Loading document...
Application No.: 25/90803/C Applicant: Mr Daniel Reid Proposal: Change of use of full ground floor area to Class 1.3 (food and drink) and Class 1.4 (hot food takeaway) Site Address: 8 Peel Street Ramsey Isle Of Man IM8 1JH Senior Planning Officer: Mrs Louise Phillips Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 21.10.2025 _________________________________________________________________
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.
N 1. The Flood Risk Management Division of the Department of Infrastructure advises that mitigations against flooding are put in place, such as electrics above flood level, flood resilient materials and doors where possible.
The application would regularise the existing use of the whole of the ground floor of the building as a restaurant/takeaway. The use is appropriate in this town centre location and the inclusion of the additional floorspace proposed would have no detrimental impact upon the character and appearance of the Conservation Area, the living conditions of nearby residential occupiers or existing flood risk. Consequently, the proposal would comply with relevant legislation and Development Plan Policy.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the following drawings:
_________________________________________________________________ Right to Appeal
It is recommended that the following organisations should be given the Right to Appeal on the basis that they have recommended conditions which have not been applied:
1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The application concerns the ground floor of No 8 Peel Street. It is an existing restaurant in Ramsey Town Centre, presently closed, with residential flats above. It has a small rear yard which is accessed from Water Street, where there is space for bin storage. Some of the windows of the flats above overlook the yard. - 1.2 The attached unit to the south is a bridal shop on the ground floor, and the one to the north is presently vacant but has planning permission for healthcare use (see below).
2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The existing use of the site is as a restaurant/takeaway, granted permission under 90/01628/B. However, a small area of floorspace at the front of the unit, which has clearly been used as part of the restaurant, was not included in that permission. The present application seeks to regularise this by seeking permission for Class 1.3/1.4 Use to apply to the whole of the ground floor. - 2.2 No internal or external changes are proposed at this time.
3.0 PLANNING POLICY Site Specific - 3.1 The site is within the Ramsey Conservation Area but there are no Registered Buildings, Registered Trees or Registered Tree Areas that would be affected by the proposal. The site is at risk of tidal flooding. Ramsey Local Plan 1998 - 3.2 The site is in Ramsey Town Centre, defined as a mixed use area. Policy R/TC/P1 supports retail uses at ground floor level on the main shopping streets, including Peel Street. It seeks to restrict office uses on such streets to 30%, but places no restriction on Class 1.3 or 1.4 uses. Area Plan for the North & West (adopted but not yet in force) - 3.3 The site is within the Town Centre in the Parliament Street East division. Town Centre Proposal 2a for this area includes that the predominant use will be retail. No specific reference is made to Class 1.3 or 1.4 uses, but it is stated that future uses should support an extended evening economy. Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 - 3.4 Strategic Policy 1 seeks to optimise the use of previously developed land, redundant buildings and unused buildings.
3.5 Strategic Policy 2 directs development towards existing towns and villages. - 3.6 Strategic Policy 5 requires development to protect or enhance the fabric and setting of Conservation Areas. - 3.7 General Policy 2 provides criteria for development management purposes including the following which are relevant to this proposal. The development should: (c) not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape;
3.8 Environment Policy 10 requires that where there is a potential risk of flooding, a flood risk assessment and details of proposed mitigation must be provided. - 3.9 Environment Policy 13 states that development which would result in an unacceptable risk from flooding, either on or off-site, will not be permitted. - 3.10 Environment Policy 35 requires development to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of Conservation Areas.
4.0 OTHER MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS Legislation - 4.1 Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 2019:
4.2 Flood Risk Management Act (2013) - Section 68 indicates that any published Flood Risk Management Plan and the extent to which the proposed development creates an additional flood risk are material considerations. - 4.3 Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act (1999) states, "(4) Where any area is for the time being a conservation area, special attention shall be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing its character or appearance in the exercise, with respect to any buildings or other land in the area, of any powers under this Act". Planning Policy Statements - 4.4 Planning Policy Statement 1/01, Policy CA/2 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".
5.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 5.1 The following planning history for the site is relevant to the current proposal:
5.2 The following recent grant of permission for the adjacent unit to the north, Ground Floor 2-4 Peel Street, is relevant in relation to the issue of flood risk:
6.0 REPRESENTATIONS - 6.1 Ramsey Town Commissioners - "The Board wish to have a restriction on the opening hours of the establishment with midnight being the latest that they can be open" (18/09/25). - 6.2 Flood Risk Management Division (DoI) - "Do not oppose subject to conditions. The FMD recommend that a Flood Risk Assessment is produced and that mitigations against flooding be put in place (electrics above flood level, flood resilient materials and doors where possible)" (2/9/25). - 6.3 The following organisations were consulted on 27 August 2025 but had made no comments at the time of writing this report:
7.0 ASSESSMENT - 7.1 The application relates to an existing restaurant/takeaway in Ramsey Town Centre, which is an appropriate use for the location. The same use is now sought to apply to an extra area of floorspace at the front of the unit. It is not clear why this area was not included in the previous application, but it is quite small and clearly forms part of the building. It has obviously been used as part of the restaurant for some time because it is laid out with seating and is connected to an adjacent seating area via an internal opening. - 7.2 In this context, the proposal to formally include the area as part of the existing use would have no significant additional effects from a planning perspective and, because no physical changes are proposed, the character and appearance of the Conservation Area would be preserved as required by the Act, by Planning Policy Statement 1/01 and Environment Policy 35 of the Strategic Plan. Nevertheless, issues of residential amenity and flood risk require more detailed assessment in light of the representations received and the Flood Risk Management Act. - 7.3 Starting with residential amenity, the existing permission does not include a restriction upon opening hours but the latest licensing information displayed in the window authorised music, singing and dancing from 10am - midnight Sunday to Thursday; and 10am - 1am on Friday and Saturday. These hours are consistent with the midnight closing time sought by the Commissioners and with the applicant's request to allow home deliveries until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. It is therefore unlikely that residential occupiers in the flats above would experience any additional effects as a result of the current proposal and so it would comply with General Policy 2(g) of the Strategic Plan. It would also be unnecessary to attach a new condition on opening hours as the matter can be appropriately addressed by the Licensing Court.
7.4 Turning to flooding, the site and the wider area generally is at known risk, but there are many similar uses across the town centre and the current proposal would not increase the risk. In these specific circumstances, it is neither necessary nor proportionate to seek a Flood Risk Assessment as required by Environment Policy 10 of the Strategic Plan and recommended by the Flood Management Division (FMD). On the adjacent unit granted planning permission for a healthcare use under 25/90147/C, the FMD did not request a Flood Risk Assessment but provided similar advice about mitigation as it does here. Therefore, providing advice in the present case would be sufficient to achieve the objectives of Environment Policy 10 of the Strategic Plan and to ensure compliance with Environment Policy 13.
8.0 CONCLUSION - 8.1 The application would regularise the existing use of the whole of the ground floor of the building as a restaurant/takeaway. The use is appropriate in this town centre location and the inclusion of the additional floorspace proposed would have no detrimental impact upon the character and appearance of the Conservation Area, the living conditions of nearby residential occupiers or existing flood risk. Consequently, the proposal would comply with relevant legislation and Development Plan Policy and is recommended for approval accordingly.
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: 21.10.2025 Determining Officer
Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner
Customer note This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the office copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online service/ customers and archive record.
Copyright in submitted documents remains with their authors. Request removal
