DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 23/01135/D Applicant: St Peters Church Proposal: Erection of noticeboard for church services and events Site Address: St Peter's Church Church Road Onchan Isle Of Man IM3 1BF Planning Officer: Mr Paul Visigah Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 24.10.2023

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions C 1. The advertisement(s) hereby granted consent shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.

Reason: To avoid the accumulation of unimplemented advertisement consents. This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The application is considered to accord with General Policies 6 and Environment Policy 37 of the Strategic Plan, and Planning Policy Statement 1/01. Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the documents and plans, all received 26 September 2023. _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site represents the curtilage of St. Peters Church, a church building sitting to the south of the Onchan village centre to the south and west of Church Road. The church sits within its graveyard with an additional section of cemetery sitting to the south.

1.2 The church itself is rectangular, orientated west - east as many churches are, built in pointed stone with a naturally slated roof and a bell tower at the western end. The site sits within the Onchan Conservation Area.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed is the erection of three free standing notice boards on the front boundary of the church, and east of the church building. These Aluminium signs which will have vinyl applied to their face and formed by two lockable A1 frames either side will be attached to 6 grey poles with D clips. The six Aluminium pole posts would be inserted into the ground behind the existing Manx stone boundary wall that runs along the site frontage. - 2.2 The two boards that would be either side of the central board with arched top would measure 705 x 1028mm, while the central board would measure 862 x 1180mm. The central board would be blue, while the side boards would have blue frames with a central area in white. - 2.3 The board to the left of the central board would have cabinets for posters - one for church use, while the other would advertise church social events. The board to the left would have cabinets that would serve posters, while the central board would show the name of the church, meeting times and days, church email address, church website, and Facebook account details. - 2.4 The design of the boards would be similar to Victorian style metal posts common at church sites.

3.0 PLANNING POLICY - 3.1 The site lies within an area designated as 'Predominantly Residential' on the Area Plan for the East (Map 6), and the site is within the Onchan Conservation Area. The site is not susceptible to flooding as indicated on the Isle of Man Indicative Flood Maps-River and Tidal Floods. There is no registered tree on the site and the site is not within a registered tree area. The application building is Registered (RB No119). - 3.2 The Control of Advertisements Regulations 2013 make it clear that the only considerations which can be applied to applications made under them are in the interests of amenity and public safety. In the case of amenity, such things as the general characteristics of the area need to be taken into account along with the presence of any features of historic, architectural, cultural or similar interest and the public safety should consider the safety of any person using a road, railway, tramway, harbour or aerodrome including the obscuration of any traffic sign or similar. - 3.3 Due to the designation of the site and the nature of the application it is also appropriate to consider the following polices of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016: - 3.4 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. - 3.5 General Policy 6: "Within our towns and villages, the display of external advertisements will be permitted on the site or building to which they relate provided they:

• a) are of a high standard of design and material and relate well to the building and site on which they are to be displayed;

• b) are in keeping with and do not detract from the surrounding area; and
• c) are located so as to not cause a highway safety hazard".

3.6 Environment Policy 37 reads as follows: "As a general policy, advertisements within Conservation Areas will be permitted only if:

• (i) the proposal preserves or enhances the Conservation Area;
• (ii) the signage is in a style appropriate to the character of the area;
• (iii) traditional materials and finishes are used and glossy and highly reflective materials are excluded from proposals; and
• (iv) internally illuminated box fascia and projecting box signs are excluded from the proposals."

3.7 It is considered that EP37 should carry much greater weight than GP6 though both are valuable to be considered together. - 3.8 Environment Policy 35 states "Within Conservation Areas, the Department will permit only development which would preserve or enhance the character of appearance of the area, and will ensure that the special features contributing to the character and quality are protected against inappropriate development". - 3.9 Paragraph 7.31.1 of the Strategic Plan 2016. Some advertisements found and proposed in Conservation Areas are inappropriate and do not reflect the special character and designation of the area. The design of advertisements should respect the physical appearance of the premises in order to integrate readily with its surroundings. Traditional details, hanging signs and hand painted signage are most appropriate and will be encouraged. - 3.10 Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Guide to the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man states the following:

• 3.10.1 POLICY RB/3 "General criteria applied in considering registered building applications The issues that are generally relevant to the consideration of all registered building applications are:-

• o The importance of the building, its intrinsic architectural and historic interest and rarity, relative to the Island as a whole and within the local context;
• o The particular physical features of the building (which may include its design, plan, materials
• or location) which justify its inclusion in the register; descriptions annexed to the entry in the register may draw attention to features of particular interest or value, but they are not exhaustive and other features of importance, (e.g. Interiors, murals, hidden fireplaces) may come to light after the building's entry in the register;
• o The building's setting and its contribution to the local scene, which may be very important, e.g. Where it forms an element in a group, park, garden or other townscape or landscape, or where it shares particular architectural forms or details with other buildings nearby (including
• other registered buildings)."

• 3.10.2 POLICY CA/2 SPECIAL PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS "When considering proposals for the possible development of any land or buildings which fall within the conservation area, the impact of such proposals upon the special character of the area, will be a material consideration when assessing the application.

Where a development is proposed for land which, although not within the boundaries of the conservation area, would affect its context or setting, or views into or out of the area; such issues should be given special consideration where the character or appearance of a conservation area may be affected."

• 3.10.3 Policy CA/6 on Advertisement Control states that: "All external advertisements affect not only the appearance of the building upon which they are displayed, but also the neighbourhood where the building is located. This will apply particularly to illuminated signage which is often formed from shiny, non-traditional materials and can result in an unsuitable and harsh appearance which detracts from the character of the building and a conservation area as a whole. The aesthetic quality of a building can be markedly affected by the installation of inappropriate external signage".

Where matters such as Corporate Image are a consideration; for a conservation area the Department may require a deviation from what might be acceptable in other high street locations and many large corporate bodies do have alternative designs of signage which might be suitable for use in conservation areas. In many cases it will be necessary for signage to adopt traditional design and materials, in keeping with the character of the building and neighbourhood as a whole. Externally illuminated signage with the appropriate detailing and colour rendered lamps, may be judged suitable.

4.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 The application site has been the subject of eight (8) previous planning applications which are not considered to be materially relevant in the assessment of the current application.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS Copies of representations received can be viewed on the government's website. This report contains summaries only. - 5.1 Representation from the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) Highways Division confirms that there is 'No Highway Interest' (29 September 2023). - 5.2 There has been no written representation made regarding the current planning application by the Onchan Commissioners at the time of writing this report, although they were consulted on 27 September 2023. - 5.3 No comments have been received from neighbouring properties.

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 Given that the application building is a Registered Building and the site is within a Conservation Area, it is important that the works do not have any adverse impacts on either the special character of the Conservation Area or that of the Registered Building. Therefore Environment Policy 37 is most appropriate in the assessment of this current planning application. Further any signage within a town or village has to relate to the site therefore General Policy 6 is also relevant for consideration. - 6.2 In assessing the acceptability of the proposal for the site, it is considered that the sign is designed to reflect the Victorian era of the church building and site, as a registered building. It is also considered that the proposed non-illuminated signs will have a minimal, if any, impact on the visual amenities of the church given the siting, layout, scale, form, and design of the proposal. Moreover, the materials to be used for the proposed sign and design of the signage would relate well to the boundary wall which it would sit along, as well as the current use of the site as a church. Moreover, notice boards would be situated at a section of the church site where it would provide necessary information for visitors to the church and members of the community regarding activities at the church. As such, it is judged that the installation of the proposed signage is judged to be in keeping with the site and surrounding area, and would therefore not result in a harmful impacts on the character of the site and surrounding Conservation Area.

6.3 Likewise, the proposed notice boards are not considered to result in any new visual or amenity impacts on any neighbouring properties beyond that which would generally be expected within such a location. - 6.4 Additionally, the siting of the proposed signage is not deemed to pose any safety hazard to visitors to the church, or users of the adjoining highway.

7.0 CONCLUSION - 7.1 The signs relate to a lawful and approved use and are not considered to have any adverse effect on the Conservation Area or the Registered Building, neighbouring amenity or highway safety. The application is, therefore, is recommended for approval.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013 (As Amended), the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• o Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material;
• o The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.
• o the Highways, Ports and Railways divisions of the Department of Infrastructure.

8.2 The decision maker must determine:

• o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than those explicitly listed above) 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 : Permitted Date: 25.10.2023 Determining officer Signed : J SINGLETON Jason Singleton Principal Planner

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