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Application No.: 10/00214/B Applicant: Westport Enterprises Ltd Proposal: Conversion of building to provide three residential apartments Site Address: 44 Demesne Road Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 3DY ### Considerations Case Officer: Mrs Jade Craig Photo Taken: 23.04.2010 Site Visit: 23.04.2010 Expected Decision Level: Senior Planning Officer ### Written Representations ### Consultations Consultee: Highways Division Notes: do not oppose: Consultee: Douglas Corporation Notes: Consultee: Director Of Environment Notes: no objection Consultee: Manx Electricity Authority Notes:** see note 2
The application site comprises the curtilage of 44 Demesne Road in Douglas. The existing property is located on the end of a Victorian terrace and contains 2 flats over four floors.
Proposed are alterations to convert the building into 3 flats.
The following previous planning applications are considered relevant in the assessment and determination of this application;
43261 Conversion of premises to 5 self contained flats - Permitted 1976 for 4 flats This approval was not implemented 50728 Create self contained flat on second and third floors and retain ground and first floors as private occupation of the owner - Permitted 1979 This was implemented and the building currently contains 2 flats in accordance with this approval 04/01186/B Change of use from holiday flat to residential - Refused 07/12/04 Reasons for Refusal -
This application is somewhat confusing as there was no previous application or evidence to say that a flat was being used as tourist accommodation
In terms of local plan policy, the application site is located within an area designated as "Predominantly Residential" under the Douglas Central Local Plan 1998. The site is located within the Woodbourne Road Conservation Area.
The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 contains policies and paragraphs which are considered material to the assessment of this current planning application;
General Policy 2; "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:
Environment Policy 35;
Within Conservation Areas, the Department will permit only development which would preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Area, and will ensure that the special features contributing to the character and quality are protected against inappropriate development. 8.13.1 There are in the Island, and particularly in Douglas, many substantial buildings which, because of their size or form, are no longer suitable for the originally intended use as either single dwellings or holiday accommodation, but which are still structurally sound. The Department has for many years encouraged the conversion of such buildings, where appropriate, into flats. 8.13.2 The size, layout, occupancy, etc., of flats are controlled by the Housing (Flats) Regulations 1982. However, all flats should also have a good external environment, characterised by -
Where such demolition is not so required, the accommodation must generally be organised so that every flat has an outlook from the front of the building, and so that no flat is contained entirely within an "outlet". Exception may be made to this general approach where the environment at, and the outlook from, the rear are pleasant and open.
Housing Policy 17; The conversion of buildings into flats will generally be permitted in residential areas provided that:
Transport Policy 7; The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards. The current standards are set out in Appendix 7. Appendix 7; A.7.1 High levels of car ownership have led to an increase in the level of parking expected for new residential development, and outside of town centre locations these standards should not be relaxed. New-built residential development should be provided with two parking spaces per dwelling, at least one of which should be within the curtilage of the dwelling and behind the front of the dwelling, although the amount and location of parking will vary in respect of development such as terracing, apartments, and sheltered housing. In the case of town centre and previously developed sites, the Department will consider reducing this requirement having regard to:
Where new dwellings are created by the conversion of existing buildings, parking space should be formed by the clearance of outbuildings and low-grade annexes or "outlets" if it is reasonable and practicable so to do; however, in general, the need to find a use for redundant buildings which are in sound condition will outweigh the drawback of any shortfall in parking provision.
These standards may be relaxed where development:
The Department of Transport Highways Division do not oppose the application although they do state that Demesne Road is heavily congested. They note that although the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 requires a minimum of 1 off street parking space per apartment, the number of bedrooms in the property will be reduced slightly in this proposal.
Standard comments have been received from the Manx Electricity Authority who state that the applicant should contact the M.E.A. Planning Department in order to discuss the electrical supply for this application.
Standard comments have been received from the Environment, Safety & Health Directorate of the Department of Local Government and the Environment who state that after completion of the proposed works and prior to any of the flats being occupied, they must comply with the requirements of the Housing (Flats) Regulations 1982 and be registered thereafter under the same regulations.
The principal issues in assessing this application are:
Planning Circular 2/88 The Conversion of Buildings into Flats states that;
"The size, layout, occupancy, etc. of flats are controlled by the Housing (Flats) Regulations. However, all flats should also have a good external environment, characterised by -
The property currently contains 2 self-contained flats and this proposal is to create 1 further flat. The existing 3 bedroom flat on the top two floors would be retained and the existing 5 bedroom flat on the ground and first floors would be split into two self-contained flats, one per floor. The ground
floor flat would contain 1 bedroom, the first floor flat would contain 2 bedrooms. The two lower flats would share a common entrance through the front door on Demesne Road and the upper flat would retain its current entrance which is accessed from the rear lane and up an external staircase in the rear yard.
In terms of the layout of the flats, the principal rooms would generally have a pleasant outlook. No flat would be contained entirely within the rear outlet of the property and each would have a living room occupying the front room overlooking Demesne Road with a south eastern aspect. The only flat which may be of some concern is that on the ground floor, which would have the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen windows looking out to the rear yard and a further kitchen window looking out onto the rear lane. From visiting the site it was clear to see that the other properties in the terrace also have rooms with windows looking out into the rear yards and onto the back lane. The existing floor plan also shows that the ground floor kitchen and bedroom currently have windows in this position and the existing bathroom is an internal room, so the proposals are judged to be an improvement on this.
A small amount of external space is provided by the front garden and rear yard. The rear yard has access from the rear lane and leaves a small amount of space for clothes-drying, refuse storage and general amenity.
It is considered that the residential environments of the proposed flats are acceptable. b) Impact on the Conservation Area
The property is located on the edge of the Woodbourne Road Conservation Area. As there are no proposed alterations to the exterior of the building, there will be no visual impact on the Conservation Area.
However, the Woodbourne Road Conservation Area Character Appraisal (1st September 2003) states that the heavy traffic and on-street parking is a problem which detracts from the quality of the area. There is currently no off-street parking associated with this property and there are 2 flats containing a total of 8 bedrooms. Although this proposal would increase the number of flats to 3 , the total number of bedrooms would be reduced to 6 . Therefore, I do not feel that the proposal will have an impact on the traffic in the Conservation Area. c) Parking provision
Due to the constraints of the site, there is currently no on-site parking and none is proposed to be provided as part of this application. When on site during the daytime, it was noted that the parking along Demesne Road was fairly congested and care should be taken not to create additional demand for on-street parking, which would result in more traffic problems.
For the existing flats, the required parking standards in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 would be for 2 spaces for the lower flat and 2 spaces for the upper. Taking this proposal into account, 1 parking space would be needed for the ground floor flat, 2 spaces would be needed for the first floor flat and 2 spaces would be needed for the second and third floor flat, resulting in 1 additional space than what would currently be required. The Strategic Plan states that these parking standards may be relaxed where development;
On balance, I consider that this application agrees with d) in that it will not result in unacceptable on street parking, largely due to the close proximity to town centre amenities and bus routes. This view also takes into account that this proposal will reduce the overall number of bedrooms within the property.
RECOMMENDATION
For the above reasons the proposal is considered to be acceptable and it is recommended that the planning application be permitted subject to conditions.
The Department of Transport Highways Division is now part of the Department of Infrastructure of which the planning authority is part. As such, the Highways and Traffic Division cannot be afforded party status in this instance.
Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 28.04.2010 Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal
The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.
This approval relates to the conversion of 44 Demesne Road to provide 3 residential apartments as shown in plans numbered 317/1/1, 317/1/2, 317/1/3 and 317/1/4, date stamped the 18th February 2010.
I confirm that this decision accords with the appropriate Government Circular delegating functions to the Senior Planning Officer. Decision Made: Permitted Date: ______________________ Signed: ______________________ Senior Planning Officer
28 April 2010
28 April 2010
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