Officer Report

Application No.: 16/00473/B Applicant: Fr Brian O'Mahoney Proposal: Erection of a statue Site Address: St Patricks Church / Hall Grounds Patrick Street Peel Isle of Man IM5 1BR Case Officer : Miss S E Corlett Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation

Officer’s Report THE SITE

1.1 The site is the curtilage of St. Patrick's Church which sits on the western side of Patrick Street in the heart of Peel. The church is finished in areas of render and areas of sandstone all under slated roofing. The church has a stepped frontage onto Patrick Street with the front part being built right up to the highway. There is a public view into the front of the site, through the railings into the space created by the stepping back of the church building from the road. THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed is the installation of a statue of St. Patrick in the space at the front of the site. The statue will be white and sitting on a square plinth: the plinth will be 600mm high and the statue

• 1.26m high.
• 2.2 The information provided with the application is slightly inconsistent in terms of the position of the statue which is not quite in the same place as shown on the plan and in the photographs. The plinth will also be a sandstone colour, not white. PLANNING POLICY
• 3.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Peel Local Plan as Mixed Use: the site also lies within the town's Conservation Area.

3.2 As such, the development needs to accord with the following Strategic Plan policies:

General Policy 2 states: "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 space around them;
• c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape." Also

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."

PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 The site has been the subject of a number of applications for alterations to the church to make it more accessible and easier to use by its congregation. None of these is considered relevant to the current proposal. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Department of Infrastructure Highway Services indicate that there are no highway implications of the proposal (09.05.16).

5.2 Peel Town Commissioners indicate that they do not object to the application (24.05.16). ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The statue will be visible from the highway but will not introduce any adverse feature to the site: quite the reverse, the statue is of direct relevance to the site and will add interest to it without adversely affecting the appearance or use of the site for pedestrian circulation within the site. Whilst some of the information in the application is a little inconsistent, it is considered that neither position is objectionable, nor is the plinth finished in white or in a sandstone colour or texture.

6.2 The statue is considered to be a positive addition to the site and the Conservation Area in which it is situated, and is recommended for approval. PARTY STATUS - 7.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, 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, in this case Department of Infrastructure Highway Services and (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

With effect from 1 June 2015, the Transfer of Planning & Building Control Functions Order 2015 amends the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 to give effect to the meaning of the word ‘Department’ to be the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture unless otherwise directed by that Order.

Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 31.05.2016 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.

N 1. For clarification, this approval relates to the erection of a statue as shown in either of the positions illustrated and with the plinth finished in either white or a sandstone colour and/or texture.

This approval relates to drawings RCC/1/16 and RCC/2/16 and the two images of the proposed statue all received on 25th April, 2016.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Senior Planning Officer in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 03.06.2016 Determining officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Senior Planning Officer

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