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Application No.: 25/00836/CON Applicant: The Cathedral Office Proposal: Registered Building Consent for demolition work in a Conservation Area (in association with 25/90835/B) Site Address: Cathedral Grounds Cathedral Isle Of Man Derby Road Peel IM5 1HH Planning Officer: Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 27.10.2025 _________________________________________________________________
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
C 1. The works hereby granted registered building consent shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this consent.
Reason: To comply with paragraph 2(2)(a) of schedule 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented registered building consents.
It is judged that the proposal meets the tests of Section 16 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 as the registered building's special interest is being preserved. The proposals are also judged to meet the tests of Strategic Policy 4, Environment Policies 35 and 39 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, and Planning Policy Statement 1/01, as the registered building and conservation area are being protected and preserved. The application is therefore recommended for approval.
This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 3rd September 2025;
_________________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status n/a
_________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE
1.1 The site is within the curtilage of St. German's Cathedral which is situated to the South West of Derby Road. St. German's Cathedral is a Registered Building (No.204). The specific part of the site which has the red line surrounding it is situated to the middle of the site just to the West of the existing bus shelter along Derby Road. - 1.2 Presently, vehicular access to the Cathedral is via the entrances at Derby Road and Atholl Street. A further pedestrian access is available from Lyndale Avenue. Within the grounds (south of application site) is the Cathedral itself which sits in the southern half of the site and to the west of the application site is Corrin Hall which is used for a variety of purposes including as a play group and is a venue for various community activities. - 1.3 During the officers site visit, it could be seen that the site of the proposal had been partially excavated. THE PROPOSAL
2.1 The application seeks approval for the Registered Building Consent for part demolition of approximately 10m of the boundary wall and railings adjacent to Derby Road in connection with PA25/90835/B. PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 The Cathedral grounds have been subject to a number of applications for alterations and redevelopment including schemes for the creation of car parking, refurbishment of paths and access ways, the installation of notice boards, installation of replacement windows, flagpole, sculptures and most significantly, a new two storey cloister building, all approved.
3.2 Of specific note for this application is the following lychgate applications; PA25/90835/B - Erection of lychgate to form pedestrian entrance to Cathedral grounds from Derby Road (previously approved under application 13/91514/B) (in association with 25/00836/CON) - PENDING CONSIDERATION PA18/00140/B - Variation of condition one of PA13/91514/B, Construction of a lychgate along Derby Road to form new pedestrian entrance to Cathedral grounds which incorporates facilities for a re-located bus shelter, to extend the period of permission by four years - Approved with conditions PA13/91514/B - Construction of lychgate along Derby Road to form new pedestrian entrance to Cathedral grounds which incorporates facilities for a re-located bus shelter - Approved with several conditions PA13/91212/B - Construction of a lychgate along Derby Road to form new pedestrian entrance, which incorporates facilities for a relocated bus shelter - Withdrawn PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "Church" on the Peel Local Plan 1989 Map. The site isn't within a Flood Risk Zone but is within a Conservation Area. Given the nature of the application, being for RB consent works in relation to PA25/90835/B it is most relevant to focus
on those policies, which relate specifically to demolition works within a Conservation Area and Heritage policies referenced in PPS 1/01 and The Town and Country Planning Act 1999, S16(3).
4.2 The Strategic Policies which are the most applicable to this application are Strategic Policy
4.3 With regards to the Planning Policy Statement 1/01 - Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man, the most relevant policies are RB/3 & CA/6. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 The following consultees were consulted on the 9th September 2025, of which no consultation has been received at the time of writing this report;
6.1 Whilst the property is not registered, the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 requires that demolitions in Conservation Areas have registered building consent to safeguard the character and appearance of the surrounding area. Therefore the key consideration in this case are whether the proposed works will adversely affect or change the character and nature of the building or the Conservation Area.
6.2 A full assessment of the proposed development has been undertaken under PA25/90835/B and considered visually acceptable on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area. - 6.3 The proposed works are situated in a highly visible area, which could potentially have an impact on the overall Conservation Area and how the space is viewed, whilst this is the case, the Planning Statement states the following, "It is proposed that the scheme will progress in two phases, with the initial phase commencing as soon as possible to create a new pedestrian access of Derby Road complete with the sandstone walls, steps, paving and landscaping. Phase 2 will be the installation of the sculptural roof which will be subject to final structural design and detailing of the proposed carvings by a local artist." - 6.4 On this understanding knowing that the proposal is to re-use the existing sandstone from the walling. The proposed demolition works will be in connection with works which are required to be finished, as such its unlikely that the demolition works will be done without future planning. As such the proposed works will not impact the special character of the Conservation Area and the proposal is deemed to comply with Environment Policy 39. - 6.5 Overall it is judged that the demolition works associated with the proposed lychgate are considered acceptable in this case, and there would be no reason to reach a different conclusion to 25/90835/B or to refuse this application in this case.
7.1 It is judged that the proposal meets the tests of Section 16 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 as the registered building's special interest is being preserved. The proposals are also judged to meet the tests of Strategic Policy 4, Environment Policies 35 and 39 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, and Planning Policy Statement 1/01, as the registered building and conservation area are being protected and preserved. The application is therefore recommended for approval.
8.2 In addition to those above, the Regulation 9(3) requires the Department to decide which persons (if any) who have made representations with respect to the application, should be treated as having sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings relating to the application.
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: 28.10.2025 Determining Officer
Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner
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