Loading document...
Application No.: 15/00289/C Applicant: Dentim Ltd Proposal: Change of use from a healthcare business to a dental surgery Site Address: Unit 9 & 10 Clinches Court North Quay Douglas Isle of Man IM1 4LH Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley Photo Taken: 25.03.2015 Site Visit: 25.03.2015 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation
1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE - 1.1 The application site is units 9 & 10 Clinch's Court, which is a purpose-built building comprising residential, office and general town centre uses. Although the entirety of Clinch's Court is shown edged blue, this is taken to refer to the single ownership that the building is in, rather than the fact that the applicant is that owner. It is understood that the applicant is in fact a prospective lessee of the unit. - 1.2 The site is at present vacant. Previously it was occupied by a business called "Whole Foods", which offered a range of services but that described itself as a healthcare business. Given the range of services offered, it is likely that the Planning use of the unit would be classified as sui generis. - 1.3 The Clinch's Brewery Building, which sits northeast of, and almost at, the junction of North Quay, Bank Hill, Banks Circus and Bridge Road, is Registered. A copy of the Registration document relating to this building is on the application file for reference, but contains no information as to why the building was Registered. It is also part of the larger complex but is not adjacent to Units 9 and 10.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The application is seeking the change of use to the unit to that of a dental surgery. This, too, is sui generis. No physical alterations to the building are proposed, nor is any new advertising proposed at this stage. An unscaled internal layout has been provided showing that there would be two consulting rooms alongside a waiting area, corridors, staff rooms and toilet facilities. - 2.2 The applicant advises that the opening hours are anticipated to be 8:30am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday and with possible Saturday morning opening should the need suffice. Three full-time members of staff will be employed there, and one of these would cycle to work while the others would rely on private or public transport. The applicant notes the existence of some 7 long-stay public car parks nearby and a further 9 disc zone areas where patients could park their cars.
2.3 The application has been furnished with a completed "Development Within 9m of a Watercourse" form.
3.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 Units 9 and 10 have no specific planning history, but Clinch's Court has a range of applications stretching back 25 years, none of which are clear on what the lawful use of Units 9 and 10 might be. - 3.2 The most recent planning approval for unit 10 is PA 92/01441/C, but this specifically referred to unit 10a (and not to unit 9 or unit 10 or 10b, for example) even though the plans submitted as part of that application did not specifically show an area designated as unit 10a. It therefore seems that there have been some subdivisions and reintegration within Clinch's Court before and after that 1992 approval, which makes determining the existing lawful use for the whole area of unit 9 and 10 together difficult, if not impossible, to determine. - 3.3 The best guess would be that part of the floorspace of unit 10 (i.e. unit 10a) has planning approval for use as a beauty therapy business, while the remaining floorspace of units 9 and 10 have as their lawful use the office use, which was granted under a previous planning approval in 1990 (PA 90/00263/C). With this in mind, any use of Units 9 and 10 together other than office use would require planning approval. This advice was provided to the applicant and hence this application, to clarify the lawful use, has been submitted.
4.0 PLANNING STATUS - 4.1 The site is within a broader area zoned as "town centre use" on the Douglas Local Plan, which has no accompanying Written Statement. With this in mind, the relevant two policies from the Strategic Plan are General Policy 2 and Transport Policy 7 (in conjunction with Appendix 7). The parking standard expected of town centre shops is just that for "service vehicle use", while for medical / health services, the standard given is "3 spaces per consulting room plus staff parking". This is, however, considered more applicable to larger premises - GP surgeries, for example - that tend to be on the edges of town centres rather than within them such as the application site.
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Highway Services offered no objection to the proposal on 01.04.2015.
6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The area's zoning for town centre uses means that the principle of the proposal is acceptable. What remains to be considered is to what extent the proposal would affect the amenity of the area in terms of noise / disturbance and also in terms of the parking situation. - 6.2 In the first instance, it is considered that any noise and disturbance created by a dentist surgery is not likely to be significantly different either to the previous use (which it is accepted may not have been lawful for the entirety of Units 9 and 10) or indeed any other use that might be normally considered appropriate for a town centre and that did not propose late-night opening. There would be no heavy or loud machinery operating from the site, nor any alterations to the external fabric of the building, and it is judged that the impact from the proposed use would, from the point of view of occupiers of adjacent units, be acceptable. - 6.3 The issue regarding parking is perhaps less clear-cut, but is also viewed favourably. Highway Services offer no objection to the proposal. It is difficult to quantify the parking requirements of such a use. There would evidently be a number of comings and goings
7.0 RECOMMENDATION - 7.1 In view of the above, it is recommended that planning approval be granted.
8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 In line with Article 6(4) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure)(No2) Order 2013, the following Persons are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings relating to the application: the applicant or, if there is one, the applicant's agent; the owner and occupier of the land the subject of the application; Highway Services, and the Local Authority in whose district the land the subject of the application sits.
Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation:
14.04.2015
Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal
C : Conditions for approval
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 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
The development hereby approved relates to the following plans, date-stamped as having been received 13th March 2015: REF 1, REF 2, REF 3 and REF 4.
I confirm that this decision accords with the appropriate Government Circular delegating functions to Director of Planning and Building Control /Head of Development Management/ Senior Planning Officer.
Decision Made : Permitted Date : 27.04.2015 Determining officer (delete as appropriate) Signed :…………………………………….. Chris Balmer Senior Planning Officer Signed :…………………………………….. Sarah Corlett Senior Planning Officer Signed :…………………………………….. Michael Gallagher Director of Planning and Building Control Signed : Jennifer Chance Jennifer Chance Head of Development Management
Copyright in submitted documents remains with their authors. Request removal
View as Markdown