Conversion of building, including alterations of existing building from offices to Class 1.3 - food and drink - and Class 3.1 - tourist accommodation (hotels and guest houses) (in association with PA 21/00828/CON)

General Policy 2

The proposals are considered to be in accordance with the Strategic Plan policies GP2 and 4

General Policy 2: 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: (a) is in accordance with the design brief in the Area Plan where there is such a brief; (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; (d) does not adversely affect the protected wildlife or locally important habitats on the site or adjacent land, including water courses; (e) does not affect adversely public views of the sea; (f) incorporates where possible existing topography and landscape features, particularly trees and sod banks; (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; (j) can be provided with all necessary services; (k) does not prejudice the use or development of adjoining land in accordance with the appropriate Area Plan; (l) is not on contaminated land or subject to unreasonable risk of erosion or flooding; (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. 6.3 Development outside of areas zoned for development

Strategic Policy 4

The proposals are considered to be in accordance with the Strategic Plan policies GP2 and 4

Character and Appearance............................................................... 17 The Natural Environment ................................................................................. 34 The Urban Environment ................................................................................... 48 Transport and Utilities ..................................................................................... 57 Employment ................................................................................................... 71 Town Centres ................................................................................................. 81 Tourism ......................................................................................................... 90 Open Space and Recreation, Education, Health and other Community Facilities .... 95 Residential ................................................................................................... 101 Comprehensive Treatment Areas .................................................................... 127 Appendices Appendix 1 Additional background information on Employment Land 134 Appendix 2 Recommendations set out in the Retail Study 2009 138 Appendix 3 Extracts from the Draft Area Plan for the East 'Household Size and Population Projections Paper DP EP5 (June 2019) An 'Area' approach to Plan making What is an Area Plan? The Cabinet Office has a responsibility, afforded to it by Section 2 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999, to prepare the Island Development Plan (IDP). The purpose of the IDP is to set out the general 'Policies' in respect of the development and other use of land on the Isle of Man , and also to identify the 'Proposals' which relate to specific places or issues , depending on the particular plan area. The two types of plan prepared and which make up the 'Island Development Plan' are: • a strategic plan, and • one or more area plans. The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 (the Strategic Plan ) was approved by Tynwald on 15th March 2016, coming into operation on 1st April 2016. In hierarchical terms, the strategic plan sits above the area plans in the sense that the proposal in an area plan shall be in general conformity with the strategic plan. The implementation of Policy set out in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan This Area Plan for the East elaborates on the broad policies set out in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan relating them to precise areas of land. The Plan's final form has been shaped by the Report of the Public Inquiry published on 6th December 2019 and the representations received on the proposed Modifications published on 14th February 2020. The Area Plan for the East is made up of a Written Statement (this document) and a series of Maps. The Written Statement contains 'Proposals' which are either site s pecific, relatable to a specific issue in the East or on occasion in the form of a policy statement for a specific area. A number of 'Recommendations' are also included. These are statements of intent where the Cabinet Office has no direct control over i mplementation. They are intended to act as encouragement to other Departments or bodies to work together with the support of Cabinet Office to take action on or to deliver on particular matters or policy statements. How many Area Plans will there be? It is the intention to produce a limited number of Area Plans. There is already an Area Plan for the South which covers Castletown, Port Erin, Port St Mary, Rushen, Arbory, and Malew. The Area Plan for the East will be followed by an Area Plan for the North and West. Current legislation allows an area plan to relate to the whole of the Island or to such part as may be specified therein. It is the aim to produce, in time, a single 'All-Island Area Plan' alongside one Strategic Plan. These Plans would be capable of being reviewed or updated in tandem. The geographical coverage of the area plans thought most likely at the time of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 1 was identified in the Island Spatial Strategy (Chapter 5) of th at document which was subsequently carried forward to the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016. The extent of the Plan boundaries set out in the first iteration of the Strategic Plan, is set out below: Area Plan Coverage Area Plan Local Authority Area Douglas and the East Borough of Douglas, the district of Onchan and the Parishes of Braddan, Garff (Laxey and Lonan Wards only), Marown and Santon The South Parishes of Rushen, Arbory and Malew, Villages of Port Erin and Port St Mary and the town of Castletown Peel and the West Peel, and the Parishes of Patrick, German, and Michael Ramsey and the North Ramsey and the Parishes of Andreas, Ballaugh, Bride, Jurby, Lezayre, and the Maughold Ward of Garff The Area Plan for the East's geographical context 1.4.1. The Area Plan boundary is shown on Map 3 and includes Douglas, Onchan, Braddan, Garff (Laxey and Lonan Wards only), Marown, Santon and Braddan

Business Policy 1

The proposals are considered to be in accordance with the Strategic Plan policies GP2 and 4, Paragraph 9.5.8 and Business Policies 1, 11

Business Policy 1: The growth of employment opportunities throughout the Island will be encouraged provided that development proposals accord with the policies of this Plan. 9.1.3 This chapter concent rates on the land use implications of business activity, including industry, storage and distribution, office and commercial development, retailing and tourism. 9.1.4 In respect of employment land availability, the Department has undertaken and published an Employment Land Availability Study (1). A summary of this is included in Appendix 9. Across the Island there are some 118 hectares of land allocated for industrial development. Much of this is concentrated around Ballasalla and the Airport. There is, however, a spread of land available across the Island to support employment and regeneration opportunities in each area. Such land will be important to support the regeneration of the Service Centres and the Gateway and Employment role of the Airport area. 9.1.5 The Douglas area has seen by far the bulk of the industrial land take up in recent decades and much of the land allocated for such purposes has been taken up. This is why the Department has resolved to proceed with a Development Order for the development of some 20 hectares of employment land to the south of Cooil Road. A recent report on the take up of industrial land in the Douglas area indicates that it has been faster than anticipated and at current rates that all the land will be required by 2015. While the situation will be subject to detailed assessment in the preparation of the Plan for the East, the Department is satisfied that the release of additional land is both necessary and appropriate at this stage. 9.1.6 The Department has also reviewed planning permissions for office development. The majority of these are focused in the Douglas area. Take up has been low in recent years with the exception of certain relocations to corporate headquarters, such as Skandia. There are a number o f sites still available for new office development, in addition to the existing stock. Of note is the recent trend for sites with office consents to subsequently secure planning permission for residential use. The most notable example being the final pha se of the Villiers development, which now has a residential permission in addition to its partly - implemented office consent. 9.1.7 The following information has been extracted from the Review of Economic Strategy (Treasury 2003) which formed part of the background to the Economic Strategy 2004 approved by Tynwald in October that year. (1) Employment Land Availability Study DLGE 2007 9.1.8 The Isle of Man has enjoyed unprecedented economic success in the last ten years. Over this period annual gross domestic product, or GDP (the value of the economy' s output of all goods and services), has more than doubled in real terms (both absolute and per capita) such that from a deficit of around one quarter, per capita GDP in the Isle of Man now exceeds that of the UK by 7% and the average for the European Union (EU 15) by 10%. 9.1.9 The period 1993 - 2000 saw the economy not only expanding but doing so at an accelerating rate, before slowing in 2000/01. Since 2001 the economy has continued to grow at around 5% per annum (the latest national income accounts revealed growth of 5.9% in 2002/03), meaning that, after the recession in the early 1980's the Isle of Man economy has recorded economic growth in each of the last twenty years. 9.1.10 This economic performance has been led by the financial and related se rvices sectors. The finance industry grew by over 80% between 1996 and 2001 alone. But the table below illustrates that probably all areas of Manx economy are today generating more income in real terms than a decade ago, even it the relative importance o f some, most noticeably manufacturing, has declined. Table One - Sectoral Contributions to National Income 1992/93 v 2000/01 (at 2000/01 prices) Contributions to National Income (£) Real Increase in income generated (%) 1992/93 % 2000/01 % Manufacturing 72.0 11 76.7 6 6.5 Finance 229.7 35 505.4 41 120.0 Tourism 41.0 6 67.7 6 65.1 Agriculture/Fishing 11.7 2 15.8 1 35.0 Construction 46.7 7 89.6 7 91.9 Professional Services 96.7 15 186.1 15 92.4 Utilities, Distribution and Miscellaneous Services 133.1 20 223.8 18 68.1 Pubic Administration 34.6 5 53.6 4 54.9 Total 665.5 100 1,218.7 100 83.1 9.1.11 National income data aside, the clearest indication of the economic success enjoyed by the Island in recent times comes from the labour market. Census results show that the workforce increased from 33,189 in 1991 to 39,685 by 2001, an increase almost identical to that in the total resident population over the period. But the number seeking emp loyment but who were unemployed at the time halved from 1,360 to 635. 9.1.12 Changes in the underlying structure of the economy reflected in the national income accounts are further depicted in the Census statistics below showing the distribution of labour between the different sectors of the economy. Table Two - Employment by Sector 1991 v 1996 1991 1996 2001 No. % No. % No. % Agriculture and Fishing 1,240 3.9 938 2.8 543 1.4 Manufacturing 3,348 10.5 3,562 10.6 3,185 8.2 Construction 3,404 10.7 3,372 10.0 2,512 6.4 Utilities1 513 1.6 462 1.4 515 1.3 Transport and Communications 2,437 7.7 2,688 8.0 2,970 7.6 Wholesaling and Retailing 3,844 12.1 3,692 11.0 4,372 11.2 Finance 4,353 13.7 5,942 17.7 8,959 22.9 ICT2 n.a n.a n.a n.a 361 0.9 Professional Services 5,438 17.1 6,081 18.1 7,296 18.7 Tourist Accommodation 856 2.7 765 2.3 743 1.9 Entertainment and Catering 1,403 4.4 1,156 3.4 2,116 5.4 Miscellaneous Services 2,849 9.0 2,768 8.2 2,373 6.1 Public Administration 2,144 6.7 2,146 6.4 3,105 8.0 Total 31,829 100.0 33,5773 100.0 39,050 100.0 Notes: 1 Electricity, gas and water 2 Not separated out from other sectors until 2001 3 Includes 5 where occupation not recorded 9.2 Industry and Storage and Distribution 9.2.1 The nature of industrial activity on the Island changed very considerably during the last century. The previously dominant primary industries of fishing and agriculture now contribute only 1% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provide only 1.4% of our total employment, whereas manufacturing contributes 6% to the GDP and provides 8.2% of our employment, and the construction industry contributes 6% to the GDP and provides 6.4% of our employment. Storage and distribution has also become a more important activity, particularly in terms of the demands it makes on land, buildings, and access requirements. 9.2.2 Most of the Island's industry is located close to major transportation links, particularly in the case of Douglas, Braddan and Ballasalla, which all have convenient access to Ronaldsway airport and Douglas harbour. Ramsey and Peel harbours are used for the importation and exportation of large scale good s (fuel, building supplies etc). All of these are conveniently accessible to significant pools of labour. In order to minimise excessive transportation of goods and travel for employees, and to promote sustainable development, much of the Island's future industrial development should continue to be concentrated in these locations, and appropriate areas of land should be made available for such uses in the Area Plans for these parts of the Island. It will also be appropriate, when formulating Area Plans for our smaller settlements, to make provision for the continued operation of small -scale family businesses, particu

POLICY RB/3 General criteria applied in considering registered building applications

Policies RB/3 AND RB/5 of Planning Policy Statement 1/01

POLICY RB/3 General criteria applied in considering registered building applications The issues that are generally relevant to the consideration of all registered building applications are:- • The importance of the building, its intrinsic architectural and historic interest and rarity, relative to the Island as a whole and within the local context; • The particular physical features of the building (which may include its design, plan, materials or location) which justify its inclusion in the register; descriptions annexed to the entry in the register may draw attention to features of particular interest or value, but they are not exhaustive and other features of importance, (e.g. Interiors, murals, hidden fireplaces) may come to light after the building's entry in the register; • The building's setting and its contribution to the local scene, which may be very important, e.g. Where it forms an element in a group, park, garden or other townscape or landscape, or where it shares particular architectural forms or details with other buildings nearby (including other registered buildings).

POLICY RB/5 ALTERATIONS AND EXTENSIONS

Policies RB/3 AND RB/5 of Planning Policy Statement 1/01

POLICY RB/5 ALTERATIONS AND EXTENSIONS In considering whether to grant planning approval for development which affects a registered building or its setting and in considering whether to grant registered building consent for any works, the Department shall have special regard to the desirability of preserving the building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest which it possesses. Registered building consent is required for the building's alteration in any way which would affect its special architectural or historic character. There will be a general presumption against alteration or extension of registered buildings, except where a convincing case can be made, against the criteria set out in this section, for such proposals. Applicants for registered building consent for alteration or extension to a registered building must be able to justify their proposals. They will be required to show why the works which would affect the character of the registered building are desirable or necessary and they should provide full information to enable the Department to assess the likely impact of their proposals on the special architectural or historic interest of the building and on its setting. Where registered buildings are the subject of successive applications for alteration or extension, consideration will also be given to the cumulative affect upon the building's special interest as a result of several minor works which may individually seem of little consequence.