DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 19/00986/B Applicant: Nightech Property Ltd Proposal: Divide existing apartment into two apartments Site Address: Apartment 15 / 22 Douglas Head Apartments Douglas Head Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 5BY Planning Officer: Mr Nick Salt Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 14.10.2019 _________________________________________________________________

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.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 5th September 2019:

• o 1600 03 EX-01 - Location Plan, Site Plan, Floor plans as existing
• o 1600 03 P-01 - Floor plans as proposed _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 SITE DESCRIPTION - 1.1 The application site is made up of Apartments 15 and 22 which have previously been amalgamated to make one apartment. The site forms part of the a wider apartment complex 'Douglas Head Apartments' on the site of the former Douglas Head Hotel. Whilst Douglas Head Hotel is a Registered Building, the only remaining original part is the central stone tower which is not connected to the application site as per the red line boundary provided. - 1.2 The apartment is mainly on the second floor, with a small section above on the third floor, and has three bedrooms. The applicant states that the apartment has two garage spaces and two parking spaces allocated.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed is the division of the apartment once more into two distinct properties, each with two bedrooms. This would be facilitated by the installation of stud walls inside rooms, with services connected separately.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 The most significant past planning application on the wider site was 98/00279/GB for the conversion of the former Douglas Head Hotel to create 46 apartments (Permitted). - 3.2 Other planning approvals have been granted since for minor works to both the main apartment block and the garages, including 05/92157/B for the amalgamation of apartments 18 and 19. - 3.3 Planning approval was granted for the construction of a single storey apartment on the roof above apartments 15,16 and 17 and adjacent to apartment 22 (07/01424/B).

4.0 PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The proposal site is in an area designated in the Douglas Local Plan 1998 as Mixed Use

• Residential/Offices. The site is not within a Conservation Area.

4.2 Whilst Douglas Head Hotel was registered, the application (98/00279/GB) to re-develop the former hotel to create 46 apartments, Douglas Head Hotel, Douglas Head, Douglas was permitted in December 1998. This application allowed for the substantial removal of the Hotel leaving the stone central tower effectively the only part of the fabric now considered Registered. The site in question is therefore not considered to be Registered -therefore the proposal does not require Registered Building Consent. - 4.3 Given the land use designation, General Policy 2 (in part) of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 applies "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:

• (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality;
• (h) provides satisfactory amenity standards in itself, including where appropriate safe and convenient access for all highway users, together with adequate parking, servicing and manoeuvring space;
• (i) does not have an unacceptable effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways."

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Douglas Borough Council have no objection to the application (27.09.19).

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The key considerations in the assessment of this application are the potential for impact on the neighbours, and the impact on parking. - 6.2 Neighbour amenity

• 6.2.1 It is difficult to assess whether the subdivision of the apartment into two would result in any notable increase in noise or disturbance from the perspective of the neighbouring apartments. In any case, the apartment was originally two, and Each apartment could have one occupant or a small family - the impact of noise varies and is not considered likely to be over and above what would be normally expected for an apartment block such as this.

6.3 Parking

• 6.3.1 The splitting of the single apartment into two would double the on-site parking requirements (as per the Strategic Plan Parking Standards in Appendix 7) to a total of 4 spaces

• 2 each. The applicant has however noted in their application that 2 parking spaces and 2 garage spaces are allocated to the apartment as existing. It is assumed therefore that when the apartment was previously two separate properties, they had a garage and parking space each. It is further assumed that this would again occur.

• 6.3.2 There is limited scope for parking outside of the designated parking area and garaging to the rear of the apartments given the nature of the main access road and the parking restrictions on the top end of Douglas Head Road. It is likely therefore that there would be sufficient parking for both subdivided apartments, and low risk of notable increases in on street parking. In this respect, the proposal accords with General Policy 2 (h&i).

6.4 Other Matters

• 6.4.1 It should be noted that as the works are internal, it is not considered that they would have any impact on the character and appearance of the site from a visual perspective. As per

4.2 of this report, the application site is not a Registered part of the building and the internal works proposed do not require additional consent.

7.0 CONCLUSION - 7.1 In summary, the proposed subdivision of the apartment into two is considered to be in overall accordance with General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan. The application is therefore recommended for approval.

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.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 14.10.2019 Determining officer

Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett Principal Planner

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