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This application is recommended for consideration by the Planning Committee rather than under delegated powers as the proposed development could be considered contrary to the provisions of the Development Plan and is recommended for approval.
The application site represents the curtilage of units 1 and 2 of a recently constructed industrial building (formerly Island Fixings and Fittings Ltd), in Hills Meadow Industrial Estate, Douglas.
When entering Hills Meadow Industrial Estate from Peel Road opposite Belmont Hill, the units are on the right hand side at the bottom of the hill. The units are part of a larger building which contains a total of 4 units, all of which have loading entrances on the northern elevation. Units 1 and 2 are
larger in size than units 3 and 4 and unit 1, which is on the corner of the building, also has a large window to the north eastern corner.
Proposed is the change of use of units 1 and 2 from light industrial or storage/distribution purposes to part storage/distribution and part display and sales of automotive products and industrial parts.
A previous planning application (09/01454/C) was approved to change the use of unit 1 from light industrial or storage/distribution purposes to the sale and display of graded bulky electrical goods. This current proposal is not covered by the former approval, as the approval notice conditioned the use of the site for the sale and storage of graded bulky electrical goods.
This current proposal is for Auto Trade Centre Limited, a Manx automotive business. They are potential tenants of the site and are looking to relocate from Ballafletcher Business Park, Tromode. A letter from the company dated 3rd September 2010, which was submitted with the planning application, provides details of their business. The letter states that they began business in 1997 and were initially located at the Clock Tower Industrial Estate in Foxdale, relocating to their current site in 2001 as they required more space. The business mainly deals with wholesale ( ) and the remaining is retail ( ). They distribute automotive and industrial parts and accessories throughout the Island on a daily basis with their delivery vehicles. Twelve staff are employed by the business. They state that their goods are often large and bulky and they feel they are not suited to a town centre environment. They intend to use unit 1 for display and sales and unit 2 for storage and distribution.
A total of 20 parking spaces would be provided for the units, although it has not been stated how many of these would be needed for staff and how many would be provided for customers.
The following previous planning applications are considered relevant in the assessment and determination of this application;
07/00875/B - Permitted 07.09.07 Demolition of existing building and erection of a two storey building for warehousing, retail and administration purposes. Condition 6 The showroom shall only be used for the display and sale of hardware, ironmongery, powertools, fixings, garage and industrial doors, and balustrade systems.
08/02280/B - Permitted 29.01.09 Erection of a building to provide four units for industrial or storage/distribution purposes. Condition 4 The units hereby approved must only be used for light industrial use (Class 5 of Schedule 4 of Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005) or a Storage/Distribution use (Class 6 of Schedule 4 of Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005).
09/01453/C - Permitted 20.10.09 Change from the builder's compound to car park for use in connection with newly constructed industrial unit. Land adjacent to new unit.
09/01454/C - Permitted 16.11.09 Change of use from light industrial or storage/distribution purposes to the sale and display of graded bulky electrical goods. Condition 3 The premises shall be used of the sale and storage of graded bulky electrical goods and for no other purpose (including any other purpose within Class 1, Schedule 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005, or in any provision equivalent to that Class in any statutory document revoking and re-enacting that Order with or without modification). Definitons:
For the avoidance of doubt, "graded" means damaged, ex-demonstration, returned goods, seconds, shop soiled and reconditioned goods. The definition of a bulky good is a product that by reason of its size and/or weight requires a large display area and cannot be readily transported by means of public transport.
The application site is located within an area designated as "Light Industrial Use" in the Douglas Local Plan Order 1998, Map No. 2 (South). The site is not located within a Conservation Area.
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:
Business Policy 5; 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:
Business Policy 10; Retail development will be permitted only in established town and village centres, with the exceptions of neighbourhood shops in large residential areas and those instances identified in Business Policy 5.
The Department of Infrastructure Highways Division do not object to this application, as there are no traffic management, parking or road safety implications.
Douglas Corporation have no objection to the proposal.
DMS Autocentre Limited object to the proposal. This is a company based in the central Douglas area who competes with the business subject to this planning application. Their main reason for objecting is that they feel Hills Meadow Industrial Estate would not be a suitable location for the retail side of the business, as it has remained very much a "true" industrial estate, although they have no objection to the premises being used for storage/distribution.
A previous planning application allowed the retail use of unit 1 and the key issue now is whether to allow the change of use of the retailing within an Industrial Estate. Unit 2 would be used for storage and distribution purposes for the same company as unit 1 and the use of unit 2 would be covered by an earlier planning application (08/02280/B), of which condition 4 states "The units hereby approved must only be used for light industrial use (Class 5 of Schedule 4 of Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005) or a Storage/Distribution use (Class 6 of Schedule 4 of Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005)."
Given the nature of the proposed development, it is therefore appropriate to assess the proposal against the policies identified earlier within the report (i.e. General Policy 2, Business Policy 5 and Business Policy 10 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007).
Business Policy 5 states that on land zoned for industrial use, retailing will not be permitted, except where either the items to be sold could not reasonably be sold from a town centre location because of their size or nature or they are produced on the site and their sale could not reasonably be severed from the overall business.
Business Policy 10 states that retail development will be permitted only in established town and village centres, with the exception of neighbourhood shops in large residential areas and other exceptions identified in Business Policy 5.
The application site is not located within an established town or village centre and therefore the proposed use would be contrary to Business Policy 10, unless it meets one of the exceptions outlined in Business Policy 5 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007.
The applicant considers that the proposal would not undermine the provisions of Business Policy 5 as the goods they sell "are often large and bulky and not suited to the town centre environment." I spoke to the Managing Director of the company to clarify exactly what the company sells and he said that the goods are many and varied, but can be summarised as motor trade goods, such as anything to do with the service elements of a car (e.g. exhausts, engine mounting, cylinder heads, oil filters). They also supply materials for wagons (e.g. air and oil filters). In addition to this, the company sells tool boxes and tools for mechanics, plus engineering tools for engineering companies. It was stated that they do currently have a display area for their goods and that the majority of their business is orders which they deliver themselves.
It should be noted that the applicant's business is currently based at Ballafletcher Business Park in Tromode, which is designated as Predominantly Industrial Use in the Braddan Local Plan Order 1991, Map No. 2 (Central).
The overall floor area which would be used for retail would be approximately 288 sq m . An objector to the proposal is concerned about retail use being allowed within an Industrial Estate, stating that they operate a similar business from the central Douglas area (Demesne Road). With regard to whether the proposed development would detract from the vitality and viability of Douglas town centre, it is considered that due to the unusual nature of the goods sold, these items cannot be reasonably sold from a town centre location and that paragraph (a) of Business Policy 5 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan has been satisfied. It perhaps should be noted that the appeal Inspector who
considered the refusal of permission for Halfords concluded that in his opinion the types of goods sold which included car parts, spares and maintenance goods and equipment seemed to match the category mentioned in Business Policy 5, the refusal of permission was reversed by the Minister and permission granted.
The external appearance of unit 1 differs from the remaining 3 units in the building, in that there is a customer entrance and large windows on the eastern elevation. The remaining units, 2 to 4 , only have loading entrances and fire exits and their external appearance is more industrial in nature. Unit 1 would be used for the display and sale of goods and unit 2 would be used for their storage and distribution. The site is located near to the Peel Road entrance to Hills Meadow Industrial Estate and customers would not have to travel past industrial units to access the site. Therefore, due to the compatibility of the proposed use with the site, it is judged that this proposal would not have a detrimental impact on the surrounding area or neighbouring properties.
In terms of highway safety, the Highways Division have raised no objection to the proposed development, as there would be no traffic management, parking or road safety implications. A total of 20 spaces would be provided for this site and there are 12 employees, so it is reasonable to assume that both staff and customer parking would be available. Five of the spaces would be located at the eastern end of the site in front of the customer entrance and this is where customers are most likely to park, as the other spaces are around the northern side near to the loading entrances and at the western side, which is at a greater distance from the customer entrance.
In conclusion, it is considered that the proposed change of use of unit 1 is deemed to be acceptable. It is recognised that the sale of certain goods from out-of-centre locations is sometimes appropriate and the proposed change of use is judged not to affect the vitality and viability of Douglas town centre as the goods sold will differ from comparison type goods sold in retail shops seen on the high street.
For the above reasons, this proposal is deemed to be acceptable and is recommended for approval. It is considered that it would be fitting to impose a condition restricting the goods that can be sold by this store to automotive products and industrial parts, in order to ensure that the retail aspect of the approval would not undermine Douglas town centre in the future.
Although only unit 1 would be used for display and sales, the application site also includes the adjacent unit 2, as the proposal would create an internal door connecting the two units. It is therefore considered to be appropriate to condition the approval so that it is clear the change of use is for unit 1 only and unit 2 would remain as light industrial or storage and distribution use.
It is considered that the following parties, who submitted comments, should be afforded Interested 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.
It is considered that the following parties, who submitted comments, should not be afforded Interested Party Status;
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.
DMS Autocentre Limited.
Recommended Decision: Permitted
Date of Recommendation: 12.11.2010
C 1. The use must be taken up within four years of the date of this notice in order for this approval to remain valid after that time.
C 2. This approval relates to the change of use of units 1 and 2 from light industrial or storage/distribution purposes to part storage/distribution and part display and sales of automotive products and industrial parts, as shown in drawing numbers 243/2/1 rev A, 243/2/2 rev A, 243/2/6 rev C and 243/2/11 rev A, in addition to information in a letter from the applicant, all date stamped 8th September 2010.
C 3. Unit 1 only shall be used for the display and sale of automotive products and industrial parts and for no other purpose (including any other purpose within Class 1, Schedule 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005, or in any provision equivalent to that Class in any statutory document revoking and re-enacting that Order with or without modification).
C 4. Unit 2 shall remain in use for light industrial use (Class 5 of Schedule 4 of Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005) or a storage/distribution use (Class 6 of Schedule 4 of Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005) only and shall not be used for any retail purposes."
I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Authority in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the Town and Country (Development Procedure) 2005
Decision Made : Permitted Authority Meeting Date : 22/11/10...
Signed :................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Presenting Officer
Further to the decision of the Authority an additional report/condition reason is required. Signing Officer to delete as appropriate
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