DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 20/01100/CON Applicant: Robert & Michelle Lord Proposal: Registered Building consent for demolition elements of PA 20/01099/B Site Address: 1 Woodbourne Villas Alexander Drive Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 3QG Planning Officer: Mr Peiran Shen Photo Taken: 27.10.2020 Site Visit: 27.10.2020 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 18.11.2020 _________________________________________________________________

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 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

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

Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the submitted documents, drawing no. 237/001, 237/010, 237/020 date stamped as having been received on 21st September 2020. _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of 1 Woodbourne Villas, Alexander Drive, Douglas, a two-storey end-of-terrace dwelling located on the north of Alexander Drive, close to its south junctions with Queen's Terrace.

1.2 The house has a pitched roof. It also has a pitched gable on the front. There is a monopitched two-storey extension on the rear of the main dwelling to the west elevation. There is another mon-pitched roof extension on the rear of the two-story rear extension. - 1.3 The rear of the property is surrounded by a cream-coloured boundary wall. There is also a flat roof single-garage on the north boundary of the property.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Registered Building Consent is sought in connection with application 20/01099/B. - 2.2 The focuses of proposals is the removal of the existing single-storey rear extension.

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 is within the Woodbourne Road 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."

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 (14/10/2020). - 5.2 DoI Highway Services does not object to this application (20/10/2020).

- 6.0 ASSESSMENT

6.1 The key consideration here is whether the demolition of the existing single storey extension is acceptable. Policies mentioned in section 4 seeks to ultimately preserve or enhance the character of the Conservation Area, retain those buildings which 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 front elevation of the dwellings running along the Conservation Area. The demolition of the extension is likely to have a negligible impact on the general street scene at the front and on the general character and appearance of the wider Conservation Area in line with EP35.

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.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 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: 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 above who should be given Interested Person Status.

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: 23.11.2020 Determining officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner

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