE Corkill site), Mona Terrace (to the north of the music shop and opposite Chester Street Car Park), and the older properties on Mount Havelock at the south eastern end of Christian Road. Excluded is the surface level car parking on Mount Havelock and the shop units beneath which front onto the western side of Finch Road. The Conservation Area was adopted in August 2003.

### Planning History

17. Various applications have been considered in respect of the buildings within the site. The most relevant of these is PA08/00924/B which sought approval for the erection of an office building and café. This was permitted and the approval has been extended so that it now expires September 2014. The approval is the subject of conditions, of which the following are relevant:

C.3 "No development may commence on site, including demolition of any structure, until such time as there is in place a legal agreement which illustrates how 43 parking spaces are to be provided within a convenient walking distance (400m) of the site. The building may not be occupied until such spaces are available for use by occupants of the permitted building."

C.4 "The building illustrated as being an office may only be used in accordance with Class 4 of the Isle of Man Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005 Schedule 4 and the cafe element as shown in the approved plans may be used for the sale of hot and cold food for consumption on the premises and the sale of hot or cold food for consumption off the premises."

18. PA 08/01953/B sought variation of condition 4 of approved office building (PA 08/1953/C) to allow additional use for professional services (Class 2). This was permitted with Condition 4 being amended as follows:

"The building illustrated as being an office may only be used in accordance with Classes 2 (a), 2 (b) and 4 of Schedule 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005 and the cafe element as shown in the approved plans may be used for the sale of hot and cold food for consumption on the premises and the sale of hot or cold food for consumption off the premises."

19. PA 06/00014/B proposed the demolition of the two dwellings at 38 and 40, Finch Road and their redevelopment, including the land to the rear, extending down to Markwell House but excluding the hairdresser's, newsagent's, former sofa shop and food outlet. This was refused at appeal.

20. It is also relevant that planning permission was granted and is still valid for the redevelopment of the AE Corkill site opposite the application site. This permission was granted on appeal following the Planning Committee's refusal of the proposal for reasons relating to over-dominance and intrusiveness. PA03/1473/B permits the demolition of the offices and gymnasium (now a music shop) and its replacement with a four floor office development. Part of the permission granted on appeal requires there to be a legal agreement to provide 14 car parking spaces off site. This agreement is now in place although development has not commenced on site and the buildings on site continue to be used for other purposes. This site lies within the Conservation Area which was adopted prior to this application being considered. The approval has been extended and will expire 29/12/11.

21. Re-development of part of Chester Street Car Park has also been permitted (PA 06/01745/B). This lies opposite the site, across Well Road Hill and proposed the creation of a doctor's surgery and associated development. This development is now complete.

22. As another illustration of relatively recent proposals for office development within Douglas and the approach taken in respect of design, scale and car parking, permission was granted for a four storey office development off St. George's Street, PA06/01715/B following the Planning Committee's refusal of the application for reasons relating to design and appearance. The proposal was for 1400 sq m of office floor space and 15 car parking spaces were provided. The Inspector accepted that the proposal did not provide the number of spaces which were required by the Strategic Plan (28) but that the constraints of the site and the provision and implementation of a Travel Plan which would illustrate how the applicant could take steps to avoid users of the building travelling to site by private motor car justified setting aside the requirement for the spaces in this case in accordance with the balanced approach suggested by the Strategic Plan Appendix Seven A.7.6.

23. Finally, the applicant has approval for another development off Market Street which involves the provision of car parking facilities - PA08/00925/B. This development has not been commenced however the applicant suggests that the parking requirement for this current

office development may be satisfied by the parking provided in this development. Approval for a multi-level car park on the Market Street site has been granted under PA 10/00370/B.

### Representations

24. Douglas Corporation does not object to this application.

25. The Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure does not oppose this application commenting:

"There should be no adverse traffic impact from this development if the car parking provision is secured prior to occupation of the building as per the condition applied to the previous application."

### Assessment

26. The existence of an extant planning approval for a very similar scheme is a material consideration in the assessment of this revised proposal. There have been no changes in policy since the 2008 approval. It is necessary to assess this application fully however the focus of the consideration should be centred on whether the amendment proposed by this application is acceptable.

The removal of the café and its replacement with additional office floor space

27. The removal of the cafe area and its replacement with additional office space is judged to be a minimal change in terms of impacts upon the surrounding area. The Highways Division remains content with the proposal and the site is close to existing cafe provision, one of which is located on the corner of Finch Road and Mount Havelock. It is considered that the proposed amendment raises no sustainable reasons to refuse this application.

The historic value of the existing buildings

28. The matter of the value of the existing buildings was not considered to be a reason why the principle of the redevelopment of this site should have been refused in the previous application, PA 06/0014 and indeed, other than a comment made by the Society for the Preservation of the Manx Countryside and Environment, there was no objection to the principle of the demolition of the buildings at that time by any other party. There have been no changes in policy since then which would justify greater protection of these buildings than was the case at that time.

29. Subsequent to the submission of the 2008 application, the Conservation Section of the Department considered the merits of the buildings in question, along with those which are the subject of the application for 24-34, Finch Road and concluded that in both cases, the buildings were not of sufficient interest or merit to warrant registration or objection to their demolition.

30. As there is a small building which links 36 and 38 Finch Road, it would not be possible for the buildings to be demolished without planning permission under Part 2 Section 6.2.e of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999.

31. As such, there is no objection to the principle of the demolition of the existing buildings on the site and their replacement by a new building or buildings. The site lies within an area of Predominantly Office use on the Douglas Town Plan of 1998 and the proposed use of the site would now be exclusively offices. As such, the proposed use is considered acceptable.

32. In the assessment of the visual impact of the building, it is relevant to consider the previous proposal and the decision taken on appeal. This decision was critical of the mass and size of the building in terms of its impact as viewed from Well Road Hill and Market Street and the loss of the greenery behind the building. This latest application proposes a comprehensive scheme which was suggested to be a more appropriate approach in the earlier application and as such there is no sudden increase in height from the existing single storey flat roofed buildings which were previously to remain.

33. The building has been designed to step away from both the lower end of the site and from Well Road Hill and to introduce some planting alongside the outer edge of the building. Whilst this will not provide the same amount or type of vegetation which is presently at the rear of the building and visible from Well Road Hill, it does break up the elevations and will not be dissimilar to the planting which is in and around the car park opposite the site. The existing vegetation behind the wall has value for wildlife and public amenity, however, its location would prejudice the optimum re-development of the rest of the site - protection of the trees would be difficult whilst development was being undertaken, at the very least. As such, provided that the scheme introduces greenery and interest then this is not considered a sustainable reason for refusal. The scheme proposes smaller scale and wider spread greenery, more akin to its urban location and this is considered acceptable. An additional condition is recommended to ensure that the planting is carried out once the development has been completed.

Impact upon the Conservation Area and the Registered Buildings to the south

34. The context of the site includes the proximity of the Conservation Area, which was specifically referred to in the previous appeal as not including the application buildings and Registered Buildings, which are not immediately adjoining the site. In addition, there are a number of sites immediately alongside the site which have planning permission for redevelopment or which are proposed for such. The context of the site and the edge of the Conservation Area is changing and it is relevant that the Inspector for the previous application found no fault with the elevational treatment to Finch Road or the general design approach to the scheme. As such, whilst the scheme is modern, it has clearly taken into account the corner location, in that it steps down towards and around the corner of Finch Road and Well Road Hill and acknowledges the significant change in ground level from west to east.

35. It is considered that the scheme is acceptable and in the context of both the redevelopment of the adjoining buildings in Finch Road, or if this scheme does not go ahead and number 26 - 36 Finch Road remain in their present form.

36. Given that there are no external changes to the 2008 scheme, the assessment of the Building Conservation Officer undertaken in respect of the 2008 application is judged to remain relevant. At this time, Manx National Heritage raised concerns about the loss of the existing buildings. This Building Conservation Officer's assessment is set out below.

CONSERVATION OFFICER'S SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT (At the time of the 2008 application):

37. The proposal site is located in a very prominent position on the end of Finch Road, immediately adjacent to the Woodbourne Road Conservation Area in Douglas. There are currently some poor quality two storey shops on the corner portion of the site and a pair of early 1800's houses further up Finch Road. The latter were investigated for worthiness of addition to the Protected Buildings Register in the late 1970's/early 1980's when most of Finch Road were considered for Registration, but were not considered to be of comparative quality to those Registered. As the Planning Officer has pointed out within their report, the issue of retention was not considered in the previous Appeal on the same site.

38. Following receipt of the correspondence from Manx National Heritage, the buildings were re-appraised. Access was gained to No 38 Finch Road, but not to No. 40. The detailing inside No. 38 was not considered remarkable, fire places were missing and there was evidence of alteration, specifically to the upper floors that was considered eroded the quality of the buildings. Given the structural issues prevalent and the qualitative issues mentioned, it was considered that the buildings were not of sufficient merit to warrant addition to the Protected Buildings Register in accordance with the categories as set out within Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Policy and Guidance Notes for the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man.

39. Turning to the proposals; the architectural approach to the design of the building is modern contemporary utilizing a materials palette that includes a stone base, painted render 'stucco' and zinc panels, aluminium framed glass and flat roofs. The massing of the building is sympathetic to the topography of the site and the scale of the buildings to which it is neighbour by stepping up Well Road Hill to the corner addressed with large plate glass windows and up again to Finch Road.

40. The modelling of the Finch Road façade is developed using vertically proportioned render panels with punched window apertures which allude to the façade of Nos. 38 and 40 Finch Road, the former early Victorian houses on the site. The junction with the adjoining terrace is handled via a setback in the facade which will create a shadow gap and therefore separation between the two. The visible floor zones in the glazing anchor the potentially disparate sections together and result in what is in my opinion, a building that successfully addresses the constraints of the site and is therefore successful.

### Parking provision

41. In respect of car parking, the applicant proposes that the spaces which are required in association with this application are provided by the approved, though not yet implemented development of the Greeba Works site on Market Street. The site has been cleared and is currently being operated as contract parking. A total of 44 spaces would be required for the office element of the development (2200sq.m/50). This is an increase of 1 space compared with the previous scheme which has resulted from the slight increase in office space. It should be noted that there is no space presently on site for any of the existing or potential authorised uses of the existing buildings. It should also be noted that the Strategic Plan makes provision for flexibility to be applied to parking standards within town centre locations (see A.7.6.d and Strategic Policy 10 above) and the recent decisions in respect of the doctors' surgery (which required provision of staff parking spaces off-site), the re-development of the AE Corkill site (where 14 spaces were required by way of a legal agreement) and the office development in St. George's Street (which reduced the number of spaces provided in association with the adoption of a travel plan) are relevant. It is also pertinent that the on-street spaces in and around the site (Albert Street, Mona Street, Christian Street, Finch Road) are generally fully occupied throughout the day and Chester Street Car Park has limited capacity for additional day-time spaces. As such, it is considered appropriate that some provision is made to accommodate the vehicles which are likely to be generated by the office element of this application.

42. In this case, it is suggested that a condition be attached requiring the production of a legal agreement to provide the spaces prior to the commencement of any work on site. PA 03/1473/B included reference to a distance of 400m in which the parking spaces should be provided and "Better Places to Live" a companion to PPG 3 refers to bus stops being no further than 300m apart.

## Conclusions

43. The changes to the extant scheme proposed by this application are limited to the use of a small part of the building. Given the land designation of the site as Predominantly Offices, the use of all of the building for office use is judged to be unobjectionable.

44. The scheme is considered to remain acceptable and as such it is recommended that approval. A condition was attached to the previous, extant approval which required a legal agreement to be entered into to provide parking to be provided off-site prior to any development commencing. A similar condition is recommended to be applied to this application if approved.

## Party Status

45. It is considered that the following parties, who submitted comments, accord with the requirements of Planning Circular 1/06 and are therefore, afforded Interested Party Status:

Douglas Corporation

46. Accordingly the following parties are not granted Interested Party Status:

The Highways Division and the Planning Authority are both part of the Department of Infrastructure. As such, the Highways Division cannot be afforded Interested Party Status.

## Recommendation

Recommended Decision: Permitted

Date of Recommendation: 24.11.2011

## Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal

C : Conditions for approval
N : Notes attached to conditions
R : Reasons for refusal
- : Notes attached to refusals

C 1. The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.

C 2. This permission relates to the demolition of all buildings on site and the erection of a new office building with landscaping as shown in the drawings office-ap51, office-ap52, office-ap53, office-ap54, office-ap55, office-ap56, office-ap57, office-58, office-59, office-60, office-61, office-62, office-63, and office-64 received 17th October 2011

C 3. No development may commence on site, including demolition of any structure, until such time as there is in place a legal agreement which illustrates how 44 parking spaces are to be provided within a convenient walking distance (400m) of the site. The building may not be occupied until such spaces are available for use by occupants of the permitted building.

C 4.

The building illustrated as being an office may only be used in accordance with Classes 2 (a), 2 (b) and 4 of Schedule 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005.

C 5.

All planting, seeding or turfing comprised in the approved details of scheme must be carried out in the first planting and seeding seasons following the completion of the development or the occupation of the dwellings, whichever is the sooner. Any trees or plants which within a period of five years from the completion of the development die, are removed, or become seriously damaged or diseased must be replaced in the next planting season with others of a similar size and species.

I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the Town and Country (Development Procedure) 2005

Decision Made: Permit Committee Meeting Date: 12 2011

Signed: [Handwritten signature] Presenting Officer

Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason is required. Signing Officer 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/1734-braddan-nos-replacement/documents/1256905*