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Application No.: 21/01441/GB Applicant: Heron & Brearley Proposal: Formation of additional guest rooms, installation of additional roof lights and repair works to water goods (in association with 21/01442/CON) Site Address: The George Hotel The Parade Castletown Isle Of Man IM9 1LG Technical Officer: Mr Thomas Sinden Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 07.07.2022
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
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.
Reason: To ensure that the architectural special interest of this Registered Building is preserved.
N . The applicant is advised to use a breathable material when repointing and re-rendering the property.
The proposals meet the tests of Section 16 and 18 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 as the character of the Registered Building and Conservation Area are being preserved. The proposals also meet tests within the relevant strategic plan policies and Planning Policy Statement 1/01. It is therefore judged that the application is acceptable.
This decision relates to drawings 01 and 02revisionA received on 8.12.2021, and drawing 03revisionB received on 6.7.2022.
_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons
It is recommended that the IOM Natural History and Antiquarian Society should not be awarded Interest Party Status as their comments do not meet the tests of paragraph 2A of the Operational Policy. _____________________________________________________________________________
1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site is The George Hotel, a three storey building on Market Square within the Castletown Conservation Area. The building is included on the Protected Buildings Register (RB 38).
2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The application proposes to form four additional guest bedrooms on the upper floors of the building, re-render the south gable, install an additional roof light, replace existing roof lights and replace existing rainwater goods. Two additional guest rooms are proposed to be housed within the second floor of the rear outrigger, while the other two are proposed to be formed at third floor level within the building's roof space.
3.1 The site is within area of mixed use on Map 5 of the Area Plan for the South 2013, and within the town's Conservation Area. The site is not in an area at risk of flooding. - 3.2 TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1999 S16 Registered buildings: supplementary provisions
3.3 National policy: THE ISLE OF MAN STRATEGIC PLAN 2016 General Policy 2: 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:
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;
Strategic Policy 8: Tourist development proposals will generally be permitted where they make use of existing built fabric of interest and quality, where they do not affect adversely environmental, agricultural, or highway interests and where they enable enjoyment of our natural and manmade attractions.
Business Policy 11: Tourism development must be in accordance with the sustainable development objectives of this plan; policies and designations which seek to protect the countryside from development will be applied to tourist development with as much weight as they are to other types of development. Within the rural areas there may be situations where existing rural buildings could be used for tourist use and Environment Policy 16 sets out the circumstances where this may be permitted.
Environment Policy 32: 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.
Environment Policy 35: 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.
3.4 Planning Policy Statements: 1/01 Policy and Guidance Notes for the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man
POLICY RB/5 - ALTERATIONS AND EXTENSIONS: 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.
4.1 There are various other applications on the property since 1984 relating to the property's use as a public house, including the creation of hotel bedrooms approved under 17/00571/GB and 17/00572/CON. - 5.0 REPRESENTATIONS
Copies of representations received can be viewed on the Department's website. This report contains summaries only.
5.1 The Department of Infrastructure Highways Division judge the application to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking (31.12.2021).
5.2 The Assistant Registered Buildings Officer submitted comments focussing on the additional roof lights, the vents to the chimney pots, and the re-rendering of the gable (17.2.2022). Since the submission of this comment, the Assistant Registered Buildings Officer has taken over as the case officer for the application. The concerns raised have been raised with the applicant's agent, and a revised drawing has been submitted that omits the roof light that was of concern. - 5.3 The Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society have submitted comments stating that they have no objection to the proposed internal changes. The society does raise concerns regarding the replacement of existing chimney pots, however, stating the view that removal of the pots would be contrary to the strategic plan (23.2.2022).
6.1 The pertinent issues to be assessed by this application are the impact of the proposed alterations on the special interest of the registered building, the impact on the character and appearance of the conservation area, and whether there will be any impact resulting from the proposed additional guest rooms.
6.2 The building is already in use as a public house with guest bedrooms available. The additional bedrooms proposed within this application are an expansion of the number of guest rooms approved in 2017 (see 4.1). The creation of additional rooms in an existing hotel within a town centre and adjacent to a bus route is considered to meet the relevant strategic and business policies within the strategic plan regarding the provision of tourist accommodation. - 6.3 The application initially proposed to install two additional roof lights on the property's principal elevation. Concerns were raised that the right of these two roof lights would unbalance the roof light arrangement and cause harm to the building's architectural special interest. Following discussions, the proposals have been amended to omit the roof light that was of concern. The proposed single additional roof light is centrally located and it is not considered to harm the building's special interest. - 6.4 The existing chimney pots that are now redundant are proposed to receive a cylindrical pot vent. Whilst a cylindrical cap on a cuboid pot is not ideal, it is acknowledged that there are no alternative vented capping products available, and the cylindrical vents are no commonplace. With this in mind, and having consideration for the fact that the installation of the cents is reversible, it is considered acceptable so as to prevent undue water ingress. The IOM Natural History and Antiquarian Society have raised concerns about the pots being replaced by vent caps. The applicant's agent has confirmed that this is not the intention, and that the vent caps will be installed on top of the existing pots. - 6.5 The application includes the proposal to re-render the gable of the property. Concerns have been raised that any pointing or rendering should be done using a breathable material in order to allow any moisture within the historic solid wall to escape externally. The applicant's agent has confirmed that a breathable product is intended, and is happy for the matter to be subject to a condition of approval if required. - 6.6 The existing rainwater goods are proposed to be replaced with cast iron rainwater goods. The proposed product is judged to be appropriate and it is considered that the building's special architectural interest will be preserved by this element of the proposals.
7.1 It is judged that the proposals meet the tests of Section 16 and 18 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 as the character of the Registered Building and Conservation Area are being preserved. The proposals also meet tests within the relevant strategic plan policies and Planning Policy Statement 1/01. It is therefore recommended that the application be approved. - 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:
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 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 : 08.07.2022 Determining officer Signed : J CHANCE Jennifer Chance Director of Planning and Building Control
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