Planning Secretary Department of Infrastructure Planning and Building Control Division Murray House Mount Havelock Douglas
In accordance with Article 10(2)(e) of the above Order, the person appointed by the Council of Ministers to consider this application has submitted his report. In further accordance with Article 10(3)(a) a copy of the appointed persons report is herewith enclosed.
On the 12th September 2013, and after consultation, the Council of Ministers accepted the recommendation contained within that report and the application was approved subject to the conditions specified below.
Applicant:
Department Of Community, Culture And Leisure
Proposal:
Redevelopment of existing coach park including creation of five coach parking bays and drop off area, formation of paved passenger waiting and alighting area with associated seating and lighting, Coach Park Mines Road Laxey Isle Of Man
Conditions Of Approval:
The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.
This approval for the redevelopment of existing coach park including creation of five coach parking bays and drop off area, formation of paved passenger waiting and alighting area with associated seating relates to Drawings Number PO1a, PO2a, PO3a, ap(90)(cp)04, ap(90)(cp)05 and associated Planning Statement all date stamped 1st May 2013.
Prior to the commencement of any works, there must be submitted to and approved by the Department a detailed drawing showing all street furniture which shall be installed in accordance with these approved plans.
Prior to the commencement of any works, there must be submitted to and approved by the Department samples of the hard surfacing which shall be installed in accordance with this approval.
For the avoidance of doubt, this approval does not relate to any lighting scheme. Should such a scheme be proposed it must first be submitted to and approved by the Department.
Received
CSO Reference DF13/0014 Application No 13/00525/B Inspector's report
17 SEP 2013
Application by Department of Community, Culture and Leisure for the redevelopment of existing coach park including creation of five coach parking bays and drop off area, formation of paved passenger waiting and alighting area with associated seating, Coach Park, Mines Road, Laxey.
Site visit Monday 22 July 2013
Preamble
The application was referred to the Council of Ministers in accordance with Section 10(1)(a) of The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005 because the land is owned by the Department of Infrastructure. File documents include references to "seating and lighting", however the Planning Officer helpfully obtained confirmation that the scheme does not feature new lighting but rather an "alighting" area as above.
Site and Development
The site is well known, just off the A2 highway in the heart of Laxey, alongside the entrance to Mines Road leading to the Lady Isabella Wheel and faced by Browns Café occupying 1 & 2 Dumbell's Terrace, colloquially and better known as Ham and Eggs Row. This land is a long established coach parking area; its use would not change but would be refurbished and newly laid out.
Representations
A supporting Planning Statement by Dalrymple Associates refers to the application being part of overall proposals for Laxey, prepared under the Chief Minister's Town and Village Regeneration Scheme. A Laxey Regeneration Committee progressed proposals, subject to and amended in the light of public consultation. Other elements include a village square, improved linkage to the MER station, improvements to the Rose Garden and footway repaving.
Laxey is a major tourist destination, many arriving by coach. Stopping locations are severely constrained and the site is conveniently placed, but this area of blacktop is poorly defined and therefore open to misuse by other parking. Visitors require somewhere to congregate on arrival and before departure, and the proposals make just such provision, with clearly differentiated and marked out bays for the coaches. The raised, pedestrian areas would be dark grey/black paving, blending with local stonework, seats would be iron and timber, redolent of the village's industrial heritage, while the coach bays would employ coloured bitumen surfacing with painted text. An information point would follow, via a further application, following the conclusion of discussions regarding public art.
The Planning Authority advises that there has been no previous application regarding this land. The location is designated by the Laxey and Lonan Area Plan as Open Space, on the periphery of an area designated as Predominantly Residential, and within the Laxey Conservation Area. Local Plan Policy L/OSNC/PR/1 presumes against development in areas designated as open space. Policy L/CRB/PR/4 requires special attention be given to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the Conservation Area's character or appearance, as does Strategic Plan Environment Policy 35. Strategic Plan General Policy 3 opposes development outside areas zoned for development, subject to listed exceptions, while Environment Policy 43 and its supporting text generally support the regeneration of run-down locations.
The site's existing surface material is not of historic value and what is proposed, of high quality, could potentially enhance the locality. The benches are of modern form and would offer vibrancy at this central part of the village. The Conservation Officer's comments are supportive.
The Laxey Village Commissioners support the application.
The Highway Authority advises that the scheme complies with its policies and standards.
Inspector's Assessment
The locality is designated as Open Space only in the sense that it is not expressly designated for development; there is no suggestion of a particular amenity purpose such as public open space. In any event the existing use as a coach park is established and would not be created by the current application. What the application would do is replace an area of nondescript, poorly defined surfacing with something very much better. There would be an extensive raised paved area, with seats, between the parking bays and main road, for passengers arriving or departing, which would doubtless be used also by local residents and visitors travelling by other means such as the MER. An information point is envisaged, subject to a future application. The coach parking area itself would be well defined and differentiated by coloured surfacing and lettering. Residents of the terrace have long lived with passing visitors to and from the Wheel and Mines, but even so I note and commend the fact that the coach park has not been extended opposite their homes beyond the café frontage.
In all, the outcome would enhance the appearance and character of the locality, and thereby the wider Conservation Area, and assist with the regeneration of this central part of the village and one of the Island's key tourist destinations. The proposals accords with the aims of the Strategic and Local Plan.
Recommendation
I recommend that the application be approved subject to the following conditions.
The development hereby approved shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.
This approval for the redevelopment of existing coach park including creation of five coach parking bays and drop off area, formation of paved passenger waiting and alighting area with associated seating relates to Drawings Number PO1a, PO2a, PO3a, ap(90)(cp)04, ap(90)(cp)05 and associated Planning Statement all date stamped 1st May 2013.
Prior to the commencement of any works, there must be submitted to and approved by the Department a detailed drawing showing all street furniture which shall be installed in accordance with these approved plans.
Prior to the commencement of any works, there must be submitted to and approved by the Department samples of the hard surfacing which shall be installed in accordance with this approval.
For the avoidance of doubt, this approval does not relate to any lighting scheme. Should such a scheme be proposed it must first be submitted to and approved by the Department.
Alan Langton
Inspector
Copyright in submitted documents remains with their authors. Request removal
