Officer Report

Application No.: 15/01091/CON Applicant: The Co-operative Group Ltd Proposal: Registered Building Consent for shop front colour change, erection of guard rails, installation of security door to replace existing goods door and internal refurbishment works (RB no 32 in association with 15/01090/GB) Site Address: Co-op Store The Parade Castletown Isle Of Man IM9 1LG Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley Photo Taken: 07.10.2015 Site Visit: 28.10.2015 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The application site is the curtilage of the Co-Operative shop in Castletown, which is Registered Building No.32 and has been in the ownership of the Co-Operative group of companies for many decades. The shop lies on the southwestern side of The Parade and sides onto the lane leading to Farrant's Way behind. To the south, attached to the application building is 7 The Parade, which is a private residence and also Registered (RB No.37). The building is three storeys in height and has a shop front to The Parade, within which is also the Post Office for the town.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Registered Building Consent (in conjunction with PA 15/01090/GB) is sought for a change to the shopfront colour (replacing the existing grey with another, slightly darker grey), the erection of guard rails on the roof to the rear, and the installation of a replacement security (i.e. fire exit) door to the side elevation that faces onto the aforementioned lane connecting The Parade with Farrant's Way. - 2.2 The guard rails would be for safety purposes specifically with respect to the maintenance of the existing plant that is on the roof. The railing would be black stainless steel. The plant is not visible from the lane, but is partially visible from Farrant's Way. - 2.3 No explanation has been given for the proposed replacement fire exit door, which is also to be grey. - 2.4 The shopfront colour change relates to the re-branding the company is rolling out across all its Island premises and is the same colour of grey already applied to other shops elsewhere. - 2.5 A change to the advertising is also shown though it is not clear from the submitted details whether this would require both Advertisement and Registered Building Consents or just the former. What is clear, however, is that Consent for the signage will be sought under a separate application.

2.6 Also proposed is the rearrangement of the internal shelves, chiller units and customer service counters - but none of these appears to be permanently fixed to the walls or floors and therefore do not form a part of the Registration, and so no Consent is required for these. One wall near to an internal staircase appears to be proposed for a slight thickening but this is not judged to materially affect the character of the building. - 2.7 Some amended and additional drawings have been sought and provided during the consultation process. The drawings originally submitted lacked accuracy with respect to the elevations and also were confusing in some of the annotations. Moreover, the consultation period had to be re-started as, at the time of the site visit, no site notices were displayed. Following the application's re-advertisement, confirmation of the site notices in situ has been provided and also noted by the case officer.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 The site has been the subject of a number of previous applications seeking planning approval in conjunction with Registered Building Consent. Not all of these have been successful, and the scheme to enable the construction of the plant on the roof of the building appears to have been especially controversial, initially being refused in 2008 (PAs 08/02269/R and 08/02270/CON), following which another proposal was refused in 2010 (PAs 10/00761/GB and 10/00762/CON) before eventually an acceptable scheme was approved also in 2010 (PAs 10/01197/GB and 10/01198/CON). - 3.2 More recently, applications (14/00697/GB and 14/00698/CON) were approved seeking the installation of replacement windows in the upper floors. These had been partially implemented at the time of the site visit made in respect of the present applications, with the front elevation windows appearing to have been replaced while those to the side remained in situ. - 3.3 Submitted in train with the present application is PA 15/01090/GB, which seeks planning approval for identical works.

4.0 DEVELOPMENT PLAN POLICIES - 4.1 The site lies within an area designated as Mixed Use on the Area Plan for the South 2012. The site lies within the Castletown Conservation Area (designated in 1990) and, as noted, both the application site and its adjoining neighbouring building is Registered. In fact, a number of buildings in the area, which sits nearby Castle Rushen, are also Registered. - 4.2 As the property is located within the Castletown Conservation Area, the relevant planning policies in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan are Strategic Policy 4, Environmental Policies 32 and 35. - 4.3 Policies RB/5 ALTERATIONS AND EXTENSIONS and CA/2 SPECIAL PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS in Conservation Areas as set out in Planning Policy Statement 1/01 (Policy and Guidance Notes for the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man) are also considered to be relevant to determining this application. - 4.4 Strategic Policy 4 states: "Proposals for development must:

• (a) Protect or enhance the fabric and setting of Ancient Monuments, Registered Buildings, Conservation Areas, buildings and structures within National Heritage Areas, and sites of archaeological interest;
• (b) protect or enhance the landscape quality and nature conservation value of 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 unacceptable environmental pollution or disturbance."

4.5 Environment Policy 32 states: "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." - 4.6 Environment Policy 35 states: "Within Conservation Areas, the Department will permit only development which would preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Area, and will ensure that the special features contributing to the character and quality are protected against inappropriate development." - 4.7 RB/5: Alterations and Extensions states: "In considering whether to grant planning approval for development which affects a registered building or its setting and in considering whether to grant registered building consent for any works, the 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.

"Registered Building consent is required for the building's alteration in any way which would affect its special architectural or historic character. There will be a general presumption against alteration or extension of registered buildings, except where a convincing case can be made, against the criteria set out in this section, for such proposals.

"Applicants for registered building consent for alteration or extension to a registered building must be able to justify their proposals. They will be required to show why the works which would affect the character of the registered building are desirable or necessary and they should provide full information to enable the Department to assess the likely impact of their proposals on the special architectural or historic interest of the building and on its setting. Where registered buildings are the subject of successive applications for alteration or extension, consideration will also be given to the cumulative affect upon the building's special interest as a result of several minor works which may individually seem of little consequence."

4.8 Policy CA/2 - Special Planning Considerations states: "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."

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Castletown Commissioners offered no objection to the application on 06.10.2015.

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 Generally speaking, applicants seeking Registered Building Consent are expected to justify their proposals. The extent to which this justification has to be made depends on the importance of the building and also the scale of the changes proposed. In this case, the building itself has an important and crucial position within the Castletown Conservation Area in amongst other buildings of importance, not least Castle Rushen; balanced against this is the fairly minor nature of the changes proposed. - 6.2 The application has been submitted with a Design and Access Statement, which is short and presents limited detail but is welcome nonetheless. Each element of the application is discussed in turn.

• The proposed railings
• 6.3 The DAS explains that the guardrails are needed because "at present maintenance engineers are at very high risk when carrying out service works" as there is no protection to arrest falling. The health and safety explanation is understood and the railings, black and simple in form, would also not be especially visible. To the extent that they would be visible it is also true that they could not be said to affect detrimentally the building's character. The proposed replacement fire exit door
• 6.4 This element is not covered in the submitted DAS. The existing door is somewhat utilitarian and its replacement would be similarly so, albeit that the amended design features a woodenframed window that more readily identifies it as a tradesman-style entrance, but while retaining its important operation as a fire exit. This is a welcome improvement over the existing door, and it is therefore concluded this would have a slightly beneficially effect on the building's character. The proposed shop colour change
• 6.5 The amended grey is not altogether different to the existing. It also reflects the business's re-branding across its various premises currently ongoing elsewhere on the Island. While an example of the colour was not provided with the submitted details, its name was annotated on the submitted plans and it was possible to determine what the colour would actually look like via internet research. It is also noted that the colour is visible on the other stores on the Island.
• 6.6 The DAS outlines the other colour schemes in the area and noted that against these the proposed new colour for the shopfront would "lie more sympathetically". The grey proposed is dark but still somewhat muted and would be appropriate for the building and its surroundings. It could not be considered to affect detrimentally the building's character. Impact on Conservation Area
• 6.7 In view of the generally acceptable nature of the proposals with respect to the building itself, it is similarly considered that the changes would satisfactorily preserve the character and appearance of the wider Conservation Area.

7.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION - 7.1 The proposals in general are fairly minor in scale and have been found to be individually and collectively acceptable when assessed against Environment Policy 32 and also acceptable in the context of the Conservation Area in which the building sits. As such, it is recommended that Registered Building Consent be issued.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Registered Buildings) Regulations 2013, the following 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;
• c) Manx National Heritage, and
• d) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 09.11.2015 Conditions and Notes for Approval: C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions C 1. The works hereby granted registered building consent shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this consent.

Reason: To comply with paragraph 2(2)(a) of schedule 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented registered building consents.

The development for which planning approval is hereby issued relates to the following plans and information, date-stamped as having been received 28th September 2015 and 16th October 2015: 2935-01, 2935-02, 2935-03, 2935-04, 2935-05, 2935-06, and also the Centurion door detail sheet and the submitted Design and Access Statement.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Director of Planning and Building Control in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 09.11.2015 Determining officer

Signed : M GALLAGHER Michael Gallagher Director of Planning and Building Control

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