Officer Report

Application No.: 18/00065/LAW Applicant: Mr & Mrs John Batty Proposal: Application to make lawful the use of the property as a House in Multiple Occupancy Site Address: Ullswater 110 Castlemona Avenue Douglas Isle of Man IM2 4EF Case Officer : Mr Owen Gore Photo Taken: 22.02.2018 Site Visit: 22.02.2018 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Certificate of Lawful Use/Devel Approved Date of Recommendation: 29.05.2018 _________________________________________________________________

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

C 1. Taking into account the evidence supplied by the applicant, the submitted information adequately demonstrates that the change of use of the building which is identified by the red line on the Location Plan date stamped 24 January 2018 were carried out before January 2008.

Plans/Drawings/Information: This certificate relates to the following plans and documents: Planning Statement Timeline of Occupation of 110 Castle Mona Avenue Letter from the Treasury (RE: Jobseeker's Allowance) Print of Deductions Made for Rent Email from occupant dated 12 August 2017 Letter from the Tenant dated 23 November 2017 Letter from the Tenant dated 21 November 2017 Letter from the Tenant dated 21 December 2011 Letter from the Tenant dated 21 November 2017 Letter from Elder Healthcare dated 06 December 2017 Date-stamped as having been received 13 November 2017 Email from Elder Healthcare received 01 May 2018 Floor & Site Plan as Existing Date-stamped as having been received 03 May 2018

_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons None _____________________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE SITE

1.1 The application site is a large terrace property at the end of Castle Mona Avenue, which is a long street that runs parallel with the Douglas Central Promenade. THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The application is to make lawful the use of part of the property as a House in Multiple Occupancy with self-contained managers living accommodation at the lower ground floor level. PLANNING POLICY - 3.1 The site is shown on the Douglas Local Plan Order 1998 map No.2 as being within the local plan area and the property is designated within an Area of Predominantly Residential Use. The application site is not within a Conservation Area.

3.2 Under Schedule 4, Section 26, Part 1, Paragraph 3 (c) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 no enforcement notice may be issued in respect of any other breach of planning control, after the end of the period of 10 years beginning with the date of the breach. - 3.3 Therefore the assessment of this application is not based on the merits of the proposal in terms of meeting the requirements of the Strategic plan; rather the examination of the information available in order to determine whether there is either sufficient or insufficient evidence, that on the balance of reasonableness the change of use was carried out in excess of 10 years.

PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 The previous planning permissions are not considered to be specifically material in the assessment of the current application. Although an application (17/00037/B) for a two storey extension is pending consideration. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Douglas Borough Council have commented on this application and stated that they do not object in the letter dated 12 February 2018. ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The assessment of the application requires the examination of the information available in order to determine whether there is either sufficient or insufficient evidence that on the balance of reasonableness the change of use has been in excess of 10 years.

6.2 There was an initial misunderstanding regarding the scope of the submitted application as the plans included reference to the pending application 17/00037/B, including rooms that are proposed to be converted. Following discussions, the applicant has provided amended plans to accurately reflect the existing floor plans. - 6.3 The amended floor plans show the lower ground floor as 'managers living accommodation', which is a self-contained flat that also includes the yard area to the rear of the property; the ground floor plan shows one bedroom, a kitchen and a small store room, all off of the main entrance hall; the first floor plan shows three bedrooms, two singles and a double, and a

• shower room; and the second floor plan shows two bedrooms, one single and one double, a large store room for use by the tenants, a store cupboard for the managers use and a shower room.
• 6.4 The manager's accommodation is in the lower ground floor or basement level and shares the front access to the building with its own access door located at the head of the stairs (adjacent to the Store); the residents do not have access to this accommodation or the amenities it includes. The manger's accommodation also has its own rear access from the lane. The larger store room on the second floor is for the use of particular residents, to store anything they cannot fit in their rooms; this store is for domestic purposes only.
• 6.5 The applicant has provided a statement including a brief timeline; it highlights the initial purchase of the property by the applicant, their policy on finding tenants and the type of letting they provide, and it also specifies the responsibilities of the landlord and tenants.
• 6.6 A more detailed breakdown of the timeline of occupancy has been submitted, providing the date from which it is asserted that the use as a House of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) began and it indicating some of the tenants that have lived at the property since then and the dates during which they lived at the property. Letters or emails have been provided signed by the tenants identified in the timeline, which provide a detailed breakdown of the dates and the monthly rate of rent paid. A formal letter has been provided by Elder Healthcare to confirm the use of the property prior to the applicant purchasing it; a clarification email dated 01 May 2018 from Elder Healthcare was also provided following further discussion.
• 6.7 The main details provided are statements that bear the names of the tenants included on the timeline, which include a signature but are not part of an affidavit.
• 6.8 The submitted 'Timeline of Occupation' does include some gaps in the dates where none of the residents that have provided confirmations appear to have been living at the property and in some instances there appears to only be one or two people, of those who have provided statements, living at the property at any one time, whereas there are six bedrooms shown on the submitted plans. It is acknowledged however, that given the limited time tenancy agreements and the turnover of tenants, it may be difficult to provide a comprehensive list of contacts.
• 6.9 Following discussions, Elder Healthcare have provided an additional statement clarifying their ownership of the site between 1999 and 2009, that the site was used solely as staff accommodation, that the rooms were let individually and that there were some twin rooms. It is stated that the property was bought with sitting tenants. From the number of tenants, the lengths of their tenancy and the amounts identified as rent, it seems unlikely that this property has been let or used a single residential dwelling.
• 6.10 Schedule Part 1, Paragraph 3 (a) of The Act, as mentioned above, means that enforcement action cannot be taken on a change of use that has been carried out in excess of 10 years.

CONCLUSION

7.1 Having assessed the evidence provided, visited the site it would appear that on the balance of reasonableness the change of use was carried out more than 10 years ago. As such, it is recommended that a Certificate of Lawfulness of Development is granted in respect of these works. INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 Article 6(4), the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• (a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• (b) 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;
• (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material
• (d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and
• (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated. 8.2 The decision maker must determine:

• o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than the Department of Infrastructure Highway Services Division) are material; and
• o whether there are other persons to those listed in Article 6(4) who should be given Interested Person Status.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Head of Development Management in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Certificate of Lawful Use Approved Date : 31.05.2018 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

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