DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 20/01024/C Applicant: Fancy A Coffee Limited Proposal: Change of use from retail (class 1.1) to food and drink (class 1.3) Site Address: Small Retail Unit Adjacent To Main Retail Unit Crosby Meadow Estate Peel Road Crosby Isle Of Man Planning Officer: Mr Paul Visigah Photo Taken: 28.10.2020 Site Visit: 28.10.2020 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 12.11.2020 _________________________________________________________________

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.

• C 2. The food and drink (class 1.3) (Small Retail Unit), hereby approved, shall only be open for use by customers between the hours of 0700hrs and 2200hrs, 7 days a week.

Reason: The application proposes the times listed and has been considered on this basis only and in the interests of the amenity of neighbouring occupants in accordance with General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

• C 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2012 (or any Order revoking and/or re-enacting that order with or without modification), the use hereby permitted shall not include use for the sale of hot food for consumption off the premises or any activity involving such sales whether ancillary or incidental to the use of the premises. Reason: To safeguard the amenities of occupiers of adjoining properties.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposal is considered to accord with General Policy 2, Community Policy 4, Business Policy 1, Business Policy 10 and Transport Policy 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to the Letter from 'Fancy a coffee limited' (Costa Franchise), location Map, and Drawing No. 16/2576/105/G received on 27 August 2020, and Letter received 11 November 2020.

_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties 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 6(4):

Centre House, Victoria Road, Douglas 35 Cronk Elfin, Ramsey

as 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 Policy. _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report THE SITE

1.1 The site is part of a retail unit (currently under construction and near completion) which lies to the south west of the junction of the A1 Main Road through Crosby and the north-south intersection of Eyreton Road (A23) and Old Church Road (B35). The site lies southeast of new residential dwellings which were approved with the application building under PA 17/00852/B. - 1.2 Opposite this building and on the other side of the main road, is 1-6, Eyremont Terrace, 1, Crosby Terrace and on the corner of Main Road and Eyreton Road is a pair of semi-detached houses - Crosby House and Eyrebrook. To the south east of the site is a tree-lined watercourse beyond which are public toilets, a children's playground, a bowling club, Marown Millennium Hall, a BMX track and a sports pitch. - 1.3 Planning approval was granted for the retail unit under two applications - 18/00339/REM and 17/00852/B. Both schemes proposed essentially the same building but were handed with the former having the commercial vehicle loading and parking area on the south eastern side of the building and the latter having this between the north western gable of the building and the rear of plots 27 and 28. The development has however been implemented in accordance with 17/00852/B. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current application seeks approval for the change of use from retail (class 1.1) to food and drink (class 1.3). This unit is situated on the eastern end of the ground floor of the building when approaching from the vehicular access situated west of the building and has an internal floor space of about 92sqm. The internal layout has a retail area, a WC and a partitioned section connected to the retail area via a pedestrian access door. There would be no external alterations to the appearance of the property to enable the change of use. No flue will be installed for the unit as no meal would be prepared on site given that all food sold would be pre-packed. - 2.2 The applicants have provided additional information which states the following:

• i. The trading hours would be between 7am to 10pm daily, 7 days per week.

• ii. There are 33 spaces within the car park for the building which would serve the development and the larger retail unit within the building. As a community shop in a new development, exact customer numbers have not been fully determined. Natural footfall arising from customers to the adjoining Co-op and nearby housing estates. As a new location we would expect that customer numbers will be established over the first year of trading. We expect to employ a combination of full and part time staff estimated at 8.

2.3 The applicant has provided additional information (11 November 2020) which indicates that the current proposal would not include classes 1.1 for the sale of cold food for consumption off the premises and 1.4 which would enable them offer take-away services and that the application to add those classes of use would form part of a subsequent application. PLANNING POLICY

3.1 The site of the proposed retail unit is designated on The Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Development Plan) Order 1982 as Proposed Residential. Proposed residential designation can include non-residential development where this is complementary to a residential area, such as shops, churches and amenities which contribute to the sustainability of a settlement. As such, the following parts of the Strategic Plan are relevant: - 3.2 General Policy 2 states that "Development which is in accordance with the land-use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted, provided that the development:

• (b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them;
• (c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape;

• (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality;
• (h) provides satisfactory amenity standards in itself, including where appropriate safe and convenient access for all highway users, together with adequate parking, servicing and manoeuvring space;
• (i) does not have an unacceptable effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways;

• (m) takes account of community and personal safety and security in the design of buildings and the spaces around them; and
• (n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption."

3.3 Transport Policy 7 states, "The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards. Appendix 7 requires neighbourhood shops to have "Spaces for staff, customers, and service vehicles". - 3.4 Transport Policy 1: "New development should, where possible, be located close to existing public transport facilities and routes, including pedestrian, cycle and rail routes." - 3.5 Environment Policy 22 states: "Development will not be permitted where it would unacceptably harm the environment and/or the amenity of nearby properties in terms of:

• i) pollution of sea, surface water or groundwater;
• ii) emissions of airborne pollutants; and
• iii) vibration, odour, noise or light pollution."

3.6 Business Policy 10: 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.

• 9.4.4 For the purposes of Business Policy 9 major retail development will be classed as any new or increase in existing retail development of more than 500 sq. metres of floor space measured externally. For the purposes of Business Policy 10 new neighbourhood shops within

• new residential developments will not normally comprise more than 100sq metres of floor space measured externally.
• 9.4.5 It is accepted that in some circumstances a mix of uses can be appropriate within town centre locations such as residential flats above retail units or office accommodation, particularly where this can help to ensure the use of the area at different times during the day, thus helping to ensure the security and vitality of these areas.

3.7 Community Policy 4: Development (including the change of use of existing premises) which involves the loss of local shops and local public houses, will only be permitted if it can be demonstrated that the use is no longer commercially viable, or cannot be made commercially viable.

PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 The site has been the subject of a number of applications which includes the detailed application PA 17/00852/B for the erection of 28 residential units and retail unit with associated parking and landscaping. Approved

Note: The unit which is the subject of the current application was approved as part of this application which has currently been built with works currently underway to complete the landscaping works around the retail building.

Relevant Conditions:

C7: Each of the retail units hereby approved may be used as a shop Class 1 of Schedule 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2012 and for no other purpose.

Reason: To reflect the nature of the planning approval and to control the impact of the development on the surrounding area.

C8: Prior to the operation of either of the proposed retail units, the car parking spaces to the north shall be laid out and available for use by staff and customers of the retail units and retained as such thereafter.

Reason: To ensure that there is sufficient car parking available to serve the commercial unit. C11: The retail unit may not be open for business after 2200hrs on any day; or before 0700hrs on any day. Reason: To protect the living conditions of those living in nearby residential property.

C14: The retail building must be erected, laid out and used as shown in drawing 16/2576/105F received on 20th November, 2018. In particular, the two units must be arranged as shown and may not be combined or merged, and there may be no additional floor space introduced either through the introduction of mezzanine flooring or other means.

Reason: The proposal as approved represents less than 500 sq m of retail floor space which would not require a Retail Impact Assessment (RIA) to demonstrate that it would not have an adverse impact on the viability and vitality of the town centres; any increase in floor area would be in excess of this and no RIA has been provided.

4.2 Other relevant applications include:

• 4.2.1 PA 15/00775/A for Approval in principle for the construction of 28 dwellings and provision of retail space addressing siting and means of access. (Approved).

• 4.2.2 PA 16/01314/REM for Reserved Matters application for the construction of 21 residential units and 1 retail unit with parking (relating to PA 15/00775/A). Refused by the Planning Committee on 13.11.2017. This was also refused at Appeal.
• 4.2.3 PA 18/00329/REM which was a Reserved Matters application for the construction of retail unit with associated parking (relating to PA 15/00775/A). This was refused by the Planning Committee on 2 July 2018, and also refused at Appeal.
• 4.2.4 PA 18/00339/REM for Reserved Matters application for the construction of retail unit with associated parking (relating to PA 15/00775/A). This was refused by the Planning Committee on 2 July 2018, but approved at Appeal (AP18/0029). Relevant sections from the Inspectors Report:

"50 As approval has already been granted for the details of the access arrangements, I do not deal with this matter in detail in this assessment. However, I am satisfied that goods vehicles could turn within the site, and could make the return trip between the highway and the service yard in forward gear. I do not see why it should be necessary for them ever to use the estate road through the proposed residential area. There is no quantitative car parking standard for retail development in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan. The proposed provision of 33 spaces equates to about one space for every 15m2 of retail floor area, and seems to me to be reasonable. Although planning application 15/00775/A indicated that there would be 38 parking spaces to serve the proposed shopping area, the spaces now proposed would be more commodious.

• 54 I have also considered whether the scheme now proposed would be in breach of Business Policy 10 of the Strategic Plan, which indicates that, subject to certain specified exceptions, retail development will be permitted only in established town and village centres. One of the exceptions is for 'neighbourhood shops', which are defined as units having no more than 100m2 of floor space, measured externally. However, a retail development, with a footprint of about 473m2, has already been permitted at Ballaglonney Farm, by virtue of planning approval 15/00775/A. No condition was imposed restricting the size of individual shop units within that development.
• 55 The survey undertaken by the appellants suggests that there is some public support for a large 'convenience store' on this site. And an unsigned letter from the Co-op suggests that there may be a demand for such a facility by an established retailer. However, I have seen nothing to suggest that there is a demand for up to five smaller 'neighbourhood shops', of up to 100m2 each, such as could be accommodated within the approved retail building. As far as I am aware, there is no suggestion that planning approval 15/00775/A could or should be modified or revoked".

REPRESENTATIONS Copies of representations received can be viewed on the government's website. This report contains summaries only.

5.1 Representation from the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) Highways Division confirms that they 'Do not oppose' in the letter dated 23 September 2020.

5.2 Marown Parish Commissioners have stated that they have no objection to the application in a letter dated 22 October 2020.

5.3 The Owners/occupiers of Centre House, Victoria Road, Douglas have written in to seek clarification with regard to the position of the loading bay with regard to the main retail building as erected comparing the Proposed plans for the current proposal (16/2576/105G) with the plan (16/2576/405) approved under PA 18/00339/REM). (23.09.2020)

5.4 The Owners/occupiers of 35 Cronk Elfin, Ramsey have made the following comments regarding the application in a letter dated 22 September 2020:

There is insufficient parking to accommodate customers and staff parking. The average Costa coffee has three staff and will have an average of 2300 customers per week. This will be 328 customers per day and with the co-op there will not be enough space for customers to park. The Coop will take up at least 2 space for their home delivery vans, 7 spaces for staff resulting in minimum of 10 spaces be fully occupied over the period of the day. This will mean there are only 23 spaces available for their customers.

The average customer of a supermarket spends 41 minutes in a shop, so I'm concerned there are insufficient spaces. This could cause customers to park on old church road, which will be dangerous as its already a narrow road with limited space for pedestrians to walk with parked cars.

I would suggest that the car park becomes a disk zone and are limited to less than 30 minutes; this would need to be overseen by parking controllers. Double yellow lines should go on both sides of old church road. There are no seats available in the costa as it would be strictly a takeaway

ASSESSMENT

6.1 The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are; (i) the principle of the change from retail (class 1.1) to food and drink (class 1.3) and (ii) the potential impacts on the wider amenity.

6.2 Principle

• 6.2.1 When evaluating the proposed use in view of the site to which it is a part, it is noted that the change from Class 1.1 to Class 1.3 would be in keeping with the approved retail use for the building and the adjacent residential uses situated around the property. Moreover, the proposal has to be considered in the wider context of the use classes which could include the sale and preparation of a range of food types including some which may have more of an impact in terms of smell. However, it is particularly relevant that the retail unit has no commercial flue which is required for the cooking of food which can be problematic in terms of smell and such apparatus can cause issues also in terms of noise. As such, this (and the need for planning approval for them) can control the nature of the use and its impact on the neighbouring retail use. This in turn is likely to affect or provide an element of control over the type and timing of such uses of the unit. Besides, the applicant has stated that the food served would be pre-packaged and as such there is no intention to install any flues to serve the unit.
• 6.2.2 It is also considered that although the site is designated as residential, the business use of the site would be a complementary development to the abutting residential uses. This has been clearly articulated in Business Policy 10 and Paragraph 9.4.4 of the Strategic Plan which provides for the location of new neighbourhood shops within new residential developments. In addition, the proposed development would ensure the growth of employment opportunities within the area as local jobs would be created; thus complying with Business Policy 1 of the Strategic plan. Therefore, it is considered that the principle of the change of use is acceptable.
• 6.2.3 Whilst the proposed change of use would result in the loss of a local shop, the larger unit would sufficiently serve the needs of the village (the Strategic Plan makes it clear that local shops should not generally have a floor area exceeding 100 sq m) and surrounding communities and as such, it is not considered that the loss of the smaller retail unit would have significant impacts on the village. Thus, it is concluded that the proposal would comply with Community Policy 4 of the Strategic Plan.

6.3 Impact on neighbouring properties

• 6.3.1 In considering the impacts on the wider amenity of the site, the impacts in this instance relates to potential smell nuisance to those in residential property around the site, the comings and goings in relation to these parties and the impact upon car parking in the vicinity.
• 6.3.2 With regards to the comings and goings in relation to neighbouring uses and properties, it is important to note that the subject site is within a retail site and not a residential dwelling/apartments, with uses that may involve operations late in the night. Within the supporting information, the applicants have stated that they want the opening hours to be between 7am to 10pm daily, 7 days per week which would be in keeping with the operations of similar facilities. Whilst it will be open all day meaning that customers arriving and leaving will not be fixed to specific times, it is not considered that this would negatively impact on the abutting retail use as the shop would have similar closing times given the approved use of the site. In addition, the broader site area is provided with 33 parking spaces (including spaces for disabled parking), which has been addressed within the inspectors report for PA 18/00339/REM.
• 6.3.3 Paragraph 50 of the Inspectors report clearly states that 33 spaces would equate to about one space per 15sqm of retail floor area which would be reasonable for the building, with the spaces being convenient for the use of the site. As such it is not considered that the parking spaces provided would be inadequate for the proposed use and adjoining retail use. Besides, the presence of the retail facility to which the unit belongs in close proximity to residential properties and a prominent bus route would encourage walking and use of public transport for a number of visitors to the site; thereby diminishing the pressure on parking provisions within the site.

• 6.3.2 The issue of smells from the cooking of the meals will not be an issue with the current proposal as meals would not be prepared on site. As such, it is not considered that there will be an impact from smell on neighbouring properties such as to warrant refusal of this application. Moreover, the unit is located at a considerable distance from the neighbouring residential properties, with the closest property (The North Laurels) situated about 27m northeast of the application site.

6.4 Other Matters

• 6.4.1 Whilst the comments related to the layout of the building have been noted, this has been addressed in section 1.3 of this report, as the comments relate to an application for the site that has not been implemented (PA 18/00339/REM). Moreover, the application seeks approval for the change of use of the unit and does not involve any proposals for the change of the layout of the unit.

RECOMMENDATION

7.1 In conclusion, it is considered that this is a welcome development for the village which will add a wider range of interest to residents and demonstrates an increasing confidence in investment in the village. As such, it is recommended that planning permission be granted subject to conditions. 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.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 13.11.2020 Determining officer

Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett Principal Planner

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