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The site represents the curtilage of number 8, The Parade, a shop unit which fronts onto The Parade and which backs onto a small area of treed garden which belongs with 7, The Parade, to the south. There is a lane to the north which runs between the site and the George Hotel from the Parade to Farrant's Way opposite Castletown Fire Station.
The premises are currently occupied and operated as a grocery store and post office, by the Manx Co-operative Ltd.
The site lies within an area designated as Mixed Use on the Castletown Local Plan of 1991, the draft Area Plan of 2001 and the draft Southern Area Plan of 2009. The site also lies within Castletown's Conservation Area and the building on the application site is also Registered (RB 32).
The following planning applications have been submitted in respect of this site: PA 90/0153 - installation of new shopfront - permitted PA 96/1485 - installation of new shopfront and signage - permitted PA 01/0275 - erection of signs - permitted PA 03/1588 - installation of satellite dish - permitted PAs 08/2269 and 08/2270 - installation of air conditioning units and steel hand rails - refused PA 09/0207 and 09/0208 - installation of replacement signage - permitted
Now proposed is the installation of air conditioning equipment on the flat roof at the rear of the building, enclosed within a timber slatted screen. The screen will sit towards the rear end of the roof (furthest from the main building) and will be 5.3 m by 2 m in the area and will sit 1.5 m above the height of the top of the existing wall around the rear extension. The equipment which presently sits at the rear of the building will be removed and also the railings around the rear of the flat roof will be removed. The applicant describes the colour of the timber stain as a "natural finish".
The applicant clarifies that expert advice was sought regarding the installation of the equipment within the building but this was not practicable due to the need for circulation of air. They also explain that they tried to purchase a strip of land adjacent to the flat roofed annex to the main building, from the owner of 7, The Parade but this was not possible as they suggest the neighbour did not wish to lose the existing trees in this area of her garden.
Clarification of the structure has been provided by way of an e-mailed drawing, sent to the Planning Office on 14th July, 2010. This illustrates that the slats will not be overlapping, such that a view into the structure could be visible.
The owner of 7, The Parade suggests that the plans do not show the screen in detail and seek assurance that the louvres will not allow a view of the equipment from her garden and also seeks assurance that the screen will be painted or stained "an unobtrusive colour to blend with the background".
Further information has been sought, provided and circulated regarding the detailing of the structure and the objector indicates that this does not prevent the equipment from being seen from her property and as such is not acceptable. She also indicates that the colour of the timber should be painted grey to match the finish of the flat roof alongside the structure.
Highways and Traffic Division indicate that they do not oppose the application
The structure will be publicly visible from Farrant's Way and the public car park alongside albeit that the structure would be visible in its entirety. However the structure will be visible in its entirety from various parts of 7, The Parade including the garden of this property. Whilst the proposal includes the removal of the steel handrail, which will be a significant improvement, this does not have planning permission and as such cannot be used to mitigate the impact of the new structure.
Whilst it is understood that the equipment is essential to the operation of the grocery store, the visual impact of modern ventilation equipment on any building, let alone an historic building within a Conservation Area is generally unacceptable and unwelcome. In this case, the re-siting of the equipment makes it less conspicuous than it presently is and the principle of introducing timber surround screening is one method of reducing the impact of the equipment. However, it would appear that the slats will not be sufficiently close to each other to completely screen the equipment due to concerns regarding ventilation and as such, the equipment may be seen from 7, The Parade
from where the timber structure will appear as a rather foreign structure perched on top of the flat roof.
Were the structure to completely hide the equipment from view from 7, The Parade, and the owner of this property content that the visual impact of such a structure was acceptable, then the benefits of hiding the equipment from private and public view may be considered to outweigh concerns about the visual impact of the structure itself. However, it would appear that this is not the case and as such, the structure is considered to be an incongruous feature situated above ground level, detrimental to the outlook from 7, The Parade and to the appearance and character of the Conservation Area and the Registered Building to which it would be attached.
As the property is located within the Castletown Conservation Area and is a Registered Building (RB 32) the content of this application has been considered with particular regard to Policy CA/2 SPECIAL PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS of Conservation Areas and POLICY RB/5 ALTERATIONS AND EXTENSIONS as set out within Planning Policy Statement 1/01- Policy and Guidance Notes for the Conservation of the Historic Environment of the Isle of Man.
Following the refusal of the previous applications to regularise works that had already taken place to the building, substantial discussions have taken place with the applicants and their agent.
That proposed is the installation of air conditioning units / condenser and the removal of the steel hand railing.
The rear aspect of the application site is open and the condensers, railings etc will be highly visible, especially since they are seen against the rear elevation of the building. The removal of the hand railing to the flat roofed rear section is considered to be an enhancement to the rear of the property as it removes some of the visual 'clutter' from the rear aspect. There are various restraint cable systems available to provide safety lines for maintenance work to the roof, so balustrading per se, is not necessary.
Whilst it is understood that such condensers are necessary for the efficient running of the shop, their location and form needs to be carefully considered in such a sensitive environment. In this particular instance, the condensers are recessed into the roof but that recess cannot be made large enough to contain the condensers in totality resulting in the necessity to house the portion of the condensers that protrude above the roof line. The design of the proposed housing is considered to be visually obtrusive and, to have a detrimental impact on No. 7 The Parade, another Registered Building, given its closer proximity within this application.
In conclusion and with the exception of the removal of the balustrading which is considered an enhancement, the proposed housing of the condensers is considering to be detrimental to the character of the Registered Building and the Conservation Area within which it is located by reason of its design, massing and proximity on both this Registered Building and to its immediate neighbour, another Registered Building and for these reasons, is therefore not acceptable.
The local authority is, by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, paragraph 6 (5) (d), considered an "interested person" and as such should be afforded party status.
The owner of 7, The Parade is immediately alongside the site and should be afforded party status in this case.
Planning Case History for Manx Co Op The Parade Castletown Isle Of Man IM9 1LG
Case Number : 90/01053/B Proposal : Remove shopfront; fit new aluminium Georgian shopfront, Manx Coop, The Parade, Castletown. Status : Permitted
Initial Decision : Permitted 1st January 1994 No Conditions
Case Number : 96/01485/B Proposal : New shop front and corporate signage to retail outlet, Co-op store, The Parade, Castletown. Status : Refused
Initial Decision : Refused 26th March 1997 Conditions :
Case Number : 01/00275/GB Proposal : Erection of shop signs Status : Permitted
Initial Decision : Permitted 4th July 2001 Conditions :
without the PRIOR written permission of the Planning Authority.
Case Number : 03/01588/GB Proposal : Installation of a satellite dish to rear elevation Status : Permitted
Initial Decision : Permitted 6th January 2004 Conditions :
years from the date of this notice.
Building Consent has been obtained.
Case Number : 08/02270/CON
Page 1
Proposal : Registered Building consent for installation of air conditioning units / condenser, steel hand railing and raising of boundary wall (In association with 08/02269/R) Registered Building Nos. 032 Status : Refused
Initial Decision : Refused 2nd March 2009 Conditions :
Case Number : 08/02269/R Proposal : Installation of air conditioning units / condenser, steel hand railing and raising of boundary wall (In association with 08/02270/CON) Status : Refused
Initial Decision : Refused 2nd March 2009 Conditions :
Case Number : 09/00207/D Proposal : Erection of replacement signage (In association with 09/00208CON) Status : Permitted
Review Decision : 3rd April 2014 Conditions :
Case Number : 09/00208/CON Proposal : Registered Building Consent for the erection of replacement signage (Registered Building no 32 in association with 09/00207D) Status : Permitted
Initial Decision : Permitted 3rd April 2009 Conditions :
| Case Number | : 10/00761/GB |
| Proposal | : Relocate existing roof air conditioning plant, creation of a screen and removal of hand railing (in association with 10/00762/CON) |
| Status | : Pending Consideration |
| Case Number | : 10/00762/CON |
| Proposal | : Registered Building consent to relocate existing roof air conditioning plant, creation of a screen and removal of hand railing (in association with 10/00761/GB) Registered Building Nos. 32 |
| Status | : Pending Consideration |
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