Loading document...
Application No.: 24/00698/B Applicant: Tigra Associates Ltd Proposal: Conversion of guesthouse (Class 3.1), involving the installation of an extended dormer to front elevation, to provide four residential apartments (Class 3.4) Site Address: 16 Belmont Terrace Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 4NH Planning Officer: Graham Northern Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 08.08.2024
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
Reason: To comply with Article 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
Reason: In the interests of the appearance of the development and of the amenities of the area, and to promote sustainable travel in the interests of reducing pollution and congestion.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.
The proposal is considered to provide sufficiently sized accommodation with limited if any effects on the proposed occupiers and neighbouring users and would therefore comply with General Policy 2 and Housing Policy 17 of the Strategic Plan.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the following drawings received:
Additional Persons
INTERESTED PERSON STATUS It is recommended that the following persons should be given Interested Person Status on the basis that they have made written submissions and they are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are mentioned in Article 6(4):
Objects: Owner / Occupier Grange Bank, 17 Belmont Terrace, Douglas, Isle Of Man, IM1 4NH _____________________________________________________________________________
1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The application site is 16 Belmont Terrace, Circular Road, Douglas, a four-storey midterrace dwelling located on the north of Circular Road, close to its junction with Peel Road. The site is being used as a guesthouse at the moment. There is rear access off Hillside Terrace, used by both vehicle and pedestrian. - 1.2 Circular Road is a two-way road with double-yellow line on both sides and along most parts of the road. There is no provision of off-street parking at the front of any residential property along the road.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The planning application seeks approval for the change of use of the building from a guest house (Class 3.1) to four flats (Class 3.4). - 2.2 The proposals are a result of a previous application for 5 flats being refused and as such seek to reduce the number back to 4. - 2.3 It is also proposed to extend the existing dormer window to the front, to make it a longer dormer with flat roof, to allow for more head room and space internally. - 2.4 The proposals as such create 3 No 2 bedroom flats on the ground, first and second floors and a one bedroom flat to the third floor. - 2.5 With a reduction from twelve bedrooms (as it currently stands as a guest house), to seven bedrooms. There will be a covered area in the rear yard for bike storage and an internal space for a communal bin storage / recycling area.
3.1 Conversion of guesthouse (Class 3.1), involving a rear yard extension and installation of an extended dormer to front elevation, to provide five residential apartments (Class 3.4) refused under application 24/00381/B for the following reason: The proposal would have an unacceptable standard of amenity by virtue of the poor outlook from the ground floor in particular flat 2 where the only primary windows are sited to the rear of the building onto communal areas. In fact, the future occupants of flat 2 as proposed would result in a very dark and oppressive living environment on the ground floor with no pleasant or clear outlook for future occupants when using the primary rooms. Accordingly, the proposal would be contrary to General Policy 2 (h) which requires new development to provide satisfactory amenity standards in itself, and the Strategic Objectives of the Strategic Plan which promotes high standards of residential amenity in new developments. - 3.2 Conversion of former guest house into four apartments was APPROVED under PA 20/01530/B.
3.3 Conversion of former guest house into four apartments was APPROVED under PA 17/00005/B. The current application has added bin and cycling storage space as well adjusted room allocation to improve residential amenities.
4.1 In terms of the local plan, the site is designated as Predominately Residential in the Area Plan for the East. - 4.2 In terms of strategic plan policy, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application: - 4.3 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:
4.4 Housing Policy 17 states: "The conversion of buildings into flats will generally be permitted in residential areas provided that:
4.4 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." - 4.5 Appendix 7.1: "High levels of car ownership have led to an increase in the level of parking expected for residential development, and outside of town centre locations, these standards should not be relaxed. New-built residential development should be provided with two parking spaces per dwelling, at least one of which should be within the curtilage of the dwelling and behind the front of the dwelling …… the Department will consider reducing this requirement having regard to:
4.6 Appendix 7.1 continues: "Where new dwellings are created by the conversion of existing buildings, parking space should be formed by the clearance of outbuildings and low-grade annexes or 'outlets' if it is
reasonable and practicable so to do. However, in general, the need to find a use for redundant buildings which are in sound condition will outweigh the drawback of any shortfall in parking provision."
4.7 Appendix 7.6 states apartments should have "1 space for 1 bedroom; 2 spaces for 2 or more bedrooms." For guest house, there should be "1 space for every guest bedroom" it also states in urban locations stands maybe relaxed as (d). - 4.8 Appendix 7.6 also states: "These standards may be relaxed where development:
5.1 Douglas Borough Council has no objections to this application (28/06/2024). - 5.2 DoI Highway Services requested additional information on this site (21/06/2024) finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking as this is a similar proposal to application 24/00381/B but with one less dwelling and therefore its impact will be less than application 24/00381/B. Cycle parking details should be conditioned to be approved by the planning authority and implemented before first occupation and retained thereafter. The approved bin storage and rear access proposals should be conditioned before first occupation.
5.4 One letter has been received from a neighbouring property which raises concerns regarding the following points:
including proposed ramp.
6.1 The key considerations for this application are the suitability of the location for flats, its impact on the amenities of its occupants, on parking provision, and on the character and street scene of the area. Suitability of the Site
6.2 The site is located in a residential area. The Area Plan for the East has designated the area as Predominantly Residential. The proposal fits within the designation and is therefore acceptable.
Residential Amenities Previous Application 24/00381/B
6.3 The previous application for 5 apartments which was refused resulted in flat 2 having a lounge/ Dining and kitchen that was central towards the rear and somewhat enclosed with very little outlook and low levels of amenity. The privacy afforded to this lounge area is also questionable given it appears to back onto the rear yard to flat 1 with a window between the
two. A lounge is considered a primary room in the Residential Design guide, and the outlook of the front elevation to flats 1, 3, 4 and 5 is other terrace, road and a car park, which is not unusual consider its proximity close to town centre. Therefore, is considered that the outlook for these 4 flats are acceptable. However the outlook and amenity afforded to flat 2 was somewhat diminished and it appears that the addition of an extra flat results in overdevelopment which means flat 2 suffers in terms of its layout and amenity in this regard.
6.5 Additionally the ground floor was being split into two flats front and rear which resulted in overdevelopment which would result in these occupiers suffering from substandard amenity. Both the living area and bedroom to flat 2 would only have outlook onto a small bike store which appears to be of communal use and as such would prejudice the privacy of flat 2. These proposals - 6.6 These proposals have sought to address the reason for refusal and removed the 5th flat and thereby create four flats with one to each floor, and this reflects the scale approved in an earlier application reference 20/01530/B. The proposals also remove the need to subdivide the ground floor which resulted in an awkward layout. Instead of trying to create more space via a rear yard extension it is now proposed to just have one apartment to the ground floor removing the need for a rear extension. - 6.7 The proposals now alleviate previous concerns and the layout is far more functional and provides much better levels of amenity especially to the ground floor. - 6.8 A communal bike store and bin store is also located to the rear of the first floor with a ramp indicated. The applicant has supplied amended elevations to show the ramp to the rear for clarity of access. Parking
6.8 According to Appendix 7.6 of the Strategic Plan, the proposed dwelling would need seven parking spaces. However, there is no specific parking to be allocated for this development. Whilst there is undoubtedly pressure on kerbside parking in the vicinity, comparing to the existing use as Guest House which requires twelve parking spaces, there is a significant reduction in the amount of parking space required. - 6.9 In addition, the site is close to existing public transport link and within walking distance to town centre and a variety of amenities, meaning further relaxation of parking standard is acceptable. Combining the provision of cycling storage, it is considered that the impact on onstreet parking is acceptable. Visual Amenities - 6.10 The proposal includes a large boxed dormer to the roof on the front elevation which would be visible from the Circular Road however the projecting bay windows that come forward on the three floors below would provide an element of screening from the road frontage, and it has to be noted that similar large dormers are present in the street scene. As such whilst appearing a bulky feature, given the existence of similar dormers it is not considered that a refusal would be justified on visual grounds. Representation received - 6.11 The representation received did not raise concern about the proposal being used for residential flats. It raised concern regarding the lack of ramp detail to the elevation and this was raised with the applicant who clarified this on an amended plan to show a simple ramp arrangement to the rear bike and bin store. - 6.12 Other concerns raised regarding construction air flow, ventilation, sound proofing and condensation are considered to relate to the end construction and building control rather than planning.
7.1 Overall, it is concluded that the scheme proposed addresses previous concerns by reducing the number of flats from 5 to 4 and would provide an adequate level of amenity and privacy for all users and as the parking provisions would be adequate. As such, the proposal is considered to comply with General Policy 2 and Housing Policy 17, and the principles promoted by the Residential Design Guide. The application is, therefore, recommended for approval. - 8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS
8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, 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 a Principal Planner in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status.
Decision Made : Permitted Date: 09.08.2024 Determining officer
Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner
Customer note This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the file copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online services/customers and archive records.
Copyright in submitted documents remains with their authors. Request removal
