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The application site represents the curtilage of an existing Victorian building, 2 King Street, Douglas.
The property is four storeys tall with a shop frontage at ground floor level. It is situated on the corner of King Street and an access lane running between the site and Queen Victoria House.
Proposed is the change of use of the building from a retail shop to a beauty salon / aesthetics clinic and wellbeing centre, including using the use lower ground floor (basement) as an exercise studio and the third floor as additional treatment rooms. This application has been submitted retrospectively following an enforcement case being raised. The business which would operate from the site is called "Heavenly Beauty".
The customer entrance and exit is on the front of the property (King Street elevation) at ground floor level. There is a fire exit door located to the rear, also at ground floor level.
The opening hours of the business are 9am to 5pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 9am to 8pm on Thursdays; 9am to 5pm on Fridays and 9am to 4pm on Saturdays.
There are 6 members of staff (all are part-time). The maximum of clients at any one time is 4 and this would only be achieved on a Thursday.
There is an exercise studio in the lower ground floor (basement), where there is a powerplate and a treadmill. The business aims to offer supervised exercise to its clients, but with privacy, so there is likely to only be 1 client and 1 member of staff in the studio at any one time. Each session would be half-hourly.
No parking spaces are provided and there will be no external changes to the building.
There are no previous planning applications which are considered relevant in the assessment and determination of this application.
The application site is located within an area designated as Predominantly Shopping Use in the Douglas Local Plan Order 1998, Map No. 1 (Central Area). The site is located within the Douglas (Athol Street / Victoria Street) Conservation Area.
The relevant planning policies from the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 are General Policy 2, Environment Policy 35 and Business Policy 10.
Environment Policy 35 states; Within Conservation Areas, the Department will permit only development which would preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Area, and will ensure that the special features contributing to the character and quality are protected against inappropriate development.
Business Policy 10 states; Retail development will be permitted only in established town and village centres, with the exceptions of neighbourhood shops in large residential areas and those instances identified in Business Policy 5.
The Department of Infrastructure Highways Division do not object to this application, as there are no traffic management, parking or road safety implications. The Highways Division state that they have relaxed the parking standards due to the town location of the site.
Douglas Corporation have no objection to the proposal.
No written responses have been received from the general public.
The site is located within an area designated as Predominately Shopping Use on the Douglas Local Plan 1998, although the properties within the vicinity are occupied by a mixture of uses, including shops, hairdressers, food outlets, flats and offices.
Due to the type of mixed uses of properties within the surrounding area, I therefore consider that the proposed use would be acceptable in this locality.
With regard to car parking, no off-street parking would be provided as part of this proposal. The Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure have not objected to this proposal, due to the town centre location of the site. The building is a short distance from Lord Street, where there are
bus links to and from the main towns in the Island. In addition to this, the site is within walking distance of on-street disc parking and public car parks. It is therefore felt appropriate to relax the parking standards in this instance.
With regard to the impact on the Conservation Area, there would be no external alterations to the property, so the proposal would have a neutral effect on the area.
RECOMMENDATION For the above reasons, this proposal is considered to be acceptable and is recommended for approval. PARTY STATUS
The local authority is, by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, paragraph 6 (5) (c) and (d), considered an "interested person" and as such should be afforded party status.
The Department of Transport Highways Division is now part of the Department of Infrastructure of which the planning authority is part. As such, the Highways and Traffic Division cannot be afforded party status in this instance.
Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 17.01.2011 Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal
This approval relates to the change of use of former retail shop to beauty salon / aesthetics clinic and wellbeing centre (retrospective), including lower ground floor to an exercise studio and third floor as additional treatment rooms; as shown in the 1:1250 and 1:250 site / locations plans and 3 pages of floor plans, all date stamped 1 November 2010, in addition to information in a letter from the applicant, date stamped 11 January 2011.
I confirm that this decision accords with the appropriate Government Circular delegating functions to the Senior Planning Officer. Decision Made : Permitted Date : .................................. Signed : .................................. 17 January 2011 10/01601/C Page 3 of 4
Senior Planning Officer
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