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PA 10/00963/GB \& PA 10/00324/B
Douglas \& Clarendon Hotels And 49 North Quay Refurbishment / Redevelopment Douglas
For
Heron \& Brearley Ltd
Savage \& Chadwick Chartered Architects
1.1 The proposal by Heron \& Brearley to refurbish and redevelop this site for public house and offices was submitted on 24th June 2010. 1.2 The proposal contained a limited car parking provision due to the Planning requirement to retain the existing vaulted cellars beneath the Douglas Hotel. The room required to create a ramp into the limited remaining basement would consequently have made basement parking unviable. Furthermore the loads created by parking on top of the existing cellars made rear off street parking unviable. Consequently only four spaces were created at street level which was the only practical solution. These spaces were required for the office space senior management as the close proximity of Public transport and location in the town centre meant that the majority of office users would not need to bring a car into the town centre. 1.3 Subsequent to the above submission the Planning Department requested that the rear spaces be removed to create a double fronted development and open the ground floor visually to Chapel Row at the rear. 1.4 We have complied with this request.
2.1 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan contains several policies relevant to this document. 'Transport Policy 1: New Development should, where possible, be located close to existing public transport facilities and routes, including pedestrian, cycle and rail routes.' 'Transport Policy 2: The layout of development should, where appropriate, make provision for new bus, pedestrian and cycle routes, including linking into existing systems. 2.2 In addition, 11.2.1 of the Plan states: 'It is considered that in order to support the environmental objectives of this Plan the use of public transport as an alterative to the private car should be encouraged.' and 11.2.3 goes on to say: 'In order to help meet the environmental objectives contained within this Plan, new development should where possible be located and planned so as to reduce the need for travel and encourage means of travel other than by private car, in particular walking, cycling and public transport use. In general, such locations will be within or contiguous with existing built centres which are well served by public transport and which are within walking or cycling distance of the new development and this will have the added benefit of strengthening the services, shops, employment opportunities and overall vitality of those centres.'
3.1 The Development Proposal is to create office space to the upper floor levels and the majority of ground floor space would become a Public House.
The Douglas Hotel - a Registered Building - would be retained whilst it is proposed to demolish and redevelop no 49 North Quay, the Clarendon Hotel and new extension to the Douglas Hotel. 3.2 The scheme creates 13,008 sq ft of nett office and 4,185 sq ft for Public House space. 3.3 The majority of office space has been pre let and the Applicant will tenant the Public House space themselves.
4.1 The strict drink / drive laws have resulted in very few people now using their car to visit a Public House.
It is not foreseen that any parking for the Public House will be required and certainly the two Public Houses that occupy the site have never carried a parking provision.
The number of staff that will service the Public House is relatively small (5-7 maximum) and the adjacent Public Transport links mean that they will inevitably travel to work using this form of transport. 4.2 The office use will generate greater numbers of people however the lack of parking is compensated in the following way 4.3 The building is next to all major bus routes and bus stops are located within 20 yards of the entrance. This allows staff excellent access to Public Transport should they wish to use it. 4.4 As part of the development 3 cycle stands will be provided. Given the facility for secure cycle parking it is hoped that this will encourage cycling. Details of the cycle parking accompany this Document. 4.5 The central location of the building means that the staff that live in Douglas and presently walk to work can continue to do so. 4.6 The only office workers likely to require parking would be Senior Management hence the provision of four spaces in the original proposal.
It is proposed that should approval be granted these spaces be found off site in a nearby location and it be a condition that they be provided prior to occupation.
4.7 In summary, the use of sustainable and Public Transport is encouraged by this development and the dependency of the private car is reduced by the following methods: (a) The central location of the building allows staff living in Douglas to walk to work. (b) The provision of a secure cycle parking allows staff to make use of that facility. (c) The location of the building next to all major bus routes to/from Douglas allows staff easy access to Public Transport. (d) Senior Management spaces will be found off site in a nearby location. (e) The inevitable, yet much reduced need for the private car is catered for by the proximity of a public car park nearby - Shaw's Brow.
The Travel Plan for this scheme allows greater Public Transport and sustainable transport use in accordance with the Planning Policy Framework and relies for less on the use of private cars. The reduced use of private cars is however catered for by the provision of four car parking spaces off site.
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