**Document:** Officer Report **Application:** 17/01174/B — Installation of two jet wash units with canopy roof over and associated facilities **Decision:** Permitted **Decision Date:** 2018-04-10 **Parish:** Braddan **Document Type:** report / officer_report **Source:** https://planningportal.im/a/10991-braddan-filling-station-installation-roof/documents/978197 --- # Officer Report **Application No.:** 17/01174/B **Applicant:** Carrera Investments (IOM) Limited **Proposal:** Installation of two jet wash units with canopy roof over and associated facilities **Site Address:** Filling Station Main Road Onchan Isle of Man Case Officer : Mr Jason Singleton **Site Visit:** 17.01.2018 **Expected Decision Level:** Planning Committee **Recommended Decision:** Permitted **Date of Recommendation:** 23.03.2018 _________________________________________________________________ ## 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. The development hereby approved shall not commence until details of signs to be displayed, requiring users of the jet wash and vacuum units not to use car radios and to respect the living conditions of neighbours, have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Planning Authority, and the development shall be carried out and maintained only in accordance with approved details. Reason: In the interests of residential amenity. - C 3. The use hereby approved shall not be undertaken outside the following times; 9am-7pm Monday to Saturday, and 12pm -5pm on Sundays and bank holidays. Reason: In the interest of residential amenity. Plans/Drawings/Information: This approval relates to drawing referenced SM16/391/1-A date stamped 10th November 2018. _______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons It is recommended that the following persons should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not 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 6(4): The owners/occupiers of; Properties 3, 5, & 13 Victoria Avenue, Onchan are not perceived to be adversely affected by the proposal given the distance from their dwelling houses to the application. It is recommended that the following persons should be given Interested Person Status on the basis that they have made written submissions and they are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are mentioned in Article 6(4): The owners/occupiers of; 'Seaview' 59 Governors Road Onchan has sufficient interest in the application as they physically adjoin the site to take part in any subsequent proceedings. _____________________________________________________________________________ ### Officer’s Report ## THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE DUE TO THE HISTORY OF THE SITE INTRODUCTION This application is to address the reason for a recent refusal decision (4th September 2017) at appeal. The inspector concluded; "for the reasons for potential harm to the amenity by way of noise intrusion and water spray, causing overriding harm to residential amenity, contrary to GP2 and EP22, I conclude that the appeal should succeed (3rd Party Appeal) and the decision of the planning authority be overturned". The Minister for Environment, Food and Agriculture, noted the decision was finely balanced but accepts the recommendation of the Appointed Inspector with concerns over the adverse effects from noise and water spray causing overriding harm to residential amenity. However, the Minster also noted that should a new planning application be submitted, consideration should be given to the inspectors comments within their report (para.45;46;48;49) and consideration should be given to a form of physical enclosure; positioning of the jet washers; and a new technical noise assessment should be carried out to form the basis of a new application. ## APPLICATION SITE 1.1 The application site is the curtilage of light industrial buildings to the rear of Corkills petrol station, along with its associated retail element, which is located north of Main Road, Onchan at the mini roundabout connecting Main Road with Governor's Road (to the west) and Summerhill Road (to the southwest). The petrol station is open from 7am until midnight, seven days a week. - 1.2 The units are currently occupied as follows: - Unit 1- Pharmacy, - Unit 2 - ATM machine/ offices Carrera classics; - Unit 3 -T shirt printers. Unit 4&5 is a retail shop with day care and grooming for animals. 1.3 To the west of the units are parking for approximately 20 cars. - 1.4 The nearest residential dwellings are located on Victoria Avenue (odd No's 1-29) which are located to the rear/ north east of the application site. The nearest affected property would be 18m from the corner of the application site to the corner of the rear extension to No. 1 Victoria Avenue. To the west of the application site are the properties of Queens Road with (even No's 4-24) whose rear gardens share a boundary with the site. It should be noted the difference in ground levels with the residential properties on either side and to the rear being at a much higher level than the application site. To the rear of the application site is the property "Seaview" 59 Governors Road, Onchan which sits around 16-17m away from the proposed location of the works. THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the creation of three car bays, 2 No. for a "washtec" Jet wash unit and a separate bay for a Vacuum unit, each to be separated by a blockwork rendered wall min. 1.1m high. - 2.2 This application differs from the previous (16/00980) application as it proposes a canopy roof over the two jet wash bays. The roof would be constructed from 75mm dia galvanised steel legs with a triple glazed clear polycarbonate sheet roof falling towards the rear of the site from 3.5m high to 3.0m high at the rear. The drainage would be channelled into the silt traps and 'Klargester' - 2.3 Part of the application would see the concrete ground altered to create a silt trap connecting into a 'Klargester' (4000 litre capacity) before depositing into the onsite road gulley. - 2.4 The application is accompanied by an acoustic noise impact assessment that was undertaken on site by Consultants in Acoustic Noise and Vibration; 'Hann Tucker Associates', report dated 6th October 2017 in accordance with BS 4142:2014 "Methods for rating and assessing industrial and commercial sound decibels". The objectives of the survey was to carry out a detailed environmental noise survey by means of unmanned monitoring; and based on the outcome of the monitoring, to undertake a detailed noise impact assessment relating to the proposed vehicle wash facility. - 2.5 The proposed equipment would have a sound pressure levels of ; Vacuum Machine 64 dB @ 5m Jet Wash x2 59 dB @ 5m 2.6 The operating hours suggested are based on 0800 - 2000 hours 7 days a week. PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 The application site has been the subject of numerous change of use application over the years. The more recent applications considered relevant to this application are; - 3.2 16/00980/B - Installation of two wash jet units, dryer facility and silt traps. The application was presented before the planning committee who agreed with the principle of the application but sought to amend the hours of operation from the proposed 8am-8pm, seven days a week to; Monday to Saturday 9.00am - 8.00pm Sunday and Bank Holidays 10.00am - 6pm. In order to protect the amenities of the residential area. The application was appealed by a 3rd party with interested person status and the independent planning inspector, on balance, recommended refusal which was upheld by the Minister. 3.3 16/00817/C - Unit 4 & 5 - Change of use to pet shop, dog day care and dog grooming parlour. APPROVED. - 3.4 15/00711/D - Unit 1 - Installation of both illuminated and non-illuminated signage. APPROVED. - 3.5 15/00549/B - Unit 1 - Installation of an ATM. APPROVED. ## DEVELOPMENT PLAN POLICIES 4.1 In terms of local plan policy, the site falls within an area of Mixed Use (Residential / Office / Retail) as zoned on the Onchan Local Plan Map No.2. 4.2 General Policy 2: The relevant parts of General Policy 2 state; "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". - (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 unacceptable effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways; 4.3 Environment Policy 22 states: Development will not be permitted where it would unacceptably harm the environment and/or the amenity of nearby properties in terms of: iii) vibration, odour, noise or light pollution. ## OTHER MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS 5.1 Noise impact assessment; On the written advice contained within the refusal decision from Minister, a detailed environmental noise survey has been undertaken in order to establish the prevailing environmental noise climate at the development site. - o The Survey was conducted with automated noise monitoring equipment between the periods of 12:00hrs and 09:30hrs. - o The equipment registered a reading of noise level over 15minute periods continuous throughout the monitoring period. - o This remit was to establish a continuous noise reading over the quietest periods of a typical day. - o The reading was taken at one position to the rear of the development site in the location of the proposed equipment. 5.2 The report summaries the finding from the recordings and notes; "The proposed facilities are therefore predicted to have no adverse impact on the surrounding area, when all appropriate factors relating to the context of the site are considered". The survey and calculations assumes the worst case scenario and considers a maximum capacity of the proposed facilities over a one hour period. The report further concludes, "we would recommend that no specific mitigation measures should be required to control noise from the proposed facilities to a suitable level". - REPRESENTATIONS - 6.1 Onchan District Commissioners recommend approval, except with a condition limiting the hours of operation to not cause any unnecessary disturbance to neighbouring properties. (30/11/17) 6.2 The Department of Infrastructure Highway Services has commented (13/012/17); "The installation of two jet wash units with canopy roof over and associated facilities is considered to be a normal adjunct of a petrol filling station and it is not considered that the jet wash facility will attract significant additional trips to this existing facility. There are no highway implications as a result of the proposals and therefore Highway Services does not oppose this application". 6.3 The owners of 'Seaview' 59 Governor's Road Onchan, (17/11/17) & (12/12/17) object on a number of points, namely; - o Hours of operation - o Questions the accuracy of the noise impact assessment - o Feel aggrieved they were not consulted about the noise impact survey - o Consider no account has been taken of adjacent building works - o Questions the level of noise from the Dog Day care facility and its impact on the ambient noise - o Survey does not take into account the noise on Sundays. - o Hours of operation should be limited - o Question the validity of the report referencing Bedfordshire Borough Council. 6.4 The owner of 13 Victoria Avenue, Onchan, (30/11/17) Objects on account of ; - o No details have been shown for the vacuum unit - o Suggested operating hours are too much - o Questions the accuracy of the remote monitoring and the hours of conducting the assessment - o No planning notice was displayed 6.5 The owner of 5 Victoria Avenue, Onchan, (11/12/17) object to; - o Noise pollution - o Hours of operation - o The canopy is insufficient to attenuate noise - o Vacuum area not enclosed - o Increase in traffic leading to congestion - o Noise carries in the area, especially the application site - o Would impact on the quiet enjoyment of their home and garden - o No front elevation of the jet washes units - o No monitoring of noise, shop staff too far away - o Suggests opening hours of 9am-7pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm - 5pm Sundays and bank holidays. - o Signage to ensure radios and engines are turned off 6.6 The owner of 3 Victoria Avenue, Onchan, (30/11/17) objects to; o The suggested opening hours ## ASSESSMENT 7.1 The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of this current planning application are: - (i) Principle of the proposed facility in this location (General Policy 2 b &c); - (ii) the impact upon parking and highway safety (General Policy2 h&i); - (iii) the impact of the jet washers and vacuum unit on the residential amenity with regard to noise (Environment Policy 22 General Policy 2g). - (i) principle of the proposed facility 7.2 The proposed use does not readily fall into any established use class and is not a particularly common use. The area is zoned for mixed use, and is located within the village of Onchan. The proposed use would be complimentary to the fuel forecourt and the two are commonly associated. There is a mixed range of businesses occupying the units which all involve the coming and going of members of the public with vehicles. It is not considered there would be any confliction of use amongst these existing business users and is considered that the proposed use would not be contrary to General Policy 2 (b) & (c). 7.3 On the principle of the proposed facility, the appeal inspector also noted in paragraph 51 of his report; "it is clear that the proposed development would provide a welcome public facility, with benefits to the local economy, in a long established commercial location, which has included car washing in the past". - (ii) parking and highway safety 7.4 The proposal would see the loss of 4 car parking spaces, none of the spaces have been allocated to any previous permission or use of the units, as such there would be no confliction in the remaining parking spaces amongst business users. It is understood there are more parking spaces provided within the curtilage than are required for the units. It is also important to acknowledge that Highway Services have not objected to the application and the premises are already on a busy junction, next to a petrol forecourt, shop and pharmacy with an established access and egress. In this case the proposal l would accord with General Policy 2 (h) & (i). - 7.5 The previous appeal inspector noted in paragraph 50 of his report. "I am satisfied that additional traffic, parking and turning manoeuvres, in the relatively generous space available, would not create any undue road congestion or compromise public safety". - (iii) residential amenity 7.4 The creation of the block walls within the site and the installation of the equipment would not be visible from the streetscene as the area is located some 60m from the highway nor would they be visible from the surrounding residential properties which are located at a higher level. Any distant views of the equipment would be read in conjunction with the curtilage as a whole and would have a neutral impact on the streetscene. - 7.5 Turing to the operational aspect and the levels of nose generated, the environmental noise survey has indicated there would be no adverse impact on the surrounding area. I see no reason why the validity of the survey should be discredited and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I am minded to accept the results as conclusive and that there is no element of harm from the operational activity of the units. - 7.6 Also, it has to be noted this application differs from the previous with the inclusion of a canopy above the jet wash area, further eliminating the transmission of noise and any residue fallout from the use of the car wash. In this instance, based on the professional advice from the acoustic experts and the inclusion of a canopy above the area, is considered there would be no the environment harm to the locality in general. The proposal would be deemed to comply with Environment Policy 22. - 7.7 If approved, the use of the car wash and vacuum can be conditioned to limit the hours of operation to ensure it respects the area. The adjacent dog grooming facility operates from; Monday to Saturday between the hours of 8am-6pm for dog day care, dog grooming and the retail of pet products and Sunday from 9am-2pm solely for the sale of pet products only. - 7.8 The occupants of No.5 Victoria Avenue and 59 Governors Road, has both suggested the operating hours limited to 9am-7pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm -5pm on Sundays and bank holidays. At the previous appeal, the conditions were discussed and were in agreement. In this case would be prevalent to consider these conditions as featured in the inspectors report; 9.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday, 10.00am to 1.00pm Saturday, and not at all on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Striking a balance, the neighbouring properties have suggested operating hours that are not too dissimilar to those the inspector suggested based on the previous appeal and could be conditioned as part of an approval recommendation. ## CONCLUSION 8.1 Overall, it is concluded that the planning application is in accordance with aforementioned Policies of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, it is recommended for approval. INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 9.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 (Article 6(4), the following persons are automatically interested persons: - (a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent; - (b) 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; - (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material - (d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and - (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated. 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 in Article 6(4) who should be given Interested Person Status. 9.3 The Department of Environment Food and Agriculture is responsible for the determination of planning applications. As a result, where officers within the Department make comments in a professional capacity they cannot be given Interested Person Status. 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. Decision Made : Permitted Committee Meeting Date: 09.04.2018 Signed : J Singleton Presenting Officer Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required 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. --- *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/10991-braddan-filling-station-installation-roof/documents/978197*