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Planning Statement
1700763
for
Proposed Change of Use
to
Commercial Brokerage
at
Unit 12, Cooil Smithy, Isle of Man Business Park
Braddan, Isle of Man IM2 2QZ
Prepared by
Marshall Cryer Architects
July 2017
Ref: 997/1-Rev A
Proposed Change of Use to Commercial Brokerage, Unit 12, Cooil Smithy, Isle of Man Business Park, Braddan, Isle of Man IM2 2QZ
Read in conjunction with documents as per attached issue note.
This statement has been prepared in support of an Application for Change of Use to an Insurance Brokerage headquarters. It seeks to identify and explain the various consultations undertaken and factors considered relevant.
Unit 12 comprises one small part of a larger block containing six industrial units of varying sizes. Known as Block B, it is one half of a development known as Cooil Smithy, forming part of the Isle of Man Business Park.
Unit 12 extends to some 118m² (1,270 sq ft) centrally positioned with a personnel door incorporated into a roller shutter door providing access.
As part of the unit, there are three dedicated parking spaces in the large courtyard area situated between blocks A & B.
This application seeks to obtain approval to use the unit as a base for an insurance brokerage firm, Platinum Insurance, whose Managing Director is Mrs. Justine Gaisford-Martin. Mrs. Gaisford-Martin has considerable
experience in the insurance industry and has recently registered Platinum Insurance (Isle of Man) Limited with the IOM Financial Services Authority. Whilst going through this registration process, she has not been trading and has devoted time to looking for suitable office premises.
Mrs Gaisford-Martin intends to specialise in the provision of insurance services to the industrial, commercial and farming communities and as such meetings take place at the customers' premises spread around the Island.
Accordingly a traditional high street location with traditional retail frontage in a high footfall area is considered to be inappropriate for the business needs. Likewise, a town centre traditional 'office' is also considered not to be a viable location due to difficulties of constantly travelling into and out of busy town centres.
4 Consultations As noted in the Planning Application, pre application advice was received from Sarah Corlett and more particularly Ed Riley. In his e-mail of 23 May 2017 (Appendix 1) he states that there are two points to address with proposals such as this:- a) the loss of industrial premises from their approved use, and b) the appropriateness of an office use
With regard to the loss of industrial space attached (Appendix 2) are copies of brochures of industrial premises of similar size currently being marketed by Developers. While they may not be fully up to date these indicate 24 premises available and a further 10 under
5 Planning policy 6 Industrial Premises Indicate 24 premises available and a further 10 under construction and this does not include any units for sale/to let privately. As such there does not appear to be a conflict between this proposal and the general policy.
With regard to the appropriateness of office use this statement now continues to outline the case for permitting Commercial Brokerage at Cooil Smithy
The relevant planning documents are considered to be: (i) Isle of Man Strategic Plan (IoMSP), (ii) Braddan Parish District Plan.
Business Policy 7 of the IoMSP states that new office floor space should be located within town and village centers on land which is zoned for such, but that exceptionally permission may be given for new office space "on approved Business Parks for Corporate Headquarters which do not involve day to day callers".
In this instance the application site is within the Business Park "Masterplan" area identified in the Braddan Local Plan. The area has previously been approved for Business Park use under PAs 89/04166 & 90/04155 and is now well established as the Isle of Man Business Park.
Dave Roberts of the Department of Economic Development ("DED") advises that in the Employment Land Review previously referred to there is a demand for smaller units but this is predominantly in the west and north of the island. This may or may not be as a result of
rental rates in these areas but it explains the number of units on offer and the failure to let the premises to date
7 Context In the considerable period since the publication of the Braddan Parish Plan there has been extensive development in the Cooil Road area. As well as the area originally earmarked for the Business Park additional sites have been developed. These include Robinsons Food Emporium, Eden Park Garden Centre, Eden Park Business Park and a new garage headquarters currently under construction. A number of these businesses were formerly housed "in town" but it was recognized that alternative out of town sites would be advantageous (and acceptable). Although of a lesser scale this rationale applies to Platinum Insurance and in addition there appear to be a number of examples of smaller scale operations also housed in the area, presumably permitted for similar reasons These include:
In Eden Business Park
In Snugborough Trading Estate
The Department have offices from which they
coordinate the repair and maintenance works for the various schools. There are no workshops attached to the premises
8 Access and Services Access and parking considerations and the provision of services have been addressed as part of the original planning application and are therefore considered to be adequate for the current application
9 Selection Criteria The site at the Coolil Smithy, just off the Coolil Road, appears to be ideally suited for several reasons including but not necessarily limited to: (a) Ease of access to Coolil Road and thereafter the main arterial roads servicing the south, north and west of the island. (b) Proximity to her target market of industrial and commercial companies operating in or from one or more of the neighboring industrial estates. (c) Its size, being 118 square metres, allows for two members of staff, together with the long term storage of the requisite sensitive documentation. (d) On-site parking directly in front of the proposed site (e) Its high level of security, being situated within an area with excellent CCTV coverage and a unit with one access point secured with a roll down metal shutter. (f) Central in the block, the site does not have a prominent facade so would remain low key.
10 Conclusion The proposal is in accordance with planning policy given that the unit is within the IoM Business Park and that it will
Planning Statement
Page 7 of 7
not provide services principally to visiting members of the public. On this basis it is suggested that a planning condition which simply restricts use of the office floors to Use Class 4, and not Use Class 2, would be a more straightforward and appropriate way of ensuring this than conditions which have been used in the past.
The floor plan attached shows that Unit 12 is very much smaller than the neighboring units. The reason for this layout is unknown but it does mean that the unit is not that flexible for anything other than clerical use. Mrs Gaisford-Martins' prospective landlords advise that, despite a concerted marketing effort over a considerable length of time, they have not been able to let the unit.
Hopefully the above goes some way to showing why permitting insurance brokerage at Cooil Smithy would fit in with the overall planning policies.
Marshall Cryer Architects
July 2017
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