Officer Report

Application No.: 18/01223/B Applicant: Ms Grace Phillips Proposal: Creation of rear courtyard, replacement front door and alteration to former shop frontage Site Address: 1 Douglas Street The Chocolate Box Peel Isle of Man IM5 1BA Planning Officer: Miss Lucy Kinrade Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 03.01.2019 _________________________________________________________________

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.

• C 2. The approved replacement front door must be finished in timber and with a 4 panel design in accordance with drawing number 02 unless otherwise approved in writing by the Department. Reason: To protect the visual amenity of the Conservation Area. Plans/Drawings/Information:

This approval relates to drawing numbers 01 and 02 both date stamped and received 22/11/2018. _______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons none _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 APPLICATION SITE - 1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of 1 Douglas Street Peel and existing three story property situated in the centre of Peel fronting directly on to the public highway and adjacent to Market Place. - 1.2 The façade of the mid terrace property comprises a shop frontage at ground floor, a bay window at first floor and two windows at second floor. All the upper windows are timber framed sliding sash. - 1.3 The ground floor shop frontage is made up of two curved bays either side of a central front door. The windows and door are fully glazed and finished in timber framing with glazing bars throughout. - 1.4 At the rear of the dwelling there is an existing lean-to which has been installed over a previous rear yard. This has been installed with a single rooflight above and finished in slates. - 1.5 The site is within the Conservation Area of Peel.

2.0 PROPOSAL - 2.1 The current planning application proposes the following:

• - alteration of the ground floor shop windows to provide obscure glazing. There are no changes proposed to the timber framing system of the bay windows;
• - the replacement of the existing front door with a solid 4 panel timber door;
• - the replacement of the fixed top light above the door for an opening top light finished in timber and with glazing bars to match the existing;
• - the removal of the rear lean-to and the creation of a rear yard, including the installation of a new wall and the installation of bi-folding doors on the rear elevation opening into the yard and a new WC toilet window.

- 3.0 PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 There are two previous planning application relevant in the case of this application PA

• 15/00018/B for the conversion of the ground floor shop and first floor to residential use and PA
• 16/00123/B for the replacement of the front door for a composite door with a solid panel base with two glazing panels above and a glazed arch top, the proposal was considered unacceptable by the designated planning officer and the application withdrawn.

- 4.0 PLANNING POLICY

4.1 In terms of local plan policy, the application site is in an area zoned as "Mixed Use" under the Peel Local Plan 1989. As previously mentioned, the application site is within the Peel Conservation Area.

4.2 Given the nature of the proposal the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains one policy considered specifically material to the assessment of this current planning application: - 4.3 Environmental 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."

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Peel Town Commissioners - no objection (dated 13/12/2018)

5.2 The Department of Infrastructure Highway Services - no comments received at the time of writing the report (dated 03/01/2018). - 6.0 ASSESSMENT

6.1 Repair and restoration is the first and foremost desire for any development works within a Conservation Area, where repair is impracticable it is sought for the development works to preserve or enhance the character of the Conservation Area.

6.2 In this instance the application proposes the installation of obscure glazing within the existing shop front bay windows, as the existing timber framing system is to be maintained as is, it is likely that the installation of obscure glazing will have a negligible impact on the overall appearance of the property from the streetscene and preserving the overall character of the area.

6.3 Similarly the replacement of the fixed top light for an opening top light matching the glazing bar pattern of the existing bay windows is expected to maintain and preserve the overall appearance of the building. - 6.4 The proposed replacement door is to be of a solid 4 panel design which is appropriate to the age and period of the property and when looking in the surrounding area similar doors designs can be found within the streetscene. In the case of this application the property has been approved for residential use and is no longer operated as a commercial business and it's likely that the applicant is seeking to install obscure glazing and a solid door to help in providing an element of privacy to their dwelling. - 6.5 EP35 requires development to either preserve or enhance the character of the area. In determining this we must first assess the character of the existing property. It is evident from the existing bay windows and predominantly glazed ground floor frontage that the property has a commercial appearance. While the existing door matches with the extensive glazed design of the bay windows, its replacement with a solid 4 panel timber door would likely have a negligible impact on the overall commercial town centre shop frontage and seek to preserve the overall character of the Conservation Area. Also should the commercial use ever be reinstated in the future, that a glazed door could be re-installed to match the existing timber windows. - 6.6 The works proposed to the rear are not readily visible from the streetscene or from any public perspective and they are not expected to result in any changes to the character of the area. The proposals to the rear are considered to preserve the character of the conservation area.

- 7.0 CONCLUSION

7.1 The planning application preserves the character of the Peel Conservation Area and thus complies with EP35 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016 and is therefore recommended for approval. - 8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS

8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 (Article 6(4), 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
• (d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and
• (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

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 the Head of Development Management in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 04.01.2019 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

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