Additional use as self-catering tourist accommodation

general standards towards development

The application is considered to accord with General Policy 2 (b, c, g, h and i)

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: (a) is in accordance with the design brief in the Area Plan where there is such a brief; (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; (d) does not adversely affect the protected wildlife or locally important habitats on the site or adjacent land, including water courses; (e) does not affect adversely public views of the sea; (f) incorporates where possible existing topography and landscape features, particularly trees and sod banks; (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; (j) can be provided with all necessary services; (k) does not prejudice the use or development of adjoining land in accordance with the appropriate Area Plan; (l) is not on contaminated land or subject to unreasonable risk of erosion or flooding; (m) takes account of community and personal safety and security in the design of buildings and the spaces around them; and (n) is designed having due regard to best practice in reducing energy consumption. 6.3 Development outside of areas zoned for development

change of use of RB only permitted if appropriate and do not detrimentally affect its character and special interest

Environment Policy 33: The change of use of Registered Buildings will only be permitted if the proposed use is appropriate and any alterations associated with the change are not detrimental to its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest. 7.28 Traditional Building Materials 7.28.1 Traditional building materials can be classified as stone for walls , slates for roofs and softwood for window frames. Local materials help to form the character of settlements in the Island. For example, sandstone was a common building material in the development of much of the older parts of Peel and limestone was historically used in Castletown. Whilst the original sources of some materials are no longer operating, reclaimed material from old buildings is often available. Such re-use will be particularly encouraged where sites are to be redeveloped and there is evide nce of material on site which can be recycled and reused. It will, however, not be appropriate to demolish historic buildings merely to reclaim usable materials. Another important aspect when attempting to retain the historic building stock is the use of the most appropriate mortar; common across the Island's built environment has been the use of lime-based mortar and washes.

preserve or enhance character and appearance of the Area

Environment Policy 35: Within Conservation Areas, the Department will permit only development which would preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Area, and will ensure that the special features contributing to the character and quality are protected against inappropriate development. 7.30 Development adjacent to Conservation Areas 7.30.1 It is often the case that important views into and out of a Conservation Area can contribute significantly to its character. It is necessary to assess the impact any development adjacent to conservation areas may have on such views.

Permission will generally be given for the use of private residential properties as tourist accommodation providing that it can be demonstrated that such use would not compromise the amenities of neighbouring residents

Business Policy 13: Permission will generally be given for the use of private residential properties as tourist accommodation providing that it can be demonstrated that such u se would not compromise the amenities of neighbouring residents.

parking in accordance with standards

Transport Policy 7: The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards. The current standards are set out in Appendix 7. 11.5.4 New development can have a significant impact in terms of the traffic generated by it and the impact on the various modes of travel. The Department considers that proposals which are likely to be significant traffic generators should be accompanied by a Transport Assessment(1) which should look at all modes of transport including access by public transport, cycling and on foot.

Protect or enhance the fabric and setting of Conservation Areas and Registered Buildings

The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant

Strategic Policy 4: Proposals for development must: (a) Protect or enhance the fabric and setting of Ancient Monuments, Registered Buildings (1), Conservation Areas (2), buildings and structures within National Heritage Areas and sites of archaeological interest; (b) protect or enhance the landscape quality and nature conservation value of urban as well as rural areas but especially in respect to development adjacent to Areas of Special Scientific Interest and other designations; and (c) not cause or lead to unacceptable environmental pollution or disturbance. 4.3.8 The design of new development can make a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the Island. Recent development has often been criticised for its similarity to developments across the Island and elsewhere - "anywhere" architecture. At the same time some criticise current practice to retain traditional or vernacular designs. As is often the case the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes. All too often proposals for new developments have not taken into account a proper analysis of their context in terms of siting, layout, scale, materials and other factors. At the same time a slavish following of past design idioms, evolved for earlier lifestyles can produce buildings which do not reflect twenty first century lifestyles including accessibility and energy conservation. While there is often a consensus about what constitutes good and poor design, it is notoriously difficult to define or prescribe. 4.3.9 The Department recognises the need to raise the quality of the Island's architecture and built environment and is pursuing this through the development control process and the commissioning of its own schemes and environmental improvements. At the same ti me it appreciates that the debate about good design needs to be broadened to include those who design, construct and finance new development and the wider community as we are all affected by the end product. To this end it welcomes the Isle of Man Arts Co uncil's National Arts Development Strategy 2005 - 2014 which has as one of its objectives, to raise the quality of the Island's architecture and built environment by encouraging debate on architectural standards, town and country planning, urban regenerati on and public art. This Strategy recognises that debate will have to take place over time. 4.3.10 In the meantime, the Department considers that, while there are a number of policies in the Strategic Plan which cover various elements of the design of new development e.g. General Policy 2 (a) -(i), ( m) and (n), and various Housing policies, there is a need for a further statement on the need to secure quality in the design of new development. In the preparation of Area Plans the Department will include development briefs that set out design principles for significant sites including new residential areas. Subsequent planning applications will be required to be accompanied by a Design Statement setting out the way in which the proposal has been designed to take into account its context and how the design principles have been developed. 4.3.11 At the same time as wishing to promote good design in new development the Department recognises that there are an increasing number of alternative styles of housing which draw their design principles from the wish to promote sustainability and energy efficiency. Many of these can be incorporated into both modern and traditional designs but in some cases they produce a completely different structure or form of buildings, for exa mple underground (1)Registered Building is defined in Appendix 1 (2) Conservation Area is defined in Appendix 1 housing. While wishing to conserve the historic landscape of the Island the Department welcomes new styles of housing as long as they take into account the landscape context and the impact on the amenities of the area in which they are si ted. Merely arguing that a new building cannot be seen in public views is not a justification for the relaxation of other policies relating to the location of new development.

new development to make positive contribution

The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant

Strategic Policy 5: New development, including individual buildings, should be designed so as to make a positive contribution to the environment of the Island. In appropriate cases the Department will require planning applications to be supported by a Design Statement which will be required to take account of the Strategic Aim and Policies. 4.4 Economy 4.4.1 The Spatial Strategy identifies the Major Employment Areas around the Island. While the majority of business and employment is focused around the Douglas Metropolitan Area, there are other major employment areas at Castletown, the Airport/Freeport, Peel, Ramsey and Jurby. The Department considers the distribution of employment areas provides a spread of employment opportunities around the Island. While recognising the opportunities for small scale local employment within existing centres it is considered new employment should, in the main, be concentrated within existing settlements or those major employment areas referred to in the Island Spatial Strategy and illustrated on the Key Diagram. Existing Local and new Area Plans will provide detailed boundar ies for these areas. From time to time Government may judge it appropriate to offer financial incentives to encourage economic activity or investment in particular parts of the Island.

preserve the RB including setting and features

in line with S16 and S18 of The Act

preserving or enhancing its character or appearance of Conservation Area

in line with S16 and S18 of The Act

he proposed level of development on the highway system. Essentially, the evidence demonstrated that the highway network could cope with the expected traffic growth up to 2026. The Strategic Links18 between the communities on the Island (the Centres referred to in the Spatial Strategy) are below. Strategic Link Roads in the East Highway Route A1 Douglas to Peel A2 Douglas to Laxey A2 Laxey to Ramsey A5 Douglas to Ballasalla A18 Douglas to Ramsey 17 Chapter 11, Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 18 Chapter 11, Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 Douglas, as the Main Centre, sits at the top of the hierarchy of service provision and is home to most of the Island's principal businesses and shops. More 'strategic links' converge on Douglas than anywhere else on the Island. The public transport network consists of buses and seasonal rail services. Lord Street currently serves as the main bus transfer hub although during the lifetime of the plan the creation of a bus station may need to be addressed. There is a short section of cycle route on Peel Road which is a strategic route i n from the South and West. Further opportunities are still under investigation and are likely to develop further alongside other measures as part of the delivery of the Active Travel Action Plan 19. The intention is to provide better and safer cycling and walking routes into and out of Douglas, better links between vehicular routes and off road routes with an overall policy goal of increasing the number of people travelling actively. The Area Plan fully supports the integration of the Active Travel Strategy into the sustainable development framework for the East. Particular Issues in the East Traffic Congestion and Road Junctions The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 concluded that following junctions experience regular traffic congestion: • Quarterbridge Junction • Mountain Road/Governor's Road Junction • Glencrutchery Road/Victoria Road Junction The implications of adding the new housing units needed in the East to the road network during the plan period are set out in the Strategic Plan (see below): i. the Strategic Links are, and should, continue to operate within their 3,060 vehicles per hour capacity for the duration of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan (up to 2026); ii. the Quarterbridge and Governors Hill junctions will continue to operate at greater than 85% capacity and the increased traffic flows predicted in all the assessments will increase congestion at these locations; and iii. traffic flows at the Parliament Square junction in Ramsey, Ballacraine junction, and Main Road junction at Onchan are all set to incr ease by 2026 which will increase congestion at these locations. Outside of the East Plan area, sensitivity tests were undertaken in the Strategic Plan based on the planned level of development from 2011 to 2026. These concluded that: i. on the Ballacraine to Ramsey Strategic Link, there was no requirement to undertake further traffic congestion investigation work in rural village locations such as Kirk Michael; and ii. on the Castletown to Ballasalla and Ballasalla to Douglas links there would be the requirement for traffic congestion investigation work in Ballasalla in 2026. 19 GD 0043/18 Active Travel Strategy 2018 - 2021 From the outset of the preparation of this Plan, it has been acknowledged that the Onchan Main Road traffic signals would require further assessment. This would ensure that the junctions woul d not be subject to a high level of congestion as a resu lt of additional development. This was just one reason for carrying out detailed scenario testing work looking at different ways of spreading development across the settlements in the East. Network Capacity Issues - Roads and Utilities During the early stages of the Plan, work was undertaken to help understand both the infrastructure and environmental implications of different growth distribution patterns within the East. The servicing of Baldrine and Laxey for sewer and mains water supply were identified as matters of concern and limitation in capacity. This arises both from advice from the servicing Authority, Manx Utilities, and consideration of the public consultation respo nses. Levels of development in those two locations in terms of how they may or may not be able to be serviced and the timeframes involved were visited and re-visited throughout the plan stages and the Public Inquiry. In terms of i dentifying and addressing network capacity, new development requires water and sewer services, electricity, telecommunications and legal access connection to the road network. These are reasonable expectations of modern society and ensure a basis of healthy and connected communities for all. All sites identified can in principle be adequately serviced. Some sites will have to address specific issues set out in Development Briefs. Judgements will always be made at the planning application stage as to what