Erection of a building to provide bicycle servicing / repair and sales, cycling fitness centre, cafe, meeting rooms and offices with associated parking and vehicular access

Why Was This Approved?

• ✓Proposed building on a 0.42-hectare vacant plot within the Isle of Man Business Park
• ✓Uses included bicycle servicing and sales, a cycling fitness centre, café, meeting rooms, and offices
• ✓Site surrounded by major office headquarters including Manx Utilities, RL360, and Manx Telecom
• ✓Loss of employment land was a key planning concern
• ✓Officer recommended refusal but the committee overturned this and approved the application
• ✓Permission granted subject to five conditions
• ✓Loss of employment land
• ✓Acceptability of proposed retail element
• ✓Acceptability of proposed café and gym
• ✓Sustainable development considerations

This application sought permission to erect a building on a vacant 0.42-hectare plot within the Isle of Man Business Park in Braddan. The proposed building would provide bicycle servicing, repair and sales, a cycling fitness centre, a café, meeting rooms, and offices, along with associated parking and vehicular access. The site sits within an established business park surrounded by the headquarters of major employers including Manx Utilities, RL360, Manx Telecom, and a building under construction for Canada Life at the time of the application. The case officer identified the loss of employment land, the retail element, and the café and gym uses as the main planning issues, and recommended the application be refused. The committee disagreed with the officer's recommendation and resolved to approve the application. Permission was granted on 20 October 2016, subject to five conditions.

The committee approved the application despite the case officer recommending refusal. The decision was granted subject to five conditions. The key planning issues considered included the loss of employment land, the acceptability of the retail element, and the acceptability of the proposed café and gym uses.

Conditions (5)

1. 1

   Condition 1

   The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice.

2. 2

   Condition 2

   Prior to any of the works hereby approved being undertaken, a traffic management plan shall be submitted to, and approved in writing by, the Department. The works shall be undertaken in accordance with the approved plan.

3. 3

   Condition 3

   The retail sale of goods from the site shall be restricted to bicycles and ancillary goods thereto.

4. 4

   Condition 4

   No works or development shall be carried out until a tree planting plan prepared in accordance with the recommendations of BS8545:2014 (Trees: from nursery to independence in the landscape - recommendations) is submitted and approved in writing by the Department.

5. 5

   Condition 5

   If, within a period of 5 years from the completion of the development, any of the trees planted in accordance with this condition is cut down, uprooted, removed, destroyed or dies or becomes, in the opinion of the Department, seriously damaged or defective, another tree of the same species shall be planted at the same location.

Planning History (5)

Documents (41)