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Andrew Bentley RIBA Chartered Architect 8 Ravens Wharf South Quay Douglas Isle of Man IM1 5BT
Planning and Design Statement vi
Project: Change of Use at No.1 Quine's Corner, Douglas.
Project no: 1422-QC
Date: November 2014
RIBA membership number 10802696 ARB registration number 068092C Registered with the Isle of Man Register of Architects
Change of Use at No.1 Quine's Corner, Douglas
Planning and Design Statement
Contents
1.0 Site and Surroundings 2.0 Planning History and Policy 3.0 Drainage 4.0 Bin Storage 5.0 Environmental Health 6.0 Parking and Access 7.0 Police 8.0 The Proposal 9.0 Summary
Appendix A Internal Sound Insulation Test Results
Appendix B Sound Insulation Assessment and Design
1.1 The proposed site is a 40sqm shop unit on the corner of Quine's Corner and North Quay. The shop is located between The Bridge Inn and Harbour Highlights hairdresser.
1.2 The previous use of the shop unit was a sweet shop called Quayside Candy. The shop exterior was decorated with colourful window vinyls and multi-coloured tiles when it became Quayside Candy.
1.3 The shop is located in an area of bars, restaurants, cafes and takeaways. To the west are the Bridge and Railway public houses, Coasters Restaurant, Pizzaiolo takeaway and the Barbary Coast Bar. To the east are the 14 North restaurant and the Mash Café. Behind the shop is the Lord Street Chippy which is both take away and eat in.
1.4 The shop is on the ground floor of the Lord Street flats (as is the Lord Street Chippy). The flats and the shop are both owned by the Borough of Douglas.
1.5 In recent years the area has undergone substantial regeneration work.
2.1 The site is located within the North Quay Conservation Area. The Conservation Officer has
been consulted and has no objection to the proposals.
2.2 According to the Douglas Local Plan 1998, the building is zoned within mixed use area classed as a town centre. The local plan also refers to North Quay as an area of retail use.
2.3 The shop unit's current use class is Class 1 (shops) in accordance with Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2012. The proposal is to change the use to Class 3 (food and drink).
2.4 The shop has already been subject to change of use planning application in 2007 (following the implementation of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007). PA07/01905/B sought to change the shop unit's use from retail to coffee shop and this was permitted.
2.5 The client has already made two applications for the shop unit, 13/00806/C and 14/00463/B, both these applications proposed the extension of the neighbouring Bridge Inn into the vacant shop. The first application was withdrawn and the second was refused. The refusal was due to the environmental health officer's concerns about noise generation in a public house below a residential flat. (The matter leading to the refusal has been addressed in paragraphs 5.2 - 5.4).
2.6 The proposals will be subject to General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007.
3.0 Drainage
3.1 There will be no additional drainage requirement and no alteration to the existing external drainage. 4.0 Bin Storage 4.1 The shop will use the current bin storage in the rear yard. 5.0 Environmental Health
5.1 The proposed wine shop/wine bar will not be serving cooked food, therefore the problems associated with such an activity will be avoided.
5.2 An acoustic report has been commissioned which confirms that the first floor is built of concrete and exceeds the requirements of Part E of the current Building Regulations. See Appendix A.
5.3 The acoustic engineer has also provided a report suggesting how the acoustic performance of the floor may be improved if required. See Appendix B. The client wishes to install a false ceiling and this will be built in accordance with the ceiling specified by the acoustic engineer.
5.4 Consultation has taken place with Simon Renton who was the noise pollution officer for Environmental Health at the time of the two previous applications. Mr Renton's concerns lead to the refusal of the planning application. Mr Renton has now moved to a different position in the Department for the Environment, Food and Agriculture so he was unable to make any formal comment. Mr Renton did, however, feel that the removal of the opening to the larger public house addressed his concerns about the previous scheme.
6.1 Appendix 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 states about town centre parking in paragraph A.7.4 that "It is impracticable to require on site car parking for either staff or customers in such locations although it must be feasible for retail developments to be serviced." There is a delivery area located outside the neighbouring Bridge Inn public house.
6.2 The existing floor level is approximately 350mm above the external ground level. It is not practical to achieve ramped access into the unit.
7.0 Police
7.1 The client has consulted with the Police's Alcohol Unit who have not objected to the proposal. 8.0 The Proposal 8.1 The proposal is to use the vacant unit as a wine shop/wine bar. 8.2 The shop will retain the existing rear store room and WC.
8.3 The shop will primarily be used as an off-licence with 500mm deep shelving installed to the side and rear wall which will leave a shop floor area of just 28sqm. As a wine bar the shop will therefore have a very limited capacity.
8.4 The existing colourful tiles below the windows will be removed and the wall will be rendered and painted.
8.5 The existing aluminium window frames will be over-clad with timber. A transom will be added at 1.1m above shop floor level as this is where the bar will be installed against the window. Further mullions will also be installed to maintain the proportions and vertical emphasis of the glazing in the area.
8.6 The upper part of the glazing will be replaced with frosted glazing and the multi-coloured window vinyls will be removed. 8.7 The existing plastic fascia will be replaced with a new timber fascia. 8.8 An acoustic ceiling will be installed in accordance with the acoustic engineer's proposal.
9.0 Summary
9.1 The proposal is for a change of use which is in accordance with that envisaged by the Douglas Local Plan 1998.
9.2 The proposal will remove the unsightly tiles and vinyls that are currently on the building. The proposal will therefore enhance the quality of the Conservation Area.
9.3 The proposal will not involve the cooking of food on site and will therefore not be an additional source of food smells.
9.4 The existing concrete floor, proposed acoustic ceiling and low capacity of the shop will ensure that the proposal will not present a risk of disturbance to the residents in the area.
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