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Application No.: 10/01227/B Applicant: Mr Robin Radcliffe Proposal: Conversion of office accommodation to a self contained apartment Site Address: Samantha Court 13 Albert Street Ramsey Isle Of Man IM8 1JE ### Considerations Case Officer : Mrs Jade Craig Photo Taken: 08.09.2010 Site Visit: 08.09.2010 Expected Decision Level: Senior Planning Officer ### Written Representations ### Consultations Consultee : Mr P S Harrison Notes: no objection. Consultee : Highways Division Notes: Do not oppose has no traffic management, parking or road safety implication. Consultee : Clerk To The Commissioners And RTC Drainage Notes : Consultee : Manx Electricity Authority Notes: Comments recieved
The application site comprises the curtilage of an existing building, known as Samantha Court, 13 Albert Street, in Ramsey. Samantha Court is a three storey end terrace building located at the junction of Albert Street and Tower Street in the town centre.
The building currently contains apartments, garaging and the office accommodation which is subject to this application. The office space is located on the first and second floors, with both floors being accessed separately from a shared stairwell. The front entrance to the stairwell is located on Tower Street, near to the corner with Albert Street.
This application seeks approval for the conversion of the office accommodation on the first and second floors into a self contained apartment.
The apartment would be accessed from the same front door as the office accommodation, which is located on Tower Street. The entrance to the apartment would be at first floor level, with the existing office door at second floor level being blocked off.
The flat would have a hallway, shower room and bedroom on the first floor and a new staircase would lead to the second floor, where there would be an open plan living/dining and kitchen space.
There would be no external alterations to the property.
There are no previous planning applications which are considered to be relevant in the assessment and determination of this application.
In terms of local plan policy, the application site is located within an area designated as Mixed Use (Town Centre) in the Ramsey Local Plan (No. 2) Order 1998, Map No. 2 (South). The site is not within the Ramsey Conservation Area, but it is located adjacent to it.
The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 contains policies 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 36; Where development is proposed outside of, but close to, the boundary of a Conservation Area, this will only be permitted where it will not detrimentally affect important views into and out of the Conservation Area.
Housing Policy 17; 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;
Government Circular No. 293/82, The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, The Housing (Flats) Regulations 1982, contains the following information about occupancy which is considered relevant to this application;
Schedule 2, Maximum Occupancy Net floor area (flats for permanent occupation); 30 sq. m. or more but less than 45 sq. m. Maximum number of occupants; 1
The Circular states that the "net floor space" of a flat is the internal floor area which has a ceiling height of not less 1.5 metres.
The Department of Infrastructure's Highways Division do not object to this application, as there are no traffic management, parking or road safety implications.
The Manx Electricity Authority has supplied a standard reply note to state that the applicant should contact the M.E.A. Planning Department (tel. 687781), in order to discuss the electricity supply for this application.
Ramsey Town Commissioners have no objection to the proposal. Ramsey Town Commissioners act as Agent to the Water and Sewerage Authority in relation to all functions under the Sewerage Act within the Town of Ramsey. The Water and Sewerage Authority has written to the planning authority in response to this application with general notes about the property's drainage. They state that the proposed dwelling must be connected to the public sewer(s) in a manner which they find acceptable and that all drainage works must conform to the requirements of "Manx Sewers for Adoption" and all necessary inspections/survey are to be carried out at the developer's expense. The Authority also states that in accordance with the Sewerage Act 1999, a communication fee will be payable to them for the property being connected to the public drainage system and the applicant must give them 21 days notice in writing, prior to making any communication to the public sewer. They advise that the applicant should contact them to discuss this matter.
The policies relevant in the consideration and determination of this application are General Policy 2, part (g), Environment Policy 36 and Housing Policy 17, as set out in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007. In addition to this, Government Circular No. 293/82, The Housing (Flats) Regulations 1982, contains standards which the flats must comply with.
General Policy 2; Part (g) of General Policy 2 requires development to not adversely affect the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality.
Although the site is located within an area designated as Mixed Use (Town Centre) in the Ramsey Local Plan, most of Samantha Court is already used for residential purposes, as are the adjacent properties in the terrace. It is therefore considered that the proposed use of the unit as residential accommodation is acceptable in principle.
No external changes would take place to the property and as the proposed use would match the use of other buildings in the terrace, it is therefore considered that the proposal would not adversely affect the character of the area.
At ground floor level, there is a residential flat which is accessed from its own front door on Albert Street and there is also a double garage which is accessed from Tower Street. The front door on Tower Street leads to a shared inner stairwell which gives access to the flats and offices above. Due to this shared access, it is considered that the conversion of the offices to an apartment would provide a more pleasant living environment for the residents of the existing flats. Offices are not always compatible with residential use, as they may have various deliveries and clients visiting throughout the day which may have an impact upon the residential neighbours, particularly as there is a shared front door and stairwell. It is therefore considered that the residential use of the unit would improve the existing situation for local residents.
Overall, this proposal is considered to be acceptable with regard to part (g) of General Policy 2 in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007.
Environment Policy 36; This policy requires that development outside of, but close to Conservation Areas should not detrimentally affect important views into and out of the Conservation Area.
The application site is located adjacent to the Ramsey Conservation Area, which includes some of the properties within Tower Street. However, it is considered that as there would not be any external alterations to the property, the views into and out of the Conservation Area would not be affected by this proposal.
Housing Policy 17; Part (a) of Housing Policy 17 requires flats to have adequate space for clothes-drying, refuse storage, general amenity, and, if practical, car parking.
The apartment would have limited outdoor amenity space, although there is space to the rear of the property and also in the ground floor garage where bins could be kept. This shortage of amenity space is considered to be acceptable in a town centre location, where there is easy access to bus links, parks, shops and laundrettes.
With regard to parking, no off street parking has been provided with this application. The proposed flat would have 1 bedroom and the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 states that the parking requirement for this unit would be 1 space. However, the Strategic Plan indicates that the car parking standards may be relaxed in particular circumstances, such as where the development is within a reasonable distance of a bus route. This site is only a short walk from Ramsey Bus Station and there are bus stops on Albert Street and Waterloo Road which serve the number 3 bus to and from Laxey, Onchan and Douglas. In addition to this, the site is within a short walk of a public car park on Albert Street, adjacent to the Electric Railway Station. There are double yellow lines on Albert Street and on Tower Street, so on-street parking in the vicinity would not increase as a result
of this application. The site is conveniently situated for shops, supermarkets and offices, so it would not be necessary for the resident of the apartment to own a car. Overall, it is felt that due to the location of the site and the proximity of community facilities, the car parking standards can be relaxed in this instance. This proposal is therefore considered to be acceptable with regard to part (a) of Housing Policy 17 in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007.
The plans show that there is a garage on the ground floor of the building, which has double doors onto Tower Street. However, having measured the plans, it is considered that due to the width of the doors and the angle of the building, it would be difficult for a space within the garage to meet with the minimum size of a parking space ( metres) and manoeuvring a car into the garage would be difficult.
Part (b) of Housing Policy 17 requires flats to have a pleasant clear outlook, particularly from the principal rooms.
There are four windows in the proposed apartment, two of which are on the western elevation at first floor and the remaining two are on the western elevation at second floor. At first floor level the windows would be to the bedroom and at second floor level the windows would be to the living/dining/kitchen space. The new staircase would also benefit from natural light from the second floor windows. It is considered that the western views would provide adequate natural light and views from the principal rooms. The apartment would have some internal space, including the hallway and shower room at first floor level, but these are not considered to be principal rooms and the proposal is therefore acceptable with regard to part (b) of Housing Policy 17 in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007.
Part (c) of Housing Policy 17 requires parking to be created on site, if possible. The car parking provision has been discussed above in part (a) of Housing Policy 17. As was previously discussed, due to the location of the site, the parking standards have been relaxed and the lack of off street parking is considered to be acceptable. Therefore, this proposal complies with part (c) of Housing Policy 17 in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007.
Government Circular No. 293/82, The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, The Housing (Flats) Regulations 1982, requires flats to have a floor area of over 30 square metres, in order to be considered suitable for permanent habitation for 1 person. The floor area of the apartment proposed in this application measures 39.6 square metres (not including the staircase or the wardrobe underneath), so it is therefore considered to be an acceptable size.
For the above reasons, this proposal is considered to be acceptable and is recommended for approval.
It is considered that the following parties, who submitted comments, should be afforded Interested Party Status;
Ramsey Town Commissioners are, 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.
It is considered that the following parties, who submitted comments, should not be afforded Interested Party Status;
The Highways Division is now part of the Department of Infrastructure of which the planning authority is part. As such, the Highways Division cannot be afforded party status in this instance.
The Manx Electricity Authority.
Recommendation
Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 20.10.2010 Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal
C 1. The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.
C 2. This approval relates to the conversion of office accommodation to a residential apartment, as shown in drawing numbers 10 723 01 Rev. A and 10 723 02, date stamped 19th August 2010.
I confirm that this decision accords with the appropriate Government Circular delegating functions to the Senior Planning Officer.
Decision Made : Permitted Date : 25/10/10
Signed : ______________________________ Senior Planning Officer
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