DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 20/00236/CON Applicant: John David Holmes Proposal: Registered Building Consent for the demolition elements of application 20/00235/B (retrospective) Site Address: Trinity Church Rosemount Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 3EY Planning Officer: Mr Peiran Shen Photo Taken: 26.03.2020 Site Visit: 26.03.2020 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 15.07.2020 _________________________________________________________________

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.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.

This application is considered to comply with the General Policy 2, Environment Policy 35 of the Strategic Plan and Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Guide to the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to the submitted documents, commentary, photos, drawing no.10-01 and 10-02 date-stamped as having been received on 26th February 2020.

_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The application site is the Trinity Methodist Church, Bucks Road, Douglas. - 1.2 On the north elevation, there are two red wooden doors. One is the side entrance to the church and the other one is the main entrance to the Sunday school, which is at the rear of the church. The two doors are separated by a fence. The fence has a stone base and wrought iron top. In the middle of the fence, there is a cast-iron lantern stand. This fence is connected with the fence around the boundary of the site. There is a wrought iron gate on the fence matching each entrance door.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Registered Building Consent is sought in connection with application 20/00235/B. - 2.2 The focuses of proposals is the removal of existing fences and gate near the two entrance doors along with the wrought iron lantern stand.

3.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 There is no previous planning application considered materially relevant to this application.

4.0 PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area designated as "Predominantly Residential Use" on the Douglas Local Plan 1998. The site also lies within the Douglas Promenades Conservation Area. It is to be noticed that the front elevation is on the boundary of the Conservation Area. - 4.2 The following Strategic Plan policies are considered relevant: General Policy 2, Environment Policy 35 and 39. - 4.3 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 spaces around them;
• (c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality; (n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."

4.4 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." - 4.5 Section 7.32 - Demolition in Conservation Areas "7.32.2 The general presumption will be in favour of retaining buildings which make a positive contribution to the character or appearance of the Conservation Area. When considering proposals which will result in the demolition of a building in a Conservation Area, attention will be paid to the part played in the architectural or historic interest of the area by the relevant building and the wider effects of demolition on the building's surroundings and on the Conservation Area as a whole. In addition, consideration will be given to:

• o the condition of the building;
• o the cost of repairing and maintaining it in relation to its importance and the issue derived from its continued use (based on consistent long-term assumptions);
• o the adequacy of efforts made to retain the building in use;
• o the merits of alternative proposals for the site."

4.6 Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man state: - 4.7 POLICY RB/6 DEMOLITION "There will be a general presumption against demolition. … Consent for the demolition of a registered building should not be expected simply because redevelopment is economically more attractive than repair and re-use of a historic building; or because the building was acquired at a price that reflected the potential for redevelopment, rather than the condition and constraints of the existing historic building. Where proposed works would result in the total or substantial demolition of a registered building, an applicant, in addition to the general criteria set out in RB/3 above, should be able to demonstrate that the following considerations have been addressed:

• o The condition of the building, the cost of repairing and maintaining it in relation to its importance and to the value derived from its continued use. Any such assessment should be based on consistent and long term assumptions. Less favourable levels of rents and yields cannot automatically be assumed for historic buildings and returns may, in fact, be more favourable given the publicly acknowledged status of the building. Furthermore, historic buildings may offer proven performance, physical attractiveness and functional spaces that in an age of rapid change may outlast the short-lived and inflexible technical specifications that have sometimes shaped new developments. Any assessment should take into account possible tax allowances and exemptions. In rare cases where it is clear that a building has been deliberately neglected in the hope of obtaining consent for demolition, less weight should be given to the costs of repair;
• o The adequacy of efforts made to retain the building in use. An applicant must show that real efforts have been made, without success, to continue the present use, or to find new uses for the building. This may include the offer of the unrestricted freehold of the building on the
• open market at a realistic price reflecting the building's condition.
• o The merits of alternative proposals for the site. Subjective claims for the architectural merits of a replacement building should not justify the demolition of a registered building. There may be very exceptional cases where the proposed works would bring substantial benefits for the community; these would have to be weighed against preservation. Even here, it will often be feasible to incorporate registered buildings within a new development, and this
• option should be carefully considered. The challenge presented by retaining registered buildings can be a stimulus to imaginative new designs to accommodate them."

4.8 POLICY CA/6 DEMOLITION "Any building which is located within a conservation area and which is not an exception as provided above, may not be demolished without the consent of the Department. In practice, a planning application for consent to demolish must be lodged with the Department. When considering an application for demolition of a building in a conservation area, the general presumption will be in favour of retaining buildings which make a positive contribution to the character or appearance of the conservation area. Similar criteria will be applied as those outlined in RB/6 above when assessing the application to demolish the building but is less clear cut cases, for example, where a building could be said to detract from the special character of the area, it will be essential for the Department to be able to consider the merits of any proposed new development when determining whether consent should be given for the demolition of an unregistered building in a conservation area. Account will be taken of the part

played in the architectural or historic interest of the area by the building for which demolition is proposed, and in particular of the wider effects of demolition on the building's surroundings and on the conservation area as a whole."

5.0 REPRESENTATION - 5.1 Douglas Borough Council has no objection on this application (18/03/2020). - 5.2 DoI Highway Services do not oppose this application (19/03/2020). - 5.3 IOM Fire commented there is no fire safety concern in this application (25/06/2020).

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The key consideration here is whether the demolition of the existing fences is acceptable. Policies mentioned in section 4 seek to ultimately preserve or enhance the character of the Conservation Area, retain those buildings that make a positive contribution and protect Registered Buildings from harmful or unacceptable development. - 6.2 The character of the area is predominantly formed by the church. The demolition of fences would break up the consistency of the church boundary treatment but not enough to disrupt the character of the area.

7.0 CONCLUSION - 7.1 The proposal accords with the Strategic Plan and Planning Policy Statement 1/01 Guide to the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man, it is recommended for approval.

8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Registered Buildings) Regulations 2013 (As Amended), the following are automatically interested persons:

• o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• o Manx National Heritage, and
• o The local authority in whose district the land which the subject of the application is situated.

8.2 The Decision-maker must determine whether there are other persons to those listed above who should be given Interested Person Status.

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 : 27.07.2020 Determining officer Signed : J CHANCE Jennifer Chance Director of Planning and Building Control

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