DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 19/00527/B Applicant: Department Of Education, Sport And Culture Proposal: Installation of protective netting on boundary of Rushen Youth and Community Centre Site Address: Youth & Community Centre Bay View Road Port Erin Isle of Man IM9 6LF Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 27.06.2019 _________________________________________________________________

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions C 1. The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice.

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.

Plans/Drawings/Information:

This decision relates to the netting shown in the Net World Sports illustration and the position of the netting shown in the 1:200 site plan both received on 8th May, 2019.

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

1.1 The site is the curtilage of the Rushen Youth and Community Centre which is situated on the corner of Bay View Road and the entrance to the retail area to the south which is also bounded by Bridson Street. The site contains a building - a flat roofed structure finished in

dashed render and timber fascia with an area of grass between the building at the entrance to the retail area car park.

THE PROPOSAL

2.1 Proposed is the erection of catch fencing to prevent balls straying out into the surrounding car park. This fencing will be 3m high and will be positioned in the southern two thirds of the boundary between Bay View Road and the car park. The fencing will be netting suspended between poles made of 34mm galvanised zinc plated steel which can be angled to suit requirements. The netting will be 9m from Bay View Road. PLANNING POLICY - 3.1 The site lies within an area designated as Mixed Use on the Area Plan for the South adopted in 2013. Whilst the use is not specifically consistent with this range of approved uses (usually residential, retail, office and sometimes industrial) it is an established use and there is no proposed change to this. As such, the appropriate Strategic Plan policy is General Policy 2 which sets out general standards with which development should comply, as follows:

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:

• (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;

• (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 and (m) takes account of community and personal safety and security in the design of buildings and the spaces around them".

3.2 Whilst not directly applicable to this development, as it is not proposing a new community facility, Community Policy 6 is worth noting:

New community health care facilities and extensions to existing facilities will be permitted provided that they:

• a) would not result in an over concentration of such uses in a particular area;
• b) would not have an unacceptable effect on the residential or prevailing character or amenity of the area;
• c) would be easily accessible; and
• d) would not have an unacceptable impact on the local highway network.

These concerns are similar to those set out in GP2. PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 A timber boundary fence was approved here under 07/01818/B and a protected play area 01/02535/B. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Port Erin Commissioners support the application (21.06.19).

5.2 Highway Services do not object to the application subject to the netting being set back 2.5m from the carriageway edge of Bay View Road and maintained thereafter (31.05.19). ASSESSMENT

6.1 The issue here is whether the proposed fencing would have any adverse visual impact or any harmful effect on highway safety, taking into account that the works will seek to achieve greater community and personal safety through the preventing of balls escaping into the car park.

6.2 The setting of the site is a mix of open car parking space, modern, flat roofed buildings (the community centre and Shoprite) and the pitched roof of the commercial units opposite. What is proposed will be visible and not like anything in the vicinity but it will be clear what the purpose of the netting and posts are and this is clearly associated with an established community centre. It is not considered that the streetscape is so sensitive as to be adversely or significantly affected by the proposal.

6.3 The condition requested by the Highways authority is not required if the approval relates to the drawings which show the netting to be significantly more than the required 2.5m from the public highway. CONCLUSION - 7.1 The application is considered to accord with the relevant policy and is supported. 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 : Permitted Date : 01.07.2019 Determining officer

Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management

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