Officer Report

Application No.: 25/00767/D Applicant: Tesco Proposal: Installation of illuminated and non-illuminated signage (retrospective) Site Address: Tesco Supermarket Victoria Road Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 4RE Senior Planning Officer: Mrs Louise Phillips Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 01.10.2025 _________________________________________________________________

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

• C 1. The advertisements hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice. Reason: To avoid the accumulation of unimplemented advertisement consents.
• C 2. The illuminated sign hereby granted consent shall not be lit by an intermittent source. Reason: In the interests of amenity.

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

The proposed signage causes no harm in respect of either visual or residential amenity, or public safety. It therefore complies with the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013 and with relevant Development Plan policy.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the following drawings:

• o Site Location Plan - 0820
• o Proposed Site Plan - 0821
• o Signage Elevations - 0822
• o Signage Details - 0823 _________________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status

There are no parties which should be afforded Interested Party Status other than those set out in Regulation 11(4) of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013.

_________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site is the large Tesco store at the northern end of Victoria Road in Douglas, previously "Shoprite".

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The application seeks (retrospective) consent for multiple advertisements/signs as follows:

• o "Tesco" lettering above the main customer entrance. The letters are individually internally illuminated.
• o 4x large vinyl signs applied to the outside of the glazed shopfront with vandal proof protection.
• o "Tesco" branding around the cash machine.
• o A small directory sign stating opening hours etc. fixed to the glazing adjacent to the store entrance doors.
• o "Tesco" branding on the gantry sign located by the roundabout junction with the store and Victoria Road.

- 3.0 LEGISLATION AND PLANNING POLICY

3.1 The site is zoned as a "mixed use" site in the Area Plan for the East. It is outside but opposite the Little Switzerland Conservation Area; and no trees would be affected by the proposal. Small parts of the site are shown to be at risk of flooding, but this is not relevant to the proposal at hand. - 3.2 The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013 (the Advert Regulations) make it clear that the only considerations which can be applied to applications made under them are in the interests of amenity and public safety. In the case of amenity, the general characteristics of the area should to be taken into account, along with the presence of any features of historic, architectural, cultural or similar interest. Public safety considerations include the safety of any person using a road, railway, tramway, harbour or aerodrome; and whether an advertisement is likely to obscure or hinder any traffic sign or similar. - 3.3 Having regard to the designation of the site and to considerations of amenity and public safety, it is appropriate to consider the following polices of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016. - 3.4 General Policy 2 includes the following general criteria for development management purposes. The development should:

• (b) respect the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them;
• (c) not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; (g) not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality; and (i) not have an unacceptable effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways.

3.5 General Policy 6: "Within our towns and villages, the display of external advertisements will be permitted on the site or building to which they relate provided they:

• (a) are of a high standard of design and materials and relate well to the building and site on which they are to be displayed;
• (b) are in keeping with and do not detract from the surrounding area; and
• (c) are located so as not to cause a highway safety hazard".

3.6 General Policy 7: "Within our towns and villages, the display of external advertisements on sites or buildings other than those to which they relate will not generally be permitted". - 3.7 Environment Policy 38: "Advertisements close to Conservation Areas must respect and preserve the character and appearance of the area to ensure that views into and out of such areas are protected".

- 4.0 PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 The planning history for the site relates to the previous Shoprite store and adjacent garage. It is dated 2005 and older and none is specifically relevant to the current application. - 5.0 REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Highways Services (16/8/25): No significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking.

5.2 Douglas City Council (26/8/25): No objections. - 6.0 ASSESSMENT

6.1 Having regard to the Advert Regulations, the main issues are the effect of the proposed advertisements upon amenity and public safety.

Amenity

6.2 Starting with visual amenity, all of the signage proposed reflects the well-known "Tesco" brand. The illuminated letters and the window vinyls are quite large, but their scale is appropriate to the large size of this main store. The shopfront is set back from Victoria Road and well away from the boundary of the Conservation Area and, while the presence of the store remains obvious, trees along the roadside and within the site itself diminish its prominence in the wider area. In this context, the signage proposed and already affixed to the shopfront is not intrusive.

6.3 The gantry sign by the roundabout is closer to the Conservation Area and is clearly visible in the street scene consistent with its function to mark the entrance to the store. However, the gantry is not new having previously displayed the Shoprite logo, it is not unduly wide or tall and it is set against a backdrop of trees. Consequently, it is comfortably accommodated upon the road island and it neither dominates the junction nor interrupts views to and from the Conservation Area. - 6.4 Turning to residential amenity, both Summerhill View Care Home and the houses in Linden Grove are some distance from the illuminated entrance sign proposed. Taking account of distance as well as tree cover, occupiers are unlikely to be affected by the light, particularly as there is no suggestion that the light would be flashing. None of the other signage proposed would have an impact upon their living conditions.

6.5 Overall therefore, the proposed signage is not detrimental to either the visual or residential amenities of the area; and it preserves the character and appearance of the nearby Conservation Area. Consequently, it accords with the Advert Regulations and with General Policy 2 (b) (c) & (g); General Policy 6 (a) & (b); General Policy 7; and Environment Policy 38 of the Strategic Plan 2016. Public Safety - 6.6 The only sign which has the potential to impact upon public safety is the gantry sign and it is stated above that this is comfortably accommodated upon the road island, does not dominate the junction and does not interrupt views of the Conservation Area. It similarly does not interfere with visibility for road users or obscure any road signs. Therefore, it causes no harm in respect of public safety and so complies with the Advert Regulations and with General Policy 2 (i) and General Policy 6 (c) of the Strategic Plan 2016.

- 7.0 CONCLUSION

7.1. For the reasons given above, the proposed signage causes no harm in respect of either visual or residential amenity, or public safety. It therefore complies with the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013 and with relevant Development Plan policy.

INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2013 (As Amended), the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• o Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material;
• o The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.
• o the Highways, Ports and Railways divisions of the Department of Infrastructure.

8.2 The decision maker must determine:

• o Whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than those explicitly listed above) 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 and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded interested person status and/or rights to appeal.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 01.10.2025 Determining Officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner

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