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Application No.: 20/00464/CON Applicant: Venerable Andrew Brown Proposal: Registered Building consent for the removal of a painting located on wood panelling with accompanying frame and base. Registered Building Nos. 188 Site Address: All Saints Church Alexander Drive Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 3QH Planning Officer: Mrs Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 05.08.2020 _________________________________________________________________
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
Reason: To comply with paragraph 2(2)(a) of schedule 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented registered building consents.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. This Registered Building consent proposal accords with Environment Policy 32 & 35 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan and Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Policies CA/2, RB/3, RB/5, RB/10 and is recommended for approval. Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 5th May 2020:
This decision also relates to the additional details received via email on the 10th July 2020 which give a method statement on how the painting will be removed and replaced in St Georges Church.
_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons
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):
The Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society 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 (January 2020).
_____________________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE
1.1 The application site is All Saints Church which a Registered Building (RB.188) that is situated on the corner of Alexander Drive where it meets both Primrose Avenue and Selborne Road. - 1.2 All Saints Church was opened in 1967 and due to the high running cost and having two churches close to each other it was decided to close All Saints Church. The Church is currently in the process of being sold and many of the items within the church are being relocation to St Georges Church. - 1.3 The oil on board painting was done by Dorothy Nicolson, son of John and can be found to the west end of the Church on the south facing internal wall of the boiler room and is directly facing the main entrance porch. The painting is attached to the wall by a wooden frame and anchor points. It is thought that the wooden frame will not survive the removal but works will be done to try and save as much of the wooden frame as possible. THE PROPOSAL
2.1 The current planning application seeks approval to remove the Nativity themed painting within the Church and transfer the painting to St George's Church. PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 There are several applications on the site of which the most recent is PA12/00945/CON which was for, "Registered Building Consent for installation of four telecommunication antenna inside existing bell tower and replace four decorative block work feature panels (RB no 188 in association with 12/00944/GB)" and was approved.
4.2 Given the nature of the application it is appropriate to consider General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 which states "Development which is in accordance with the landuse zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted, provided that the development:
4.3 As All Saints Church is a registered building, under registered building consent RB188, it is also relevant to consider Environment Policy 32 and Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - RB/3, RB/5 and RB/10. - 4.4 Environmental Policy 32 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 which states "Extensions or alterations to a Registered Building which would affect detrimentally its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest will not be permitted." - 4.5 Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - RB/3 states, "General criteria applied in considering registered building applications The issues that are generally relevant to the consideration of all registered building applications are:-
4.6 Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - RB/5 states, "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."
4.7 Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - RB/10 states, "General criteria applied in considering registered building applications The issues that are generally relevant to the consideration of all registered building applications are:-
4.8 The application site is also within a Conservation Area and as such Environment Policy 35 is a crucial policy: "Within Conservation Areas, the Department will permit only development which would preserve or enhance the character of appearance of the area, and will ensure that the special features contributing to the character and quality are protected against inappropriate development." This echoes the provision of Planning Policy Statement 1/01, policy CA/2, which states: "When considering proposals for the possible development of any land or buildings which fall within the conservation area, the impact of such proposals upon the special character of the area, will be a material consideration when assessing the application. REPRESENTATIONS
5.1 Highway Services have No Highways Interest in this application (27.05.20).
5.2 Douglas Corporation have considered the proposal and have no objection (29.05.20). - 5.3 The Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society have submitted comments to the application and state, "Isle of Man Natural History & Antiquarian Society regret the gradual loss of this building but are pleased to note that, unlike King William's College chapel, its furnishings in the form of paintings / panelling are being appreciated and their removal being made subject to the proper process of Registered Building Consent. It is believed that the only the figures in the mural are the work of Dorothy Nicolson, the rest being done by John Nicolson. The Society is glad that the panelling is being kept safe and is being reused in St George's. Accordingly, Isle of Man Natural History & Antiquarian Society recommend approval of the application" (20.07.20) - 5.4 The Registered Buildings Officer has submitted comments and states "Whilst the mural is clearly an original feature of the building and makes some contribution to its significance, I have no objection to its removal as the building is now closed for public worship and benefits of the proposals will enable the mural to be seen by the public in either proposed location will outweigh the harm caused by its removal from the building. A method statement is required for how the area behind the mural will be made good.
Also confirmation of Manx National Heritage's commitment to receive the painting if it cannot be relocated to St George's should be sought prior to approval." (1.07.20)
6.2 There has been over time several churches which have not been able to stay open for one reason or another, with this church sadly being a recent case. The church has been on the market and currently has a purchaser, whilst there is no mention of what the potential purchasers are wanting to do with the space the likelihood that they would want to keep the church as a Church of England is slim. Especially due to the current church closing due to its close proximity to St George's Church. As such it is necessary to save as much history of the church as the current owners can. - 6.3 When looking at the reasoning for the Church to be registered this is mainly due to the uniqueness of All Saint's Church "being the first Anglican church to be built on the island for over fifty years and therefore, the first church to be built in a 'modern' style." Whilst reference is made regarding the wood within the Church, it is the structure itself that was the main reason for the Church being registered as such the principle of removing the painting is acceptable. - 6.4 When looking at the history of the painting The Registered Buildings Officer states in his report firstly that he thinks that the painting has been in situ since the Church was built and that, "This mural is the work of the late Dorothy Nicholson, the well-known local artist, and wife of the late John Nicolson, R.I., who acted as colour consultant to the architect throughout the project." - 6.5 The removal of the painting and replacing the said painting in St George's Church will keep a well-known painting within the Parish that it has always been in and will also assist in preserving the history within the area. - 6.6 The Registered Buildings Officer has requested that a condition be attached to state that the building should be made good after the removal of the painting. Whilst comments have been received from the applicant further to this request of a method statement from The Registered Buildings Officer which states "we understand that once the framing arch has been removed, the painting which is directly on to board (something like hardboard Chris Weeks at MNH believes) will simply be free standing and come away as a whole, at which point it will be protected by being wrapped in a removal blanket and carefully transported to St George's.
The removing of the frame, which will be cut down and re-used in St George's, can only be determined once work begins, and is itself fitted to a wooden veneer panelling. The cost of the removal involves making good the panelling left behind"
6.7 The above is helpful in figuring out what is happening with the painting itself but not the registered building as such a condition should still be attached to request a method statement of how the registered building will be made good and then another condition to state that the registered building should be made good on the basis of this method statement ultimately to protect the registered building from damage. CONCLUSION
8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Registered Buildings) Regulations 2013 (As Amended), the following are automatically interested persons:
8.2 The Decision maker must determine whether there are other persons to those listed above who should be given Interested Person Status. - 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 a Principal Planner in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.
Decision Made : Permitted Date: 07.08.2020 Determining officer
Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett Principal Planner
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