Prior Officer Report

Planning Report And Recommendations {{table:455303}} Within the adopted Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007, the following policies are considered to be relevant in the determination of this application: General Policy 3, Business Policy 5 ## Planning History The following previous applications are considered relevant in the consideration of this application: 10/01257/B - Retention of a building comprising of 4 units to be used for light industrial or storage / distribution purposes, and the retention of a hard standing area for additional car parking - Pending decision 07/01212/B - Creation of an Industrial Estate layout - granted 24th December 2007 06/02210/B - Erection of an industrial storage building sub-divided into six units - granted 24th December 2007 06/02209/B - Erection of an industrial storage building sub-divided into twelve units, Unit 6 White Hoe Industrial Estate - granted 24th December 2007 06/01490/B - Construction of an industrial unit and associated parking with access road, to be used as a vehicle repair workshop and auto electrical centre, Unit 5 White Hoe Industrial Estate - currently on hold at appeal. 04/02473/A - Approval in principle for the erection of light industrial units - granted at appeal on 30th September 2007. On the 9th October 2007, the Director of Planning and Building Control agreed to extend the duration of the planning consent to the 30th September 2009. Condition 2 of the approval stated that "The details of landscaping submitted with the Reserved Matters application must include tree and shrub planting (predominantly tree planting to cover approximately 20\% of the site (excluding the existing Department of Agriculture, Fisheries \& Forestry's planting), so disposed as to mitigate the visual impact of the proposed units as viewed from the highway, the railway, and The Nunnery Estate". A planning application, submitted in 2001, for approval in principle for industrial/warehousing development was refused. Temporary use as a site compound in connection with the Island's sewage disposal scheme (IRIS) was approved until 2004. ### Representations Douglas Corporation has not commented on the application. Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure do not oppose the application. ### Assessment Business Policy 5 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 states that "On land zoned for industrial use, permission will be given only for industrial development or for storage and distribution; retailing will not be permitted except where either: (a) the items to be sold could not be reasonably be sold from a town centre location because of their size or nature; or (b) the items to be sold are produced on the site and their sale could not be reasonably be severed from the overall business; and, in respect of (a) or (b), where it can be demonstrated that the sales would not detract from the vitality and viability of the appropriate town centre shopping area. The application site is zoned as part of an Area of Open Space or Woodland in the Douglas Local Plan 1998. However, planning permission has been granted to develop the area as an industrial estate. Therefore it would be appropriate to assess the application against Business Policy 5 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007. The applicant has indicated that his prospective tenant intends to supply and distribute building materials and good to the local building trade. The warehousing use of the development would not be contrary to the Strategic Plan. The main issue is the retailing element of the proposal. The applicant has indicated the type of commodities to be stocked would include bulky goods and general hardware such as: sheets of ply, plasterboard, MDF Bags of plaster, cement Lengths of drains and pipes including fittings Manholes and fittings Machined and treated timbers Skirting and architrave Fencing PVC fascias and soffits Doors and fittings Fixings (nails and screws), tubes of silicone etc Health and Safety equipment. Many of the items being proposed to be sold are relatively bulky in nature. Storage and sales facilities within town centres for bulky goods are rare. It is considered the majority of the items could not be reasonably sold in a town centre location. Furthermore, these are specialist items which are not readily found in a town centre and the sale of these items would not in my opinion detract from the comparison goods type retailing that stimulates the vitality and viability of Douglas Town Centre. It is considered important to attach a condition to the planning permission restricting the type of goods which can be sold from the building so as not allow the site to be used for general retail purposes which would be contrary to policies within the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007. ## Recommendation It is recommended that planning permission be granted subject to conditions in the attached schedule. ### Party Status The local authority is, by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, paragraph 6 (5) (c) and (d), considered an "interested person" and as such should be afforded party status. The Department of Transport Highways and Traffic 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: 04.10.2010

Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal

C : Conditions for approval

N : Notes attached to conditions