DEC Officer Report

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No.: 23/00387/C Applicant: Mrs Catherine Moor Proposal: Change of use from retail to leisure Site Address: 11 Michael Street Peel Isle Of Man IM5 1HB Planning Officer: Mr Toby Cowell Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 13.06.2023

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. For the avoidance of doubt, planning permission is granted for the use of the premises only as a Mixed Martial Arts School, and no other use or activity falling within Use Class 4.4 of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 2019.

Reason: The application has been assessed purely on the basis of the use of the premises hereby approved.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.

The proposed change of use of the existing retail unit to a Martial Arts School (Leisure facility) is considered to be acceptable, without detriment to the amenities of surrounding properties or the safety and convenience of the local highway network, in compliance with General Policy 2 and Transport Policies 4 and 7 of the Strategic Plan (2016).

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to the following drawings and documents referenced; Location plan, site plan, existing floor plans, proposed floor plans and covering letter, all received on 31.03.23. _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status

Additional Persons

None. _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The application site comprises a vacant retail unit located on the corner of Michael Street and Orry Lane, and comprises the end unit of the Orry Buildings.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Planning permission is sought for a change of use of the retail unit to a Martial Arts School (leisure facility), with the following information submitted by the applicant in support of the proposals:

• - We do not propose to make any alterations to the infrastructure of the building.
• - Although there is no parking available at the site, there is public parking close by and the site is within easy access from the bus station. In addition, the two Directors who will be coaching the classes live within walking distance and as such no parking is required for staff.
• - We will not be playing loud music as there is a need for our instructors to be able to hear students verbally tap at all times.
• - We expect our classes to be limited in size to in the region of 10-12 adults for adult classes and 12 - 14 children for our junior classes.
• - The normal hours of operation will be from 17:30 - 20:30 Monday to Friday and 09:00 13:00 on Saturdays.
• - Individual classes will run for one hour.

- 3.0 PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 None of relevance. - 4.0 PLANNING POLICY

4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as ''Mixed Use' in the Peel Local Plan, and within the Conservation Area. General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan 2016 requires development, amongst other things, to be of a suitable design so as to respect the site and its surroundings to not adversely affecting the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; to safeguard the amenities of surrounding residential properties and ensure adequate parking provision. - 5.0 REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Peel Town Commissioners - no response received at the time of writing.

5.2 Highway Services - Application has no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and /or parking. (13.04.22) - 5.3 Registered Buildings Officer - no response received at the time of writing. - 5.4 Manx National Heritage - no response received at the time of writing.

- 6.0 ASSESSMENT

6.1 The proposed change of use would not result in any external alterations to the existing retail unit, and therefore the character and visual amenity of the immediate streetscene and indeed the wider Conservation Area would not be materially impacted.

6.2 Likewise, the site falls within an area zoned for 'Mixed Use', which comprises a wide range of different uses, including retail, food and drink, hot food takeaways, offices, leisure,

• and residential. Consequently, and given the plethora of different uses prevalent within close proximity to the site, it is not considered that the change of use of retail unit to a Martial Arts School (Class 4.4 - assembly and leisure) would result in a material impact upon the amenities of any and all residential properties within the vicinity of the site. Indeed, the level of activity associated with the proposed use, i.e. comings and goings of users of the facility, would be no greater (if not reduced) in intensity than if the unit were used for its lawful retain use.
• 6.3 Likewise, the proposed end use of the facility would not necessitate the need to play loud music, as noted in the applicant's supporting letter, or indeed result in additional noise created from heavy weights or equipment being used; as would likely accompany the use of the premises as a gym.
• 6.4 No objections have been received from Highway Services with respect to the proposals. Even in the absence of any designated car parking for the site, this is a pre-existing situation whereby no parking was available for the premises when previously used as a retail unit. The change of use to a Martial Arts School would not be of any greater intensity than its lawful retail use, and therefore would not be considered to place additional parking depends with respect to uses of the facility versus customers of the previous retail unit. Moreover, the site is located in a highly sustainable location within the centre of Peel, which is well served by bus links with public parking available within close proximity to the site. The proposals are therefore considered to be acceptable from a highways perspective, in compliance with General Policy 2 and Transport Policies 4 and 7 of the Strategic Plan.

- 7.0 CONCLUSION

7.1 The proposed change of use of the existing retail unit to a Martial Arts School (Leisure facility) is considered to be acceptable, without detriment to the amenities of surrounding properties or the safety and convenience of the local highway network, in compliance with General Policy 2 and Transport Policies 4 and 7 of the Strategic Plan (2016), and therefore recommended for approval. - 8.0 INTERESTED PERSON 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 in Article 6(4) 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 : Permitted Date: 15.06.2023 Determining officer Signed : J SINGLETON Jason Singleton Principal Planner

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