Planning Officer Report

Planning Officer Report And Recommendations {{table:21940}}

Officer's Report

The Application Site

1. The application site comprises a parcel of land located at the corner of St George's Street and Hope Street in Douglas. The site, which is clear of buildings and currently used as a car park, falls approximately three metres from the northern corner on Hope Street to the southern corner on St. George's Street. There are trees adjacent to the application site located within the adjoining St George's churchyard.

The Proposal

1. The proposal comprises the erection of a five storey office block with basement and lower ground floor parking on the application site.

1. The proposed building would accommodate 1842 square metres nett office spaces and have 30 on-site car parking spaces, parking space is also provided for motorcycles and bicycles. Vehicular access to the lower ground floor parking is directly via St George's Street and access to the basement parking is via a vehicle lift system also accessed via St George's Street.

1. The proposed building's architecture is modern, predominantly comprising a mixture of painted render and glazing. In terms of basic dimensions the proposed building measures 28.3m along its St George's Street frontage and 28.6m along its Hope Street frontage. The height of the building varies due to the change in levels across the site but in terms of basic dimensions the height at the corner of St George's Street and Hope Street is 19.1m.

Planning History

1. The application site has been the subject of a number of previous planning applications, the following of which are considered specifically material to the assessment of this current planning application:

1. Planning application 01/00891 sought planning approval in principle for the redevelopment of site consisting of restaurant/wine bar, apartments and parking. This previous planning application was approved on the 14th September 2001.

1. Planning application 02/00939 sought planning approval for the erection of a building housing 22 apartments and car-parking. This previous planning application was approved on the 15th November 2002.

1. Planning application 03/00533 sought planning approval for the creation of a temporary car-park. This previous planning application was approved on the 14th August 2003.

1. Planning application 07/00006 sought planning approval for the erection of a four storey building plus basement to accommodate 38 "Crash Pad" apartments and 15 car parking spaces. This previous planning application was refused on 31st July 2007.

1. Planning application 07/00007 sought planning approval for the erection of a four storey building plus basement to accommodate 30 "Crash Pad" apartments, a bar/restaurant (class 3), a retail/commercial unit (class 1, 2 or 3) and 10 parking spaces. This previous planning application was refused on 31st July 2007.

1. Planning application 07/01715/A sought planning approval for the construction of a four storey office building with basement car parking. This previous planning application was approved at appeal on the 14th May 2008.

1. Planning application 08/01542/B sought planning approval for the erection of a five storey office block with basement parking. This previous planning application was approved on the 6th November 2011.

Planning Policy

1. In terms of land use designation the application site is located within a wider area of land that is designated as predominantly office use under the Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Douglas Local Plan) Order 1998.

1. The application site is located directly adjacent to, but not within, a Conservation Area.

1. In terms of strategic plan policy, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 contains the following policies that are considered specifically material to the assessment of this current planning application.

1. 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:

• (a) is in accordance with the design brief in the Area Plan where there is such a brief;
• (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;
• (d) does not adversely affect the protected wildlife or locally important habitats on the site or adjacent land, including water courses;
• (e) does not affect adversely public views of the sea;
• (f) incorporates where possible existing topography and landscape features, particularly trees and sod banks;
• (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;
• (j) can be provided with all necessary services;
• (k) does not prejudice the use or development of adjoining land in accordance with the appropriate Area Plan;
• (l) is not on contaminated land or subject to unreasonable risk of erosion or flooding;
• (m) takes account of community and personal safety and security in the design of buildings and the spaces around them; and
• (n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."

1. Business Policy 7 states:

"New office floor space should be located within town and village centres on land which is zoned for the purpose on the appropriate area plan; exceptionally, permission may be given for new office

• (a) on approved Business Parks for Corporate Headquarters which do not involve day to day callers; or
• (b) in buildings of acknowledged architectural or historic interest for which office use represents the only or most appropriate practicable and economic way of securing future use, renovation and maintenance."

1. Business Policy 8 states:

"New office buildings should, in terms of height and mass, respect the scale and character of adjoining and nearby buildings and should accommodate parking space in accordance with the standards specified in Appendix 7 of the Plan."

1. Transport Policy 7 states:

"The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards."

1. Environment Policy 36 states:

"Where development is proposed outside of, but close to, the boundary of a Conservation Area, this will only be permitted where it will not detrimentally affect important views into and out of the Conservation Area."

Representations

1. Douglas Borough Council has no objections to the proposed development.

1. The Department of Infrastructure Highways Division do not oppose the planning application. They suggest that the motorcycle parking spaces are moved from the basement to the lower ground floor to reduce the number of vehicles required to use the lift for access. In respect of the use of a car lift they recognise that in the morning there could be a short queue of traffic waiting to access the car park via the car lift but consider that as not all traffic will arrive at the same time there should be adequate space on St George's Street to accommodate queuing vehicles.

1. The Manx Electricity Authority has commented on the planning application. The contents of their comments relate to non-planning considerations.

Assessment

1. The proposal is largely a revision of the development approved under previous planning application 08/01542/B. Given the land use designation, relevant planning policy and planning history it is considered that the basic principle of office development on the application site is established. The key differences between previous planning application 08/01542/B and this current proposal are:

a) an increase in on-site parking provision from 20 spaces (including tandem spaces) to 30 spaces (no tandem spaces) through the creation of a new basement level of parking that would be served by a car lift accessed from St George's Street;

b) an increase in nett office floorspace from 1670 square metres to 1842 square metres through revisions to the internal layout and an increase in the size of the top floor; and

c) changes to the internal layout of the building that are linked to changes to the external appearance of the building.

1. The architectural style of the proposed building is similar to that previously approved under 08/01542/B. The key differences are the introduction of more glazing, particularly on the corner of the building and within the upper two floors. Whilst the design of the previously approved building is still considered acceptable it is felt that what is now proposed is an improvement over that design. Visually, it is concluded that the impact of the proposed development on the street scene, general amenity and adjacent Conservation Area is acceptable.

1. The two issues to consider in respect of car parking are the level of proposed provision and the usability of that proposed provision. In the first respect, appendix 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 sets a standard of 1 space for every 50 square metres of nett floor space for offices. That equates to a requirement of 37 spaces for the current proposal, which is 7 more than the 30 (not including motorcycle and bicycle spaces) it proposes. However, it has to be noted that this level of shortfall is less than that accepted under previously approved planning application 08/01542/B. That previous planning application had a requirement 34 spaces but was approved with only 20 spaces, primarily on the basis of the town centre location and good transport links. Taking that into account it follows that the level of car parking provision proposed within

the current planning application is also acceptable as the number and proportion of on-site and usable spaces is greater. As for the second respect, the proposed development includes a basement level of car parking that is accessed via a car lift. The use of such a lift was discussed with the Highways Division prior to the submission of the planning application. Whilst not necessarily the ideal solution it does allow the creation of additional on-site car parking spaces, none of which are tandem spaces as previously approved. The Highways Division suggest that the motorcycle parking spaces should be moved from the basement to the lower ground floor to reduce the number of vehicles required to use the lift for access. Whilst this suggestion is understood it is considered that such movement would lead to loss of car parking spaces within the lower ground floor and such loss is not preferable to issue of motorcycle parking in the basement. Overall, the usability of the proposed parking provision and the car lift is considered to be acceptable.

1. The proposal is not considered to affect any other obvious material planning consideration.

Recommendation

1. It is recommended that the planning application be approved.

1. In terms of conditions, it can be seen that previously approved planning application 08/01542/B was approved subject to a number of non-standard pre-commencement planning conditions that required a variety of further submissions to be made. The current planning application contains a greater level of detail than that previous planning application, which renders a number of those previous conditions unnecessary in this instance. For example, the planning application contains satisfactory details of external finishes, so no related conditions are required.

1. The previous planning application had a condition that required the submission of a travel plan for future occupiers of the building. The validity of such condition, particularly in terms of precision and enforceability, is questionable. However, irrespective of that it is understood that the condition was partially imposed to address the shortfall in on-site car parking provision. As the current planning application increases the level of on-site car parking it is concluded that such condition is unnecessary.

1. The previous planning application also had conditions requiring the submission of method statements for the protection of the adjoining churchyard wall and the protection of the existing trees that are located beyond that churchyard wall. As the current planning application does not propose any work to the churchyard wall no planning approval would be inferred for any such work if the planning application were approved. The protection of the wall is protected by landownership rights, which is a civil matter outside of the remit of the planning system. There are no planning based reasons why the proposed development could not be implemented without the churchyard wall being unaffected. Accordingly, any such condition is not specifically relevant to planning and not considered to be either necessary or appropriate. As highlighted by the applicant the existing trees located beyond the churchyard wall are effectively protected by the churchyard yard, as this should have stopped their root systems from encroaching into the site of the proposed building. A condition required a method statement for the protection of the trees is therefore considered to be unnecessary.

Party Status

1. It is considered that the following parties that made representations to the planning application should be afforded interested party status:

Douglas Borough Council.

1. It is considered that the following parties that made representations to the planning application should not be afforded interested party status:

The Department of Infrastructure Highways Division; and The Manx Electricity Authority.

Recommendation

Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 19.09.2012

Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal

C: Conditions for approval N: Notes attached to conditions R: Reasons for refusal O: Notes attached to refusals

C 1. The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.

C 2. This approval relates to drawing no.s 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008, 009 and 010 date stamped the 31st July 2012.

C 3. Prior to the first use of any of the office space contained within the building the basement and lower ground floor car parking must be set out in accordance with the approved drawings and be capable of use.

C 4. The car parking provided within the approved development shall only be used as parking for the occupants and users of the approved office development. For the avoidance of doubt, sub-letting of the car parking to persons not occupying or using the approved office development is not permitted.

I confirm that this decision accords with the appropriate Government Circular delegating functions to Director of Planning and Building Control / Development Control Manager/ Senior Planning Officer.

Decision Made: Permitted Date: 29.9.12

Determining officer (delete as appropriate)

Signed: _________________________ Anthony Holmes Senior Planning Officer

Signed: _________________________ Michael Gallagher Director of Planning and Building Control

Signed: _________________________ Sarah Corlett Senior Planning Officer

Signed: _________________________ Jennifer Chance Development Control Manager