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Application No.: 25/90553/C Applicant: Mr And Mrs David James And Hoi Shan Fisher Proposal: Additional use of apartment as tourist accommodation Site Address: Apartment 5 Villa Court Apartments Castlemona Avenue Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 4EA Planning Officer: Peiran Shen Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 07.08.2025 _________________________________________________________________
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 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
The proposal is not considered to give rise to an unacceptable impact on amenity or impact on highway safety. It is considered to comply with General Policy 2, Business Policy 13 and Transport Policy 7 of the Strategic Plan.
This approval relates to the documents, location plan, site plan and floor plan, which have all been received on 2nd June 2025. _________________________________________________________________ Right to Appeal It is recommended that the following organisations should NOT be given the Right to Appeal: Douglas City Council - No objection _________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report
1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site is Apartment 5, Villa Court Apartments, Castlemona Avenue, Douglas.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The proposal is for the additional use of the house as tourist accommodation.
3.0 Planning History - 3.1 There is no previous application considered materially relevant to this application.
4.0 Planning Policy Site Specific - 4.1 The site is within an area designated as Mixed Use in the Area Plan for the East. - 4.2 The Written Statement of the Area Plan (9.11.2) states: "Development types within areas of mixed use generally comprise a variety of different but compatible uses. Appropriate new uses may include a mix of shops and some services (financial and professional), food and drink, office and light industry, research and development, tourist and residential uses, and other uses such as clinics or health centres, childcare or education, community facilities, and places of assembly and leisure." Strategic Policy - 4.3 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered materially relevant to the assessment of this current planning application:
PPS and NPD
4.4 No relevant Planning Policy Statement or National Policy Directive applies to this application.
5.0 OTHER MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS Strategy and Guidance - 5.1 There is no strategy or guidance materially relevant to this application.
6.0 REPRESENTATION This section is a summary. The original texts of the consultations and comments received are available on the Planning Application Search on the government website. - 6.1 Douglas City Council has no objection to this application (16.06.2025). The comment reminds the applicant to ensure that there are sufficient bin storage. - 6.2 DoI Highway Services has not commented at the time of the report (07.08.2025).
7.0 ASSESSMENT Elements of Assessment - 7.1 The key considerations in determining the application are its principle, its impact on parking provision and the amenities of the neighbours. - 7.2 When the house is occupied by one group of tourists, their parking demand and behaviour are considered the same as a typical household. There has been no increase in parking standards, and the current parking provision is considered acceptable.
7.3 There is no change in parking standards. Therefore, the impact on parking is considered to be acceptable. - 7.4 It is difficult to assess how an individual would behave as a tourist or a resident. As a tourist, a person may be out often, have late nights, and be disruptive on return. In the meantime, both tourists and permanent residents have incentives for organising gatherings, which can easily be carried out till late at night. In general terms, however, most people behave well and raise no concerns. Therefore, it is unlikely that this change of use will significantly impact the neighbouring properties' living conditions.
8.0 CONCLUSION - 8.1 The proposal is not considered to give rise to an unacceptable impact on amenity or impact on highway safety. Therefore, it is considered to comply with General Policy 2, Business Policy 13 and Transport Policy 7 of the Strategic Plan and is recommended for an approval.
9.0 RIGHT TO APPEAL AND RIGHT TO GIVE EVIDENCE - 9.1 The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 sets out the process for determining planning applications (including appeals). It sets out a Right to Appeal (i.e. to submit an appeal against a planning decision) and a Right to Give Evidence at Appeals (i.e. to participate in an appeal if one is submitted). - 9.2 Article A10 sets out that the right to appeal is available to:
9.3 Article 8(2)(a) requires that in determining an application, the Department must decide who has a right to appeal, in accordance with the criteria set out in article A10. - 9.4 The Order automatically affords the Right to Give Evidence to the following (no determination is required):
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 and/or rights to appeal.
Decision Made : Permitted Date: 14.08.2025 Determining Officer Signed : J SINGLETON Jason Singleton Principal Planner
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