DEC Officer Report

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No.: 23/00495/B Applicant: Miss Kirree Ronan Proposal: Replacement of all windows front and back Site Address: 39 Mill Street Castletown Isle Of Man IM9 1AG Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 15.09.2023

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions 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 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposal complies with Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Act (1999) and Environment Policy 35 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 2nd May 2023;

• o Location Plan
• o Site Plan

This decision also relates to the window specification dated received 29th August 2023 _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status

Additional Persons

It is recommended that the following organisation should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 4(2):

Isle of Man Victorian Society as they do not own or occupy property that is within 20m of the application site and the development is not automatically required to be the subject of an EIA by Appendix 5 of the Strategic Plan, in accordance with paragraph 2B of the Policy and they have not explained how the development would impact the lawful use of land owned or occupied by them and in relation to the relevant issues identified in paragraph 2C of the Policy, as is required by paragraph 2D of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status. _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is within the curtilage of 39 Mill Street, Castletown which is a midterrace, two storey property situated to the Eastern side of Mill Street. The property is situated directly onto the main road. - 1.2 When looking at the overall streetscene in connection with the windows in place, there is a variety of timber and uPVC windows from sliding sash, casements in 'mock sash' style and standard casements within the overall streetscene. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for the replacement of the existing front and rear windows with uPVC windows. PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 There is one previous application upon the site which is PA15/01235/B which was for the "Installation of replacement front door" and was permitted. PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "Predominantly Residential" under the Area Plan for the South, Map 5 - Castletown. The site isn't within a Flood Risk Zone but is within a Conservation Area.

4.2 Given the nature of the of the land designation and the property being within a Conservation Area, Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act (1999) is the most relevant in the assessment of this application. Followed by paragraph 7.29.2 and Environment Policy 35 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, which set out development in Conservation Areas will only be permitted where they preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the area. This is then followed by Planning Circular 1/98, which sets out the general standards for replacement windows. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 The following representations can be found in full online;

5.2 Highway Services have considered the proposal and state "After reviewing this Application, Highway Services HDC finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and /or parking. The Applicant is advised that Highway Licences may be necessary for any equipment and materials to be placed within the highway for the duration of the proposed works." (22.04.23)

5.3 No comments have been received from Castletown Commissioners at the time of writing this report. - 5.4 The Assistant Registered Buildings Officer has considered the proposal and has raised no objections. (12.07.23)

5.5 The Isle of Man Victorian Society have written in to object to the proposal on the basis that sliding sash windows with integral horns should be installed. (4.06.23)

ASSESSMENT

6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are:

• - Section 18(4) test
• - character and appearance (GP2, b,c)

- 6.2 SECTION 18(4) TEST

• 6.2.1 Due to the proposed works being in a Conservation Area it is necessary to test the application under section 18(4) of the Town and Country Act (1999), see section 4.2 of this report, on whether the works preserve or enhance the Conservation Area.
• 6.2.2 The proposed works are to remove the existing old windows with new half and half casement windows. Whilst applications such as this should have half and half sliding sash windows, due to the age of the existing windows and the surrounding streetscene being a mix of windows styles and varieties, it would be unnecessary in this instance to request for sliding sash windows.
• 6.2.3 The originally provided one over two thirds casement windows, which would not preserve the overall Conservation Area, as such half and half casements were requested, and amended details were provided for this.
• 6.2.4 With regards to the proposed works to the rear elevation, these are a direct copy of what is currently in place with uPVC, as such they will not impact the overall streetscene.
• 6.2.5 With the above in mind the works will pass the Section 18(4) test by preserving the Conservation Area by providing half and half casement windows to the front elevation and matching windows to the rear elevation. 6.3 CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE

• 6.3.1 When looking at the character and appearance of the proposed works on the surrounding area, the main impact would be making sure that the works preserve or enhance the Conservation Area. Planning Circular 1/98 states that there is no preference in the material used in windows within a Conservation Area as such the proposed uPVC windows are recognised as an acceptable alternative to timber, which will preserve the Conservation Area. CONCLUSION
• 7.1 The proposed windows to both the front and back are deemed acceptable in terms of their form, mass and design which preserves the overall Conservation Area and as such complies with Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Act (1999) and Environment Policy 35 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016. INTERESTED PERSON STATUS
• 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• (a) the applicant (including an agent acting on their behalf);
• (b) any Government Department that has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (c) the Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure;
• (d) Manx National Heritage where it has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (e) Manx Utilities where it has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (f) the local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated; and

• (g) a local authority adjoining the authority referred to in paragraph (f) where that adjoining authority has made written representations that the Department considers material. 8.2 The decision maker must determine:

• o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than the Department of Infrastructure Highway Services Division) 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.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 19.09.2023 Determining officer Signed : J SINGLETON Jason Singleton Principal Planner

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