APL Planning Statement

Planning Design Statement

25A Market Street, Douglas, Isle of Man

• 1.0 Introduction

The site is located on Market Street, Douglas and is currently a ground floor garage space with an unused storage area at the first floor, the site has been unused for a number of years, there is an access corridor to access the rear first floor store and a small rear yard with a detached WC building on the rear boundary

• 2.0 Planning Policy

The site lies within an area designated as mixed use within the Douglas Town Centre Area Plan

Within the Area Plan for Douglas Town Centre reference is made to “promotion of the town centre as a residential location (especially on upper floors) to encourage evening activity and retain residential catchment expenditure”

The development would also align itself with planning policy (Chapter 9 – item 9.10.5) which also states that “more residential uses would benefit the area and help support the nighttime economy

The establishment of the site as a residential dwelling should appeal to a couple or family wishing to be located within walking distance of everything Douglas Town Centre has to offer whilst reducing the need for travelling to work or for shopping and entertainment greatly, whilst also offering secure off-street parking for cars within the town centre

• 3.0 The Proposal

The proposal is to convert the current ground floor garage space and first floor storage area into a 2-bedroom dwelling with a garage at street level then at first floor level create a Living/ Dining / Kitchen area with a bedroom and bathroom to the rear, an additional storey is proposed to be formed to provide the second floor bedroom with an integral bathroom, both the first floor living room and the 2nd storey bedroom are to be provided with small outdoor terraced areas to the front elevation as shown on the proposed layout plans

The rear yard will be converted into a courtyard giving external views from inside and providing light within the new dwelling by generous areas of glazing being used within this area.

• 4.0 Previous Planning History

The site has been subject to the following previous applications: -

94\00301\B – Replacement of the front wall – Permitted 97\00629\A – Approval in principle for the redevelopment of the site (and neighbouring properties) to a mixed use development – Permitted 23\00898\B – Previous application for conversion of existing building into a 2 bedroom house refused

• 5.0 Assessment

The key tests are whether the proposed development would enhance the character or general appearance of the area. The general area needs some redevelopment or enhancement as shown by the accompanying existing photos submitted with the proposal

We would suggest that the conversion from an unused garage & store (which if left as they have been for a number of years would fall further into disrepair) into a useable 2 bedroomed dwelling with secure off-street parking within the Town Centre would be an upgrade to the general area and may lead to other buildings in the near vicinity being used in this way to hopefully contribute to the desired planning policies of re-establishing residential uses within the town centre

We would also suggest that the proposal satisfies all of the relevant planning policies and would enhance the conditions of the general area

• 6.0 Responses to Refusal Decision

Following the refusal of the previous application 23/00898/B the proposal has been amended as below: -

• 1) The flat roof has been replaced with a more traditional slated roof to match some of the buildings in the vicinity.

It should be noted however that the neighbouring property 25 Market Street has recently received planning approval to be demolished and to be replaced with a completely metal clad industrial looking building (planning application number 22\00570\B) which we suggest would further appear to encourage the “appearance of a service road which is considered to have a negative impact on this area of the town” as stated in Comprehensive Treatment Area 2 and referred to in R1 of the DEC officers report as part of the reasons of refusal of the previous scheme, this would seem unfair to approve the neighbours industrial looking building but use that as a reason to refuse our previous application

A “street elevation” has been provided showing the variety and different types of buildings in the vicinity as well as the existing building photos showing the current street scene

• 2) The proposed zinc cladding to the top floor has also been removed as the refusal stated that there were no buildings in the vicinity with the same material, this is factually correct but the neighbouring building No25 Market Street has recently been approved as a totally metal-clad building & 23 Market Street, namely the Kelly Lewthwaite office is also a clad building so whereas zinc has not been used in the area metal cladding is a common material used
• 3) The rear external terrace has been removed to alleviate concerns that this overlooked 8 Mount Pleasant, the use of the rear roof as a roof terrace has also been removed as the previous planning refusal had concerns that this could be overlooked by the property in mount Pleasant, the removal of these external features should answer the concerns of R2 & R3 in the Refusal Notice dated 29-09-2023
• 4) The small terraces to the front elevation at first & second floor have been retained following the removal of all the rear external space as above, they have been retained to provide some external space for the dwelling

With the amendments noted above to the previously refused scheme we feel that this should alleviate the concerns and reasons for refusal of the previous scheme of the planning officers and enable an approval to be forthcoming in order that one of the sadly redundant buildings in the capital can be brought back to life and provide a new home for a family

Mick Stott Rev A – 04-12-2023

MOBILE: 07624 434790 EMAIL: [email protected]

DIRECTOR: M. Stott MCIAT INCORPORATED IN THE ISLE OF MAN. REGISTERED NUMBER: 135874C REGISTERED COMPANY: MS Design Ltd, 2 Cronk Rhenny Villa, Quines Hill, Port Soderick, Braddan, Isle of Man, IM4 1AU