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Application No.: 18/01336/B Applicant: Livelladean Limited Proposal: Partial demolition and refurbishment of industrial building, and erection of replacement industrial units Site Address: The Old Brickworks Mines Road Foxdale Isle oof Man IM4 3EX Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken: 11.02.2019 Site Visit: 11.02.2019 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 26.03.2019 _________________________________________________________________
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
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.
Reason: to clarify the extent of the approval and to ensure that there is sufficient car parking provided to service the proposed development.
Reason: to ensure that there is sufficient car parking provision to service the development in accordance with the standards set out in the Strategic Plan.
This decision relates to drawings 1445.3 and 1445.4 both received on 28th January, 2019 and the location plan, 1445.1, 1445.2 and 1445.3 all received on 20th December, 2019.
_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons
It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should be given Interested Person Status as they are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 6(4):
Jaluan, Meainyn Close as they satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status (July 2018).
It is recommended that the following organisation should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 6(4):
Manx Utilities as they do not own or occupy property that is within 20m of the application site and the development is not automatically required to be the subject of an EIA by Appendix 5 of the Strategic Plan, in accordance with paragraph 2B of the Policy and they have not explained how the development would impact the lawful use of land owned or occupied by them and in relation to the relevant issues identified in paragraph 2C of the Policy, as is required by paragraph 2D of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status (July 2018).
It is recommended that the owner of the following property should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 6(4):
2, Glen View, Laxey as they do not own or occupy property that is within 20m of the application site and the development is not automatically required to be the subject of an EIA by Appendix 5 of the Strategic Plan, in accordance with paragraph 2B of the Policy and they have not explained how the development would impact the lawful use of land owned or occupied by them and in relation to the relevant issues identified in paragraph 2C of the Policy, as is required by paragraph 2D of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status (July 2018).
_____________________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE SITE
1.1 The site is part of an existing building group in the centre of Foxdale village. The group includes a steel works, car sales and repair operation and to the south of this is a carpet sales unit. To the west is a group of bungalows and an electricity substation. Access to the site is either from the A24 past the car sales operation or further to the west to the A24 between the steel works and one of the bungalows. - 1.2 Part of the building on the site is a tall one, the tallest in the group and the only one not to have been recently redeveloped. It is visible from the A3 higher in the village, as well as from opposite the school and from the south on the A24 and is clearly the building awaiting redevelopment or renovation amongst its neighbours. The existing building comprises a lower building and a taller one, the latter of which contains four floors of accommodation - basement, ground, first and second floors. They explain that the building was formerly used as a administration function for Foxdale Brickworks until Glenair Engineering moved in, using the
2.1 Proposed is the refurbishment of the lower part of the existing building and the demolition and rebuilding of the taller part as a unit physically separate from the other. The new building will be 1.5m lower than the tallest part of the building to be demolished. The new building will have parapet walls on the front and sides, screening what is a monopitched roof behind but the rear slope will be seen from the rear as shown in the rear elevation. The walls will be finished in anthracite (dark grey) coloured cladding in which the existing building alongside will be re-clad as part of its refurbishment. - 2.2 The new building will have two floors of accommodation, the upper floor being a part floor only with a pedestrian staircase access and it will be used for storage. The total amount of floorspace would be around 700 sq m. Whilst the application form suggests that there will be an increase in floor area of 233 sq m, this is incorrect as the actual amount of floor area is reducing due to the physical extent of the building is being reduced along with the number of floors. - 2.3 Parking will be provided around the building with approximately 15 spaces being available for the proposed floor area which will be less than the existing situation. PLANNING POLICY
3.1 The site lies within an area of Industry/Retail on the Foxdale Local Plan of 1999. The Written Statement describes the importance of the central part of the village and offers flexibility in terms of the use of this land, suggesting that both industry and retail could be acceptable here. The site is also part of a wider area which is known to be heavily contaminated through previous mining use with a requirement that such land must be restored because of environmental health or public health impacts. There are, however a number of references in the Plan which refer to the need for remediation and careful consideration due to the potential risk of contamination, but this is not one of them: the references in the area are to the land to the south which has a large industrial building on it and which is designated for industrial development which has not yet occurred. - 3.2 Foxdale Local Plan also identifies various structures of archaeological interest, many associated with the mining history of the site. The Plan identifies one which is located under the tall building which is proposed to be redeveloped in this application. This states that "Bawden's Shaft, now covered by the former Brickworks/new industrial building on the corner of Mines Road opposite Marguerite Place be considered for Registration" (paragraph 8.2iii). It goes on:
"Bawden's Shaft has been dramatically cut down and altered over the years. It was renowned as an exceptionally handsome Cornish-style shaft building but is now at best little more than a landmark obscured by more modern industrial development. Ideally this may be protected from
further unsympathetic alterations or, ultimately, demolition, However, such protection can only be properly afforded by Registration" (paragraph 8.7).
3.3 It is also important that the development has no unacceptable adverse environmental impact and complies with the following Strategic Plan policies:
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:
Environment Policy 26: Development will not be permitted on or close to contaminated land unless it can be demonstrated that there is no unacceptable risk to health, property or adjacent watercourses.
3.4 As there is a suggestion in the Local Plan that there are features of industrial archaeology on the site, consideration should be given to the following Strategic Plan policy:
Environment Policy 41: The Department will require that archaeological evaluations be submitted prior to the determination of proposals affecting sites of known or potential archaeological significance. In cases where remains are affected but preservation in-situ is not merited, the Department will expect to secure excavations and/or recording in advance of construction work either by the imposition of suitable conditions attached to a planning permission or through a formal agreement entered into with the developer.
3.5 The Strategic Plan sets out a requirement for adherence to parking standards as follows:
Transport Policy 7: The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards. Appendix 7 requires that light industrial development should have one parking space for every 30 sq m nett of floor space, industrial development one space per 50 sq m gross and storage one space per 100 sq m gross.
4.1 The building group has been subject to a number of applications, none of which is particularly relevant to the current proposal other than noting that the applications have generally upgraded the building fabric in the area. The adjacent sites were the subject of recent applications for alterations and redevelopment - 17/00580/B and 16/01229/B. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Patrick Parish Commissioners have no objection (16.01.19) and no comment on the additional information (14.02.19).
5.3 DEFA Policy Environment and Ecosystems Policy Division advise that a mine shaft is recorded in very close vicinity to the building in question and they would suggest that the applicant exercises caution if works proceed and they should be mindful that the ground may be unstable (13.02.19). - 5.4 Manx Utilities have no comments (07.02.19). - 5.5 Highway Services object to the application on the basis that there is insufficient car parking provided to accord with the required parking standards in the Strategic Plan (07.02.19). - 5.6 The owner of Jaluan, Meainyn Close which is across the lane from the site to the west, ask for conditions to be attached which restrict the hours of operation to Monday to Friday 0830 to 1700hrs not including bank holidays and note that the current use is limited to commercial storage and ask whether the proposed use will be the same. They also note that the proposal will result in additional traffic and that there have been retrospective applications for other premises close to this. The current access to the dwellings has no HGV access but the operators of the carpet business (the applicant) actively encourages deliveries and refused wagons to use this road despite being asked not to by the road owner (24.01.19). - 5.7 The resident of 2 Glen View, South Cape, Laxey refers to the Foxdale Local Plan, citing specifically the provisions in respect of Bawden's Shaft and suggesting that of the other features of interest, the Department is responsible for their loss through the approval of certain developments. She suggests that this should be halted and proper and due consideration given to developments which would result in the loss of more features of archaeological interest. She notes that the application makes no reference to the historical importance of the site or the village more generally and she suggests that the most recent use of the building would not have resulted in the layout, construction and dimensions shown and strongly suggests that the structure was built for a heavy duty role close to or at the heart of the mining operations and its location adjacent to the existing known positions of shafts suggests an engine house or similar. She also suggests that the subject building and its historical context with the surroundings is crucial in the assessment of the application. As the development results in the complete demolition of the remains of the shaft building/engine house she objects to it and at the very least if the application is approved it should be subject to a condition that the structure is subject to a full architectural and historical recording survey and adequate time given within the development programme for this to be undertaken. She concludes by recommending that the retention of the Manx stone building as a landmark point of interest for the village should be a primary consideration whilst the surrounding development is allowed to proceed in a sympathetic arrangement to this feature as this building could be a valuable addition to the existing limited number of surviving heritage sites in this important area of the Island's and the village's history (18.02.19).
physical evidence to which Pat is making reference to in her comments" (26.02.19). It is therefore not accepted that there are sufficient archaeological remains on the site to warrant either refusing the application or requiring that what remains is somehow preserved or incorporated into the new development. It is relevant that any shafts are properly secured if they haven't been already but this will be taken into account in the application under the Building Regulations.
6.2 As such, it is not considered that there needs to be additional archaeological evaluation in this case, particularly as there is no submission from Manx National Heritage to suggest that this is necessary and considering the comments of the Registered Buildings Officer.
6.3 The applicant has provided additional information which illustrates that there would be at least 15 spaces around the building available to the users of the building. This would accord with Strategic Plan requirements for storage or general industrial use which is what is proposed. This is not a particularly detailed plan and a further, accurate one should be approved by the Department and the site clearly laid out to reflect this prior to the site being used as approved. - 6.4 Whilst there are concerns about the use of the westernmost access to the site, this is presently available to the applicant (in physical if not in legal terms) and what is proposed will reduce the amount of floor area available, thus potentially reducing the amount of traffic coming and going. Similarly, whilst hours of operation are suggested by the neighbouring property owners, the present buildings are not restricted in terms of hours of operation or nature of use and it is considered that it would be unreasonable if this were imposed now, particularly as there are no such restrictions on the adjacent buildings (see paragraph 4.1). - 6.5 Whilst the land has previously been used for mining activity, the surrounding land has been successfully redeveloped (see paragraph 4.1 and including the erection of the carpet warehouse and showroom under 05/00777/B). None of these applications required the submission of information relating to ground conditions or potential contamination, unlike the application for the development of a dwelling on land known to be contaminated elsewhere in the village and whose approval was wholly dependent upon the remediation of the site (12/01053/B and 13/00387/B). The specifics of that application in terms of the prevention of contamination of the residential parts of the site was dealt with under the Building Regulations as this deals with the preparation and treatment of the ground and the land under the surface, which the planning process does not. - 6.6 Given that the parking space requirement is calculated on the basis of internal floor area and the plans show a partial mezzanine, it is important that a condition is imposed to prevent the expansion of the internal floor area, which would in turn necessitate the provision of further parking spaces, without planning approval so that it can be determined whether the appropriate level of parking spaces is being provided.
7.1 The application is supported as it complies with the relevant parts of the Strategic and Local Plans. 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:
8.2 The decision maker must determine:
8.3 The Department of Environment Food and Agriculture is responsible for the determination of planning applications. As a result, where officers within the Department make comments in a professional capacity they cannot 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 : Permitted Date : 04.04.2019 Determining officer
Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management
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