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Dear Sir/Madam,
Men in Sheds
The Double Garage Thie Rosien Castletown Rd Port Erin IM9 6BD
30 March 2012
I enclose four copies of a planning application on behalf of 'Men in Sheds', a charity registered under the 'Southern Community Initiatives', charity No 1085.
The charity was a result of IOM government studies which identified retired men as a social group in need of a project to provide social and practical opportunities to restore a sense of purpose to their lives once retired.
To provide accommodation for the project, DHSS Estates identified a Garage cum Workshop suited to the purpose, situated, as shown on the plans, at the western end of the Thie Rosien site, and this is now in use as a Workshop. (Building 'A' on the plans)
A separate enquiry was submitted in February seeking advice on the planning implications, if any, of this change of tenancy.
The enclosed planning application therefore refers solely to the provision of an additional storage/woodworking shed to the rear of this Garage/Workshop.
Before we took over the existing Garage/Workshop building, the site was surveyed by DHSS Estates, accompanied by a safety officer during December 2010.
The safety officer advised that no flammable materials (e.g. timber stock & offcuts) should be allowed to accumulate in the Garage/Workshop, and that we should provide a separate shed for this purpose.
As users of the new facility, we also observed that certain woodworking operations were causing undue dust in the main building, and could see that moving these operations to this second shed would address this issue.
We were (wrongly) advised that a shed under 15 sq. m would not require planning permission, and therefore proceeded with preparations to erect a shed of this size.
Preparations included obtaining Lottery funding for filtration equipment, funding from Dreamcatcher for the shed, and permission to site the shed from the Landlord, (DHSS Estates), all of this being achieved by December 2011.
At this point we discovered that the normal planning exemption for sheds up to 15 square metres did not apply to non-domestic premises.
Fortunately, we discovered this before any site work had commenced, and have now halted preparations whilst the enclosed application is considered.
The needs outlined above can be met by the provision of a shed of traditional construction, i.e. weatherboard on timber framing with a pitched roof clad in roofing felt, standing on a concrete base.
To meet these needs, and also cater for foreseeable growth, we are applying for a shed somewhat larger than the 15 sq m we had originally considered.
The proposed shed is therefore just over 22 sq m at 7.3m x 3.05m (24 feet long by 10 feet wide).
It is hoped to site the shed on a grassy area behind the existing garage, in a place which is almost entirely hidden from view, as you will see from the plans etc.
There is a high hedge between the site and the next door neighbour, and so the new shed will be all but invisible from the neighbouring garden and premises.
The next door neighbour has been advised of our proposals and has raised no objections.
It is proposed to site the shed on a 100mm thick concrete pad which will form the floor, as in the existing garage.
Ground Levels will be largely unchanged as we merely need to level the site and construct a 100mm concrete pad to conventional standards. This will require the redistribution of some topsoil and the importation of around 3 cu m of hardcore on which to pour the concrete.
The finished level of the floor will be 50 to 100mm above the surrounding soil level to prevent water ingress at the edges of the shed.
It will also be far enough away from Thie Rosien so as not to obstruct the light into the building, and far enough away not to compromise fire safety.
The shed will be used for storage of timber and metal, plus the siting of a bench saw, wood lathe and dust extraction equipment.
No flammable paint or thinners will be stored in the shed, as we already have an outdoor lockable metal cabinet for this purpose.
The building will be sufficiently soundproof to eliminate any external noise nuisance, and there will be no usage outside normal working hours i.e. 0900 to 1700.
3)...Occupancy, traffic implications, and future growth
The facilities will only be used during the normal working day, 0900 to 1700. At present this occurs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but could be increased to include Mondays and Thursdays if demand grows. Thereafter, we would expect to roll out the project around the Island to meet further demand.
There are no parking or traffic implications, as the existing car park is adequately dimensioned, and some of the Shed clients walk or cycle to the site.
Due to the size constraints of the garage and shed, there should be no more that 8 to 10 clients on site even at full capacity. These users are already using the existing building, and so, the new facility does not create any additional parking or access requirements.
Most of the clients will be in the main garage, and will access the premises via the existing car park and existing rights of way and footpaths, as at present.
4)...Conclusion
This is a highly successful social project which is currently being hampered by a lack of space, partly due to its own success.
Importantly, however, the lack of a separate storage area is preventing us from complying with the Safety Officer's recommendations regarding the storage of materials.
The proposed shed will, first and foremost, allow us to comply with these requirements.
The provision of the extra shed will also allow woodworking activities to be separated out, with room for industry standard dust extraction, thereby providing a more healthy working environment. The provision will also ease the space constraints in the existing garage/workshop, creating a safer and more comfortable working environment.
Since woodwork is one of the more popular and accessible activities, this is considered to be essential to the future of the project.
The MIS Committee therefore commend this application to you and hope that you will feel able to support us in the provision of this essential additional facility.
Allan Phoenix
Secretary .. Men in Sheds. tel : 835153
Correspondence Address :-
23 Erin Way Port Erin Isle of Man IM9 6EF
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