Supporting Information Statement

Received 110210 DOLGE10 00178 Town and Country Planning Act 1990 PLANNING and BUILDING CO- 1202 DIRECTORATE Decision Heritage Homes Ltd. Initial Conversion of former hotel into 7 no. apartments, including installation of Appeal replacement windows and creation of cycle and bin stores, former Rowany Hotel, Amended 10 Empress Drive, Douglas Returned Supporting Information

1. The application site is occupied by the disused building formerly known as The

Rowany Hotel, a brick faced, end-of-terrace structure of five storeys. Due to its location at the point where Empress Drive turns through ninety degrees it has a principal frontage facing southwest and a secondary highway frontage to the northwest, with a service lane running adjacent to the rear site boundary. Along with the adjacent Mona Drive and Castle Drive, Empress Drive is characterised by Victorian terraced properties which were built as hotels and guest houses, but which since the decline of the high volume, low yield tourism of the nineteenth and early twentieth century have in many instances been converted into apartments. The Rowany Hotel has been vacant for a number of years and has fallen into disrepair.

1. Planning approval has previously been granted under PA 00/00993 to convert

the existing building into ten apartments. Prior to that planning approval had been granted under PA 98/01125 to install uPVC windows and doors to replace existing, whilst an application to convert the building into offices (PA 87/01372) was refused. More recently PA 08/01550 has sought detailed planning approval for the conversion of the building into nine apartments, which has been considered at appeal and is awaiting final determination by the Minister. The Inspector has recommended that the application be approved, concluding that the benefit of retaining a building in the Conservation Area by returning it to economic use outweighs any concerns in respect of highway and parking matters¹.

1. It is now proposed to convert the building into seven apartments, a decision

based partly upon new survey information which has reduced the overall floor area available within the building from that previously indicated. As with the

¹ The Inspector's report for PA 08/01550 is attached at Appendix 1

previous scheme the lower ground floor will accommodate an apartment at the front and private stores to the rear, with the larger units on the upper two floors now designed to have individual stores within them. The previously proposed external staircase at the rear, which was identified by the Inspector as a negative element of the scheme, has now been removed. As well as the internal conversion works shown on the submitted drawings the scheme also includes the replacement of existing windows, the provision of an external staircase to access the meter room on the lower ground floor (in place of an existing set of steps), the creation of a bin store and a cycle store to the rear and general repair work to the fabric of the building. In accordance with Energy Policy 5 of the loMSP the application also includes an Energy Impact Assessment/Statement².

1. The issue of car parking provision was carefully considered at the appeal for PA 08/01550. Transport Policy 7 of the loMSP requires the parking provision within new development to be in accordance with the Department's current standards, which are set out at Appendix 7 of the Plan. The standard for apartments is 1 space for a 1 bedroom unit and 2 spaces for 2 bedrooms or more, but it is made clear in the Appendix (and elsewhere in the Plan) that the Department will consider reducing the standard having regard to a number of factors.

1. For town centre and previously developed sites - which the application site clearly is - the location of the housing relative to public transport, employment, and public amenities should be taken into account and the site scores well in this respect. The supporting text goes on to state that where new dwellings are to be created by the conversion of existing buildings then outlets may be cleared if it is reasonable and practical to do so, but that in general "the need to find a use for redundant buildings which are in sound condition will outweigh the drawback of any shortfall in parking provision". Furthermore it is also indicated that standards may be relaxed where development would, amongst other things, secure the re-use of a building of architectural or historic interest, preserve a sensitive streetscape, or is otherwise of benefit to the character of a Conservation Area. Notwithstanding its current state of disrepair the building could make a positive contribution to the character of a Conservation Area and

² An Energy Impact Assessment/Statement is attached at Appendix 2

this clearly has to be taken into account when considering the issue of parking provision.

1. On-street parking in this area is currently well utilised and that is clearly an important factor in the consideration of the proposal, but it must still be balanced against the policies of the loMSP and the need to bring a building within the Conservation Area back into active use. A number of new-build apartment developments within Douglas town centre have been approved with off-site parking provided at a standard of 1 per unit (e.g. PAs 04/00501, 05/01706 & 07/02169), and given that the proposal involves the retention of an existing building within the Conservation Area then we would suggest that to expect the provision of parking to the full standard is unrealistic. This view is supported by the conclusions of the Inspector for PA 08/01550.

1. Furthermore, planning approval has been granted to a number of schemes in the Drives area which do not provide any off-street car parking, examples of which include:

• PA 89/00890 - conversion of Palatine, Castle Drive into 5 apts
• PA 89/01484 - conversion of Atholville Hotel, Castle Drive into 10 apts
• PA 99/01261 - conversion of Ballamoar, Mona Drive into 5 apts
• PA 01/01662 - conversion of Delamere Hotel, Mona Drive into 10 apts
• PA 03/01619 - erection of a block of 10 apts to replace former Delamere Hotel, Mona Drive
• PA 00/00993 - conversion of the Rowany (the application site) into 10 apts.

The above approvals were granted prior to the publication of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, but nonetheless similar parking standards were in place (at least 1.5 spaces per unit were required by the 1982 Development Plan) and the Planning Committee were required to balance those standards against the benefits of keeping existing buildings within active use. It should also be noted that none of the above conversion schemes were required to remove a rear outlet in order to provide parking, and that despite PA 03/01619 being a new-build scheme it was still approved with no off-street parking provision.

1. The Inspector for PA 08/01550 considered that "it can reasonably be argued that an economic use has to be found for this substantial property, and almost any use of the property (for example, as a hotel) would be bound to generate a demand for parking space. In this instance I do not think it would be practicable to demolish part of the rear of the appeal building to enable parking space to be provided. The rear of the building is in effect the side elevation adjacent to the street, and demolishing part of it would open up the view of the rather unsightly rear of buildings around the service road, resulting in an adverse impact on the street scene." The retention of the outlet means that the provision of off-street parking is not possible, with the limited space to the rear now to be utilised in part by a cycle store. The Inspector goes on to conclude that "on balance, I judge that the case for approving the proposal is stronger than the case for refusal". The fact that this new proposal is for a reduced number of units should only add weight to the previously reached conclusions.