Officer Report

Application No.: 16/00063/B Applicant: Wardsley Ltd Proposal: Erection of a replacement entrance porch Site Address: Tynwald Hill Inn Main Road St Johns Isle of Man IM4 3NA Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley Photo Taken: 03.02.2016 Site Visit: 03.02.2016 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE - 1.1 The application site is the building and associated outdoor space - primarily car parking but also including a beer garden along with picnic tables - of the Tynwald Hill Inn, which is a public house located at the southwestern corner of the junction of Peel Road and the southerly Westview. - 1.2 The public house is a handsome building, complete with prominent string courses, render details to include some protruding quoins, along with an unusual timber feature set beneath the roof overhang super-imposed over the Peel Road gable. Sliding sash windows, chimneys and natural slate combine to form a traditional and historically and architecturally interesting building. There is a rather unfortunate flat-roofed porch / lobby that is evidently an historic alteration and which provides the front entrance. - 1.3 While the building is attractive, and the wider surrounding area amongst the most historically important on the Island (Tynwald Hill lies just to the north across the road), the setting of the public house itself is a little run-down at present. The car park is covered in loose shingle and fairly open, such that the undifferentiated openness serves to undermine the quality and interest of the building, which is unfortunate.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Full planning approval is sought for the removal of the added porch and its replacement with one that appears to be more historically accurate / appropriate to the building. A photograph shows what is titled the original entrance to the pub but it is not clear when this photograph was taken. In any case, it shows a monopitched roof above timber-framed windows and a dwarf wall; this is the form of what is now proposed in place of the existing. The new lobby would sit on a smaller footprint than the existing and would not project beyond the main building lines as is the case with the current lobby. - 2.2 Also shown on the drawings are internal alterations, none of which require planning approval.

- 3.0 PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 Although the site is current the subject of enforcement attention relating to the use and appearance of the adjacent car park and seating area, these are not considered material to the assessment of the current proposal. An extension was approved under PA 86/00821/B.

4.0 THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN - 4.1 The site is not within a Conservation Area. - 4.2 On the St John's Local Plan, the site is zoned a 'Public House', and also has a site-specific policy: "A rationalised parking and access scheme should be incorporated with extensive tree and shrub planting along the road frontage". - 4.3 As the site is so close to Tynwald Hill, the following policy - TYNWALD/P/1 - is also considered relevant: "In light of the national significance of the Tynwald Hill Ancient Monument, no development shall be permitted which would prejudice either the setting of this general area or the operations of the annual ceremony." - 4.4 As the proposal accords with the Local Plan zoning, General Policy 2 applies. Similarly to the Local Plan, there is also a Strategic Plan policy that relates to Ancient Monuments. Environment Policy 40 states in full: "Development will not be permitted which would damage, disturb or detract from an important archaeological site or an Ancient Monument or the setting thereof."

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Highway Services of the Department of Infrastructure offered no objection to the proposal on 29.1.16; German Parish Commissioners offered no objection in comments received 04.02.2016.

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The existing lobby is somewhat cumbersome and, although it is painted the same colour as the remainder of the building, it remains top-heavy and has a somewhat domineering impact on the Inn as a whole. Its removal is therefore to be supported. - 6.2 In its place is proposed a more historically accurate design, and one which appears to closely reflect a lobby that was once in place and that looks as if it may have been original to the building. Whether this assumption is correct or not, the design remains appropriate in itself and also relative to what it is proposed to replace. Its smaller size would result in a much more appropriate overall form and mass of the public house and this is therefore welcomed.

7.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION - 7.1 The scheme as a whole appears to represent a well-thought out response, complies with the relevant Strategic and Local Plan policies, and is therefore recommended for approval.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• o The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested;
• o Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material
• o The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

With effect from 1 June 2015, the Transfer of Planning & Building Control Functions Order 2015 amends the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 to give effect to the meaning of the word 'Department' to be the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture unless otherwise directed by that Order.

Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 25.02.2016 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 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

The development hereby approved relates to drawings 15/2505/01 and 15/2505/02, both datestamped as having been received 22nd January 2016.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Director of Planning and Building Control in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted Date : 26.02.2016 Determining officer

Signed : M GALLAGHER Michael Gallagher Director of Planning and Building Control

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