Officer Report

Application No.: 25/00103/CON Applicant: Mr Steve Blackford Proposal: Registered building consent for the demolition elements proposed within application 25/90093/B Site Address: Laxey Wheel Visitor Entrance Mines Road Laxey Isle Of Man IM4 7NL Planning Officer: Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Planning Committee Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 29.04.2025 _________________________________________________________________

Conditions and Notes for Approval

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.

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

The proposed demolition works are considered to have an acceptable impact on the wider Conservation Area and just as its concurrent application PA25/90093B would meets with General Policy 2, Environment Policy 35 and Strategic Policy 4 of the Strategic Plan, and Section 16 & 18 of The Act 1999.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 29th January 2025;

• o Drawing No. JTM2402-P-01
• o Planning Statement

This decision also relates to Drawing No. JTM2402-P-02 Rev A dated received 18th February 2025

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Interested Person Status

It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should not be given Interested Person Status as they are not considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Regulation 9(4):

The owner/occupier of 2 Glen View, South Cape The Isle of Man Victorian Society As they do not satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status. _________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE PLANNING APPLICATION IS BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AT THE REQUEST OF THE PRINCIPAL PLANNING OFFICER THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application is situated within the curtilage of The Laxey Wheel (Lady Isabella) that is a large historic water wheel, originally built in 1854, which is situated to the Eastern side of Mines Road, Laxey. The specific part of the site in question is within the front area of the Laxey Wheel just after the existing car park, which is accessed of Mines Road. - 1.2 The site itself currently has an existing kiosk to the middle of the area in question with mature trees and hedges situated within the surrounding curtilage. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 This application is entwined with PA25/90093/B, which has works comprising of the below elements; "2.1 The current application proposes the removal of the existing cylindrical kiosk, pedestrian access gate and vehicle access gate, all of which is situated to the upper end of the existing car park and the erection of a new visitor, welcome, admissions & retail centre with new black railings to separate the car park to the visitor area. - 2.2 The existing kiosk has a local stone finish and a natural slate finish and clad in cedar timber boarding. - 2.3 The proposed visitor, welcome, admissions and retail centre (VWA&RC) is to be situated to the Eastern side of the site and is to be rectangular in shape measuring approximately 10m by 4.22m with a flat roof height which ranges from 2.413m to 3.027m high. The VWA&RC is to have a staff room situated to the Northern side, which has two windows, with the rest being used as the VWA&RC, there are double doors situated to the Southern side of the structure, and double doors situated to the Western side with a large window. The proposed black railing situated to the West of the proposal adjacent to the front elevation of the structure, are to measure approximately 1m high, with a cedar handrail. The proposed railings will have two access points situated within them a vehicle access and a pedestrian access. - 2.4 The proposed materials are to be anthracite aluminium windows, anthracite facias and gutters, a single-ply membrane flat roof black in colour and cedar horizontal cladding to the exterior."

PLANNING HISTORY 3.1 The following applications are on the application site as a whole; PA85/01275/B - Erection of entrance kiosk - Permitted

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PA87/00991/B - Installation of two temporary toilets (Portaloos) - Permitted PA09/00857/B - Proposed seating/picnic area and location of mobile catering unit - Withdrawn PA09/01837/B - Construction of a stepped access ramp and use of part of field as a seating/picnic area - Permitted PA16/00491/B - Erection of a building to provide toilet facilities and removal of one tree Permitted PA19/00086/B - Installation of toilet facilities to replace existing - Permitted

• PA23/01321/B - Erection of building to provide a visitor entrance hub, staff accommodation and administration space to replace existing visitor entrance kiosk - Withdrawn
• PA23/01322/CON - Registered Building Consent for demolition aspects to PA 23/01321/B Erection of building to provide a visitor entrance hub, staff accommodation and administration space to replace existing visitor entrance kiosk - Withdrawn.

3.2 There is one concurrent application which is connected to this application, PA25/90093/B - Demolition of existing ticket office, removal and storage of entrance gates and turnstiles, erection of new visitor's hub and maintenance vehicle access gate (in association with 25/00103/CON) - which is currently Pending. PLANNING POLICY AND LEGISLATION - 4.1 TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT (1999)

• 4.1.1 Due to the site being situated within the Laxey Conservation Area, Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act (1999) is relevant which 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," Section 16 is also relevant. The site is not a Registered Building.

- 4.2 MANX MUSEUM AND NATIONAL TRUST ACT (1959)

4.2.1 The applicant is MNH who are responsible for the designation of Scheduled Ancient Monuments and the maintenance of the register of such designations. They have also stated (as the applicant) in their planning statement (Appendix B - Heritage Statement) that, "The Laxey Wheel & Rod Duct is a Statutory Ancient Monument". Therefore the application has been assessed on the basis that it is within the setting of a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

PLANNING POLICY

- 4.3 SITE DESIGNATION

4.3.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "Not for Development" on the Area Plan for the East, Map 7 - Laxey. The site is situated within a Conservation Area but not a Flood Risk Zone.

- 4.4 ISLE OF MAN STRATEGIC PLAN

4.4.1 The following policies are relevant from the Isle of Man Strategic Plan; Strategic Policy 4 - which seeks to protect or enhance Conservation Areas Environment Policy 35 - which seeks that the character and quality of the Conservation Area is protected against inappropriate development Environment Policy 39 in connection with Paragraph 7.32.2 which seeks to retain building which make a positive contribution to the character or appearance of the Conservation Area.

- 4.5 AREA PLAN FOR THE EAST

• 4.5.1 The Area Plan for the East has the following relevant proposals and paragraphs, Landscape proposal 5 (Laxey), Urban Environment Proposal 3, Paragraph 6.12.1 and Urban Environment Policy 6.

• 4.5.2 Landscape Proposal 5 (Laxey) - There is a presumption against development that would have an adverse impact on the setting of the landmark Lady Isabella water wheel.

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Proposals for planning approval which would result in some development being visible from the Lady Isabella water wheel must demonstrate that the design is informed by the setting and has taken into account the effect, if any, on such views and responded to them. Slope and landform must be taken into consideration in any design response - this must demonstrate how a proposal is to become appropriate in the landscape setting, not dominate it.

• 4.5.3 Urban Environment Proposal 3 - Development proposals must make a positive contribution to local character and distinctiveness. Traditional or contemporary approaches may be appropriate depending upon the nature of the proposal and the context of the surrounding area.
• 4.5.4 Paragraph 6.12.1 - There is a diverse collection of heritage assets in the East, ranging from the Neolithic to the modern period. While some monuments are protected by the Manx Museum and National Trust (Manx national Heritage), the immediate setting and, in some instances, the landscape setting and, in some instances, the landscape context may also need protection or enhancement. Many heritage assets are located on comparatively remote or isolated sites are unlikely to be subject to change arising from development but others are within or close to our settlements or may be close to potential mineral workings or sites for public infrastructure. The sites included on the Environment Constraints Map represent the most up to date list of Ancient Monuments. Of the 29 protected Ancient Monuments in the East, among the most notable are:

• The Great Laxey Wheel: The largest surviving working wheel of its kind in the world. Built in 1854 to pump water from the Glen Mooar section of the Great Laxey Mines complex.

• 4.5.5 Urban Environment Proposal 6 - Applications on sites or close to sites that contain an Ancient Monument must be designed taking into account the character of the Monument and its environs to ensure it is satisfactorily protected.
• 4.6 PLANNING POLICY STATEMENTS

• 4.6.1 Planning Policy 1/01 - Policy and Guidance Notes for the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man has one policy which is relevant CA/6. REPRESENTATIONS
• 5.1 The following representations can be found in full online;

- 5.2 LOCAL AUTHORITY

• 5.2.1 No comments have been received from the Laxey Commissioners at the time of writing this report. (29.04.25)

5.3 STATUTORY BODIES

• 5.3.1 No comments have been received from statutory bodies at the time of writing this report. (29.04.25)

5.4 OTHER REPRESENTATIONS

• 5.4.1 The owner/occupier of 2 Glen View, South Cape has written in to object to the proposal on the basis of the character and appearance of the proposal, removal of the turnstile and the proposed siting of the structure. (03.03.25)

5.4.2 The Isle of Man Victorian Society wrote into the office 3.02.25, with several questions they wanted answers to prior to submitting a consultation, the applicant replied to the questions raised on the 13.02.25 of which a further consultation was received on the 09.05.25 which states that the reply answered a lot of the queries, there was still one query regarding the photo visualisation and they queried the appearance of the proposal.

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Note: MNH entered a comment via online services on 28.04.25 which is understood was made as the applicant not as a consultee.

ASSESSMENT

6.1 Whilst the property is not registered, the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 requires that demolitions in Conservations Areas have registered building consent to safeguard the character and appearance of the surrounding area. Therefore the key considerations 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 PA25/90093/B and considered visually acceptable on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area and it is noted that this application has been submitted in response to a requirement due to the demolition of the existing kiosk. - 6.3 With that in mind, due to the demolition works proposed, due to a condition on PA25/90093/B requesting the removal of the existing kiosk on completion of the proposed new kiosk, it's unlikely this will be done without the works being in connection with PA25/90093/B. As such the proposed works will not impact the special character of the Conservation Area and the proposal is deed to comply with Environment Policy 39. - 6.4 Overall it is judged that the proposed demolition preserves the special character, fabric and setting of the Conservation Area as it does not include the removal of any historic elements. CONCLUSION

7.1 It is judged that the proposal complies with sections 16 and 18 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999, as the historic character of the building and setting of the conservation area are being preserved. It is also judged that the application meets the tests of strategic policy 4 and environment policy 35 of the IOM Strategic Plan 2016 and the requirements within PPS 1/01 as the fabric and setting of the conservation area is being protected and preserved. It is therefore recommended that the application be approved. INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Registered Buildings) Regulations 2013 (As Amended), the following are automatically interested persons:

• o The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• o Manx National Heritage, and
• o The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

8.2 The Decision maker must determine whether there are other persons to those listed above who should be given Interested Person Status. - 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 confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to that body by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Committee has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded interested person status and/or rights to appeal.

Decision Made: Permitted Date: 09.06.2025

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Signed :

Vanessa Porter Presenting Officer

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.

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