16 February 2018 · Committee
67, Strand Street, Douglas, Isle Of Man, IM1 2en
The proposal involved replacing the existing facade at 67 Strand Street — a predominantly single-storey building with a wide frontage on Douglas's main shopping street — with a two-storey curtain walling design. The site is zoned as Predominantly Shopping and sits immediately adjacent to, though outside, the Douglas Promenades Conservation Area; it cannot be seen from the Promenade itself. The officer's report identified the existing buildings as an inefficient use of a prominent central site, offering little vitality or architectural interest, and described the proposed design as a vast improvement. However, the officer recommended refusal on the grounds that the contemporary curtain walling design failed to respect the scale, form, and character of the surrounding townscape and risked adversely affecting views into and out of the Conservation Area. Planning Committee disagreed, accepting the principle that replacing the traditional-style frontage with a more contemporary design was appropriate, and permitted the application.
The Planning Committee considered that replacing the existing frontage with a contemporary design was acceptable in principle and that the proposed curtain walling scheme was an appropriate way of achieving that. This overturned the officer's recommendation to refuse, which had centred on concerns about design compatibility with the surrounding townscape and potential harm to the adjacent Conservation Area.
General Policy 2
respect the scale, form and design of the surroundings
General Policy 2
adversely affect the character of the surrounding townscape and locality
General Policy 2
Strategic Policy 5
make a positive contribution to the environment
Strategic Policy 5: New development, including individual buildings, should be designed so as to make a positive contribution to the environment of the Island. In appropriate cases the Department will require planning applications to be supported by a Design Statement which will be required to take account of the Strategic Aim and Policies. 4.4 Economy 4.4.1 The Spatial Strategy identifies the Major Employment Areas around the Island. While the majority of business and employment is focused around the Douglas Metropolitan Area, there are other major employment areas at Castletown, the Airport/Freeport, Peel, Ramsey and Jurby. The Department considers the distribution of employment areas provides a spread of employment opportunities around the Island. While recognising the opportunities for small scale local employment within existing centres it is considered new employment should, in the main, be concentrated within existing settlements or those major employment areas referred to in the Island Spatial Strategy and illustrated on the Key Diagram. Existing Local and new Area Plans will provide detailed boundar ies for these areas. From time to time Government may judge it appropriate to offer financial incentives to encourage economic activity or investment in particular parts of the Island.
Environment Policy 36
detrimentally affect important views into and out of the Conservation Area
Environment Policy 36: Where development is proposed outside of, but close to, the boundary of a Conservation Area, this will only be permitted where it will not detrimentally affect important views into and out of the Conservation Area. 7.31 Advertisements in Conservation Areas 7.31.1 Some advertisements found and proposed in Conservation Areas are inappropriate and do not reflect the special character and designation of the area. The design of advertisements should respect the physical appearance of the premises in order to integrate re adily with its surroundings. Traditional details, hanging signs and hand painted signage are most appropriate and will be encouraged.
installation of a new shopfront
refurbishment works
remove the existing, traditional frontage and replace it with a large, single window
replicate the traditional features in powder-coated aluminium
replacement of a pair of single storey buildings with a glass-fronted, two-storey building
demolition of an amusement arcade and its replacement with a glass-fronted retail unit
