Officer Report

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No.: 24/91166/B Applicant: Corkhill & Callow Funeral Directors Proposal: Installation of a mezzanine floor and change of use from industrial/commercial/storage to funeral directors Site Address: Unit 1 Trafalgar Park Balthane Industrial Estate Balthane Ballasalla Isle Of Man IM9 2RA Senior Planning Officer: Jason Singleton Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 04.11.2024 _________________________________________________________________

Conditions and Notes for Approval

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.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.

Whilst the land is not designated for the proposed use (funeral directors), the change of use is not considered to be unacceptable given it does not propose any open public retail sales and would be in accordance with Business Policy 1 and 5 nor is it considered to adversely impact on the general amenity of the area and is in compliance with General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to drawings and supporting information received on 2nd October 2024, referenced;

• SM24/618/1
• SM24/618/2 _________________________________________________________________

Right to Appeal It is recommended that the following organisations should NOT be given the Right to Appeal: DoI - Highways Services - No objection Malew Commissioners - No objection

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The application site is within the curtilage of Unit 1 Trafalgar Park Balthane Industrial Estate, Ballasalla. The building is a two storey in height industrial building that is split into 6 units of similar size (three units back to back) with the front elevation featuring a roller shutter door to one half and the other a corresponding double height glazed entrance door way with glazing to the sides and above and facing onto a block paved road and parking area. - 1.2 The wider site here is access off Harcourt Drive and are newly built industrial units. - 1.3 This unit is an end unit and situated at the head of the parking area with vehicle parking provided immediately to the front of the units and opposite the building. There are 7 dedicated parking spaces for this unit.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed is the use of the unit as a funeral directors and a series of internal works to install a mezzanine level to have of the ground floor area and the subdivision of space to provide on the ground floor vehicle parking, an office, W/c, meeting room, Chapel of Rest and a Preparation roof/store. The mezzanine would see the space used as a coffin store, workshop, staff / canteen room and W/c. - 2.2 The applicant notes; "The proposed use as a funeral directors premises include the provision of administrative advice to the bereaves, the preparation of care of the deceased before burial or cremation together with the facilities for the bereaved to view the deceased and the storage of vehicles associated with the transportation of the deceased to their final resting place". - 2.3 There are no physical alterations to the external appearance of the building.

- 3.0 PLANNING POLICY

3.1 The application site is designated as; Industrial/Business Park on the Area Plan for the South Map 4, Ballasalla. There is a development brief contained with the Area Plan for the South Written Statement which states the following: - 3.2. Paragraph 6.8.2: "The Balthane Industrial Estate is located just south of Ballasalla village. The Estate is used by a mix of businesses but incremental development, poor maintenance of buildings, roads and footways, has over the years, resulted in the Estate appearing neglected and unattractive in many parts giving a poor impression to the public, customers and businesses alike. It is recognised that the Estate is home to some uses which are essential to support the Island and also that there is scope for the general appearance and access to the Estate to be improved. There is considerable land available at Balthane which was first identified on the 1982 Development Order. It has been deemed appropriate to carry forward this designation into the Area Plan but there is a need to secure improvement works on the estate." - 3.3 Employment Recommendation 1: "It is recommended that the Department of Infrastructure, the Department of Economic Development and Malew Parish Commissioners work collaboratively to produce a strategy for improvements at Balthane Industrial Estate. This will include general environmental improvements, and also improvements in respect of access, lighting and infrastructure in an effort to ensure that the Estate is an attractive place for both users and customers." - 3.4 There are no policies which comment specifically on the use of industrial areas or sites for non-industrial purposes. This is dealt with in the Strategic Plan.

3.5 The site is not within a Conservation Area, there are no registered trees on site nor is it within an area of flood risk. It is appropriate to consider the following planning policies from the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016; Business Policy

• 1 - Creation of employment opportunities 5 - Limitations on retail and only storage and distribution on industrial sites General Policy
• 2 - General development considerations

- 4.0 PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 21/00416/B - Erection of six industrial units / commercial / storage units with associated roads, footpaths and vehicle parking. Approved. With conditions limiting the use to General industrial (Class 2.3) and/or Storage/distribution (Class 2.4) and no additional floors. - 4.2 19/01344/A - Approval in principle for the erection of 34 industrial / commercial units addressing siting and means of access. Approved. - 4.3 Other applications within Balthane of relevance are as follows, all approved: 24/00312/C - Additional use as health centre (Class 4.1) 23/01342/C - Change of use from as storage unit to a personal training studio 22/00231/C - Additional use of site for the storage of classic cars and for car hire 21/01285/C - Change of use of existing warehouse into a leisure facility 20/00671/B - Conversion ground floor storage and first floor fitness studio 20/00304/C - conversion from general industrial to leisure 18/00799/B - conversion of unit to dog day care facility 18/00127/B - conversion of unit to dog grooming facility 16/01177/B - conversion of unit to motorcycle repairs and sales 15/00665/C - use of premises as plumber's merchants and bathroom sales 15/00156/C - use of office as hair salon 14/01382/B - use of premises as dog grooming facility 12/01610/C - conversion of unit to cafe 11/00870/C - use of premises for the repair and sale of motorcycles 10/01179/C - use of unit as a fitness centre.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS (in brief - full reps can be read online) Statutory Consultations

5.1 Malew Parish Commissioners - do not object (16/10/24) - 5.2 Highways Services - do not object (14/10/24) Public Representations - 5.3 None

6.0 ASSESSMENT The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are;

• (i) Principle (Gp2, Bp1,5)
• (ii) Visual Impact on the character of the area (Gp2b,c,g) (iiii) Highway Safety (GP2 h&i)

• (i) Principle

6.2 Whilst the site is not designated for these specific purposes, the proposed use does not easily fit into existing allocations within an industrial site designation. On the Island, a change in trends has occurred and a variety of industrial estates now see more public uses of the premises where there is no statutory nuisance from the activity indoors arising from noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke or heavy machinery operations. This has been further demonstrated and noted in para. 4.2 of this report, which outlines many examples of alternative business uses on

• land / buildings located in industrial areas particularly those noted on this same industrial estate within Ballasalla.
• 6.3 In terms of the proposed use, they are generally located within town centres and could fall under the wider category of a 'shop'. However, it is likely the use falls outside of any defined use category and could be deemed 'sui-generous'.
• 6.4 The former approval on site limited the use to General industrial (Class 2.3) and/or Storage/distribution (Class 2.4). When considering the use and how the nature of the business operates, the very nature of the use is limited but regular and operates wholly within the building for privacy. The visits would generally be by the bereaved with set appointments, and departures would be at a pre-set time and similarly from a funeral would be a set time with very little or no disruption to other occupants on site. The discrete nature of the business ensures the use would have little no impact on any current or proposed uses of the site through any statutory nuisance (dust, noise, smells, vibration, and light pollution) and would sit between a light industrial use and General industrial use, likely sui generous in planning terms.
• 6.5 The siting / use of the end unit helps separate customers from the remaining estate here and could operate almost in isolation to the other units and their uses without any adverse impact. In terms of compatibility of uses and neighbouring unit occupancies, the planning condition limits the use to general industrial and storage/ distribution and would not be seen as incompatible or seen (if approved) to prejudice the use of the adjoining units (or land) here (GP2k) on this industrial estate.
• 6.6 In their supporting statement, the applicant notes the use and explains their rational for choosing this site; "Funeral directors premises tend to be within town or village centres and the applicants run a similar operation where they have a premises in Dale Street Ramsey, close to the Town Centre. However, to provide the level of accommodation required to cover the many discreet and varied operations associated with the funeral directors business, it is not always easy to find a range of buildings in close proximity to a town centre that fulfil the requirements of the operation"…"It is not always possible to operate a business from a high street location and considered as traffic movement and transporting of large or bulky items are not always feasible within at own or village centre location."
• 6.7 The proposed use here would be contained within the building and the use (funeral directors) would not be out of keeping within this part of the Industrial estate, given the nature and layout of the buildings and how they present and where there are a variety of business uses that would be of a small enough scale to not be detrimental to the overall land use designation or to those surrounding business uses.
• 6.8 The introduction of a new business here and use of an empty premises would be supported through BP1 and would be seen to generate employment possibilities and the nature of the business is providing a service to the public.

• (ii) Visual Impact

6.9 Whilst not in full accordance with the Development Plan and noting there are no physical alterations to the property, when assessed again the broader principles of General Policy 2 a change of use would not impact on the wider character and appearance of the area, nor would it conflict with adjacent uses of the Balthane Industrial Estate. It is further noted existing appearance of the building, essentially the front elevation appears as offices and not as industrial.

• (iii) Highway Safety

6.10 This site is close to a bus network and within walking distance of a concentration of population. The estate generates a variety of different users to the business in the estate and this traffic is generally day time and week day traffic and as such there is likely to be capacity on the roadways and adjacent parking areas to accommodate any vehicles which cannot be

• accommodated on the site such that there will not be an adverse impact on the highway network in the vicinity of the site.
• 6.11 Highway Services have considered the merits of the proposal, access to and from the site from the highway, as well as parking and highway safety. As the transport professionals their comments are heavily relied upon and as they do not object, the proposal would be aligned with the principles of GP2 (h&i).

- 7.0 CONCLUSION

7.1 Whilst the land is not designated for the proposed use (funeral directors), the change of use is not considered to be unacceptable given it does not propose any open public retail sales and would be in accordance with Business Policy 1 and 5 nor is it considered to adversely impact on the general amenity of the area and is in compliance with General Policy 2. - 8.0 RIGHT TO APPEAL AND RIGHT TO GIVE EVIDENCE

8.1 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).

8.2 Article A10 sets out that the right to appeal is available to:

• o applicant (in all cases);
• o a Local Authority; Government Department; Manx Utilities; and Manx National Heritage that submit a relevant objection; and
• o any other person who has made an objection that meets specified criteria.

8.3 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. - 8.4 The Order automatically affords the Right to Give Evidence to the following (no determination is required):

• o any appellant or potential appellant (which includes the applicant);
• o the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, the Department of Infrastructure and the local authority for the area;
• o any other person who has submitted written representations (this can include other Government Departments and Local Authorities); and
• o in the case of a petition, a single representative. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Acting Head of Development Management 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: 12.11.2024 Determining officer

Signed : A MORGAN Abigail Morgan Acting Head of Development Management

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.