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Government Kviltye Ellan Vannin
Conversion of dwelling to provide three self-contained apartments
54 Parliament Street Ramsey Isle Of Man IM8 1AN
PA Reference 14/00745/B
Statement prepared on behalf of DOI Planning and Building Control by Planning Officer: Mr Edmond Riley
1.1 The application site is No. 54 Parliament Street, Ramsey. The site forms part of the built up frontage at the back edge of the footway to the north side of the street in Ramsey town centre. The building has three storeys with the addition of rooms in the roof. It is a traditionally-styled building with a shop at ground floor and a residential dwelling on the three storeys above. Adjacent to the west is a three-storey building, while adjacent that is a two-storey building. As such, the side gable is very visible from what is Ramsey's main shopping street.
1.2 The site is outside of, but close to, the Ramsey Conservation Area.
2.1 Full planning approval is sought to convert the dwelling on the upper floor into three flats, one on each storey. The proposal involves some external alterations including the removal of two chimneys, the replacement of the existing timber windows with uPVC windows, and three new roof lights to the front elevation.
3.1 Full planning approval was granted to PA 14/00284/B on 4th June 2014 for the subdivision of the dwelling into two apartments; one on the first floor and a duplex flat on the two floors above. Window details showing the sliding sash mechanism of the proposed replacement windows were provided, while amended plans were sought requiring that one of the two chimneys currently proposed for removal be retained.
3.2 Alterations to the shopfront were granted approval in 1997; none of the other planning history on the site is more recent than this.
4.1 The Ramsey Local Plan 1998 identifies the area as being mixed use (town centre).
4.2 Several policies in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 are considered relevant. Strategic Policy 1 states: 'Development should make the best use of resources by:
(a) optimising the use of previously developed land, redundant buildings, unused and under-used land and buildings, and re-using scarce indigenous building materials; (b) ensuring efficient use of sites, taking into account the needs for access, landscaping, open space(1) and amenity standards; and (c) being located so as to utilise existing and planned infrastructure, facilities and services.'
4.3 Strategic Policy 2 reads: 'New development will be located primarily within our existing towns and villages, or, where appropriate, in sustainable urban extensions of these towns and villages. Development will be permitted in the countryside only in the exceptional circumstances identified in paragraph 6.3 [General Policy 3].'
4.4 General Policy 2 states (in part): 'Development which is in accordance with the land-use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted, provided that the development:
(b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them; (c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality; (h) provides satisfactory amenity standards in itself, including where appropriate safe and convenient access for all highway users, together with adequate parking, servicing and manoeuvring space; (i) does not have an unacceptable effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways'.
4.5 Housing Policy 4 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 states: 'New housing will be located primarily within our existing towns and villages, or, where appropriate, in sustainable urban extensions of these towns and villages where identified in adopted Area Plans: otherwise new housing will be permitted in the countryside only in the following exceptional circumstances:
(a) essential housing for agricultural workers in accordance with Housing Policies 7, 8, 9 and 10; (b) conversion of redundant rural buildings in accordance with Housing Policy 11; and (c) the replacement of existing rural dwellings and abandoned dwellings in accordance with Housing Policies 12, 13 and 14.'
4.6 Housing Policy 17 states: 'The conversion of buildings into flats will generally be permitted in residential areas provided that:
(a) adequate space can be provided for clothes-drying, refuse storage, general amenity, and, if practical, car-parking; (b) the flats created will have a pleasant clear outlook, particularly from the principal rooms and (c) if possible, this involves the creation of parking on site or as part of an overall traffic management strategy for the area'.
4.7 Transport Policy 7 is also relevant: 'The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards.' The standard in respect of town centre residential development is one car parking space per each one-bedroom flat, but that this can be relaxed, having regard to:
(a) the location of the housing relative to public transport, employment, and public amenities; (b) the size of the dwelling; (c) any restriction on the nature of the occupancy (such as sheltered housing); and (d) the impact on the character and appearance of the surrounding area.
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS
5.1 Ramsey Town Commissioners offer no objection to the planning application.
5.2 Highway Services have requested the application be deferred as the applicant "needs to demonstrate available on-street parking, taking into account that Parliament Street is the main retail street within Ramsey".
5.3 Manx Utility Authority request an advisory note be added to any approval that may be forthcoming in respect of electricity supply.
6.0 ASSESSMENT
6.1 The assessment of the application covers a number of issues, relating to both the principle and the detail, with close attention being paid to the appropriateness of the number of dwellings proposed and the standard of accommodation that would be provided.
Whether this is a suitable location in principle for residential accommodation
6.2 The site is situated in a central town centre location in Ramsey. The Ramsey Local Plan recognises the area as being in mixed use (town centre). The site is within easy reach of shops, services, amenities and jobs and is therefore a sustainable location for a new residential development. The proposal would make effective use of previously developed land, and would also add to the vitality of the town centre. The location of the site has a range of good sustainability credentials and raises no strategic concerns. The site is considered to be an acceptable location in principle for residential accommodation.
The effect of the proposal upon the character and appearance of the area
6.3 The external alterations include the removal of two chimneys. As part of the previous application, the planning officer requested of the applicant that the large gable chimney be retained, which was done. Unfortunately, both chimneys are now proposed for removal. The removal of this chimney would, given the already-noted highly visible nature of this gable end, have an unduly
detrimental impact on the streetscene. The concerns raised earlier in this year in this respect have not altered. The loss of the other chimney, which is set within a terrace of buildings of similar (if not identical) height would be of less concern.
6.4 Elsewhere, it is proposed to replace the existing windows with UPVC windows. The applicant as part of the previous planning application agreed to use vertically sliding sash windows, and provided details on this. No such agreement has been reached, nor as any detailed plan of the windows been provided, on this occasion. The three new roof lights would be acceptable, as these would replace three existing and smaller rooflights, albeit that these should preferably be of a conservation-style. Again, no detailed plan has been provided of the proposed rooflights.
6.5 It is considered that the character and appearance of the area - and that of the adjacent Conservation Area - would not be preserved by the proposal; the loss of the chimney is deeply unfortunate given how visible it is and how important such features are to this traditional streetscene, and one that is probably Ramsey's main shopping street. The lack of information in respect of the windows and rooflights is also unfortunate. While this information could be sought by condition, it is considered that the lack of information is such as to mean that an inadequate assessment of this issue can be made. It is considered that the application should be refused on grounds of its impact on the streetscene for the reasons outlined above, which is contrary to General Policy 2(b) and 2(c).
The effect of the proposal upon neighbour amenity
6.6 It is considered that the proposal would have no adverse impacts on neighbours or in respect of neighbouring uses, all of which are town centre-related or residential in nature.
Residential amenity for future occupants
6.7 Housing Policy 17 is clear that new residential units should provide adequate amenity space for future occupiers. While it is noted that this policy refers to "residential areas", and the site itself is zoned for "mixed use (town centre)", it is considered entirely reasonable to have regard to this policy inasmuch as the area itself does have a good level of residential development already.
6.8 Each of the three flats has their sole bathroom accessed off the single bedroom. This is undesirable, but is perhaps not a material Planning consideration albeit that the quality as well as quantity of amenity space should be taken account of in assessing an application.
6.9 The uppermost flat would have roughly 38sqm of internal space, and with all of this provided in a roofspace it is likely that there would be a sense of enclosure for the future occupiers of that flat. This is a material Planning consideration, as outlined in General Policy 2(h) and Housing Policy 17(a). It is not considered that the level of amenity provided to the occupant(s) of the uppermost flat would be acceptable given that flat's limited size, and limited outlook with natural light provided to the bedroom solely by a rooflight, and it is considered that the application should be refused for this reason.
6.10 The existing bin store is shown as being external, and outside of the application site. No details have been provided on the arrangements of access, although a clear path to that bin store can be traced through the building.
Access and parking
6.11 No specific parking is to be allocated for the development. The requirement, in considering the Strategic Plan standard, would be for three parking spaces; it is noted that the previous application, which was approved, comprised of one no. 1-bed flat and one no. 2-bed flat, which also required the provision of 3 car parking spaces. Given that the requirement from the current proposal would be identical to that previously-approved, and also taking into account the central and sustainable location of the site with good access to shops, services, amenities, public car parks and public transport, it is considered acceptable that the proposal provides no specific parking. It is therefore judged that an objection on this basis could not be sustained.
7.0 RECOMMENDATION
7.1 It is recommended that the planning application be refused for the impact on the streetscene and the failure to provide sufficient amenity space to the occupier of the uppermost flat.
8.1 In line with Article 6(4) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure)(No2) Order 2013, the following Persons are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings relating to the application: the applicant or, if there is one, the applicant's agent; the owner and occupier of the land the subject of the application; Highway Services, and the Local Authority in whose district the land the subject of the application sits.
The reasons and notes (if any) related to the Department's original refusal
R 1. The loss of the chimney stack to the west elevation, which is highly visible and provides an important and attractive visual feature to this traditional and well-used shopping street, would be unduly harmful to the streetscene and, as such, would be in conflict with General Policy 2(b) and 2(c) of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007.
R 2. The uppermost flat would, by virtue of its small size and location entirely within the building's roofspace, have an insufficient quantity and quality of amenity space, contrary to General Policy 2(h) and Housing Policy 17(a) of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007.
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