Approval in principle for redevelopment of site with new residential building(s)

Policy 9.4 - Mixed use permitted in zones of interest

THE FOREGOING ZONES OF INTEREST ARE GENERALLY RESIDENTIAL OR TOURIST RELATED AND WHERE IT IS CONSIDERED THAT MAINTENANCE OR REFURBISHMENT MAY BE ENCOURAGED PARTICULARLY AT THE UPPER LEVELS, MIXED USE WILL BE PERMITTED WHERE APPROPRIATE

instances identified in Business Policy 5. The above Policies need to be understood in the context of the whole Strategic Plan, and the nature and needs of each locality. As stated in Paragraph 9.4.5 of the Strategic Plan: "It is accepted that in some circumstances a mix of uses can be appropriate within town centre locations such as residential flats above retail units or office accommodation, particularly where this can help to ensure the use of the area at different times during the day, thus helping to ensure the security and vitality of these areas." Douglas Town Centre Douglas Town Centre performs a number of different functions , being the primary location for traditional retail and office accommodation and evolving uses associated with these in the modern marketplace. The character of the town centre is undoubtedly changing and being flexible to accommodate a variety of functions that are crucial if Douglas is to remain a dynamic, interesting place. Market stalls, for instance, for seasonal or weekend events are often a welcome addition to a vibrant streetscape, and these temporary uses are supported. From a retail perspective, Douglas town centre is relatively healthy with few vacant stores at any one time. Many town centres are retracting and a balance does need to be struck between centres having the ability to adapt and change without damaging the vitality of the central core. Map 5 shows a clear and reasonable Douglas town centre boundary focused on an obvious core area. The town centre boundary and extent of the Mixed Use Areas were considered at length during the Inquiry and the final coverage of the 'town centre' was given firm direction in the Inquiry Report. Area Plan objectives for town and village centres This Plan recognises the prin ciples of sustainable development when it comes to town and village centres and supports such areas being used for a mix of retail, office, food and drink tourism, cultural and residential development which all interplay together to help ensure the vitality of centres. Centres should be places where people work, live, shop, access local services and should be designed to minimise the need to travel and are accessible safely and conveniently by non -car modes of travel - walking, cycling and public transport. Signs of decline can be reversed by positive action to encourage increased activity to help re -vitalise the centres to ensure their continued viability. Objectives: • The principle that town and village centres are the physical heart of their communities. • The hierarchy of centres set out in the Strategic Plan is the starting point for centre development; • A defined Douglas town centre allowing for a range of suitable sites to meet the modern needs of the Capital and protecting against the loss of typical town centres uses to out of town locations . This is to take advantage of existing services and high level s of accessibility; • The continued regeneration of the Douglas town centre; • It is important to identify areas of special character and use , defining them by recognising their group value; • Allowing small scale development in local service centres and villag es which meets identified local needs and/or maintains the viability of local services and the attractiveness of those localities as places to live, fostering sustainable communities. • Reconnecting the communities in the Plan Area by service provision and fostering of local community identity. Area Plan desired outcomes i. Focused, compact and attractive centres. ii. Focused 'centre' uses in the core areas of existing settlements, with new neighbourhood centres in sustainable urban extensions over the lifetime of the Plan of appropriate scale to ensure well thought out sustainable communities. iii. Implementation of the Central Douglas Masterplan proposals. iv. Proposals identifying Comprehensive Treatment Areas (please see Chapter 13). v. A plan which promotes the use of vacant urban sites and premises through encouragement of site assembly, joint venture development and a framework to relieve blockages brought about by land ownership complications, which could extend the range of retail uses and activity in the town centre and thus retain expenditure. vi. Promotion of the town centre area as a residential location (especially on upper floors) to encourage evening activity and retain residential catchment expenditure. vii. Enhanced attractiveness through public realm and landscaping improvements and better connections across the town centre in terms of access and movement and active travel options which will contribute to an accessible and convenient Douglas town centre. viii. Enhanced town centre retail functions in terms of choice and location. ix. Developed centres in terms of visitor destinations and general tourism offer. Key Strategy Documents The Retail Study 2009 This set out to investigate approaches needed to create a revitalised and improved Douglas town centre, with a sustain

Policy 9.7 - Special attention to alterations in zones of interest

ALTHOUGH NO CONSERVATION AREA EXISTS IN PORT ERIN IT IS RECOGNISED THAT IN THE ZONES OF INTEREST IN PARTICULAR, SPECIAL ATTENTION SHOULD BE PAID TO ALTERATIONS AND REPLACEMENT BUILDINGS

LR) to give a revised target of 12.65ha. As 2.88ha of employment land has been developed since 2014, the outstanding requirement is for sufficient land to be available to meet a residual target of 9.77ha by 2026. 78 Employment Proposal 2 of the draft Area Plan indicates that the development of designated industrial land within existing settlement boundaries could contribute about 7.1ha toward meeting this target. In addition, Employment Proposal 3 of the draft Area Plan provides for the allocation of Site BE002a (south of Cooil Road) for employment development. This undeveloped site, which lies outside the existing settlement boundary, has a gross area of more than 9ha, and could contribute about 5.2ha net to meeting the residual employment land target. Furthermore, Employment Proposal 4 of the draft Area Plan, would designate Sites BE002b and BE006 as a Strategic Reserve for employment development. This undeveloped land, to the south of Cooil Road and north of New Castletown Road, has a gross area of almost 29ha. 79 The ELR also recommended that provision should be made for the development of a new Technology Park, which would be additional to the base requirement for employment land. The draft Area Plan allocates a site of 5.31ha for this purpose on Site DE004, at Sangster's, Field, Douglas. The Case for Eden Park Developments Ltd 80 Eden Park Developments Ltd challenged the adequacy of the employment land provision in the draft Area Plan. They owned existing employment land to the south of Cooil Road, together with the whole of Site BE002. They had received firm enquiries from a variety of prospective users of their land, who would jointly require some 9ha gross. These proposed developments would include a second phase of Jackson's existing multi-franchise car dealership (1.32ha); a second phase of the existing Eden Park light industrial units (1.71ha); an additional warehouse for Robinson's fruit and vegetable packaging business (0.69ha); a high quality manufacturing facility (1.2ha); a new HQ for Hartford Homes/Eden Park Developments Ltd (0.53ha); a private medical cluster (1.33ha); and a corporate office facility (1.35ha). 81 In 2018, Eden Park Developments commissioned GL Hearn to reassess the Island's employment land requirement. GL Hearn concluded that the ELR had significantly underestimated the need for additional employment land for several reasons. First, it had covered too short a period. A span of 15 to 20 years was generally considered to be an appropriate timeframe for planning purposes. Therefore, ideally the ELR should have covered a longer period, up to 2034. 82 Second, in estimating the future number of office jobs, the ELR had adopted the 'realistic scenario' used in the Government's Vision 2020 forecast, which postulated annual growth of 0.7% to 1.0%. However, the long term annual growth rate in the number of jobs in the Isle of Man had been 1.1% averaged over the 65 years between 1951 and 2016. Between 1991 and 2011, jobs had increased by an average of 1.5% per annum. It appeared that the growth rate used in the ELR had focussed too strongly on short-term trends in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008. The consequent recession had unnecessarily been projected forward into the 2020s. 83 Third, the ELR assumed that 75% of future office development would be in Douglas town centre. However, the supply of sites there would be insufficient to meet 75% of the predicted demand. Much of the existing vacant office floor space in central Douglas was in older premises, of a relatively poor quality, and unattractive to potential users. The rental value of office buildings in Douglas would be insufficient to make the redevelopment of existing outworn office space commercially attractive. By contrast, there was a strong demand for the provision of modern office facilities on out-of-centre business parks, in attractive environments, with adequate parking space. 84 Fourth, the updated ELR appeared to have made no provision for inward investment, which in the past had made a substantial contribution to the Island's economy and employment growth. A suitable allowance should be made for this to continue. 85 GL Hearn's conclusion was that there would be a requirement for at least 16.5ha of employment land in the East, between 2014 and 2026 (as compared to the 8.43ha forecast in the ELR). However, 16.5ha should be treated as a minimum figure. A further 5-year's supply (10.6ha) should be added, to provide for market competition and flexibility. That would bring the total requirement to about 27ha. Eden Park Developments concluded that Sites BE002b and BE006 should be allocated for immediate development for employment purposes, rather than kept back as a Strategic Reserve for future employment use. The Case for Peel Land 86 Similarly Peel Land challenged the adequacy of the provision of employment land proposed in the draft Area Plan. They are the owners of part of Site BE006, measuring about 6.7ha. They had commissioned consultants Hatch Regeneris to review

Sheltered Housing policy, Castletown Local Plan 1991

WHERE HOTEL BUILDINGS OF A SUITABLE FORM AND IN AN APPROPRIATE LOCATION ARE REDUNDANT, THEN CONSIDERATION SHOULD BE GIVEN TO THEIR CONVERSION TO OLD PERSONS' ACCOMMODATION

orking age population, the majority being in full time positions (around two thirds). The main employment sectors are Education, Health & Medical Services (14.7%), followed by Insurance & Banking (11.3%) and the Wholesale & Retail Distribution (10.4%), although the Insurance & Banking sector has declined by 1.9% since Census in 2006. Other key employment sectors are Transport & Communications (7%), Construction (7.8%) and Public Administration (7.1%). The biggest growth since the previous census in 2006 in employment sectors is within Business Services and ICT (+1.3% to 5.7%). Households with access to a car on the Island has been steadily rising, a 15% increase is noted since 2001, to 86%. Douglas has the lowest accessibility however at 80.1%. Economic The Island has healthy reserves and has had a stable and diverse economy. The Isle of Man has a simple tax regime with no Capital Gains Tax, Withholding Taxes or Wealth Taxes, which makes it an attractive location for businesses and investors to locate. The recent launch of the 2020 Vision provides an overview of the Island's current positioning and a forecast of growth for the future. The Island has enjoyed unbroken growth for the past 30 years and was rated 8th in the world in 2012 by the World Bank in terms of the national income per person. The Island has had continued success; however there are changes on the Island as the economic sector evolves. The sector's for which the island is perhaps most well known for, such as Banking and Professional Services are expected to continue to decline in terms of the number of job opportunities, but still with a growing GDP. Established sectors on the Island - such as Manufacturing, are forecast to grow (with specific focus on high-tech areas), adding significant GDP and job numbers (715) to the economy. Finally the economic change that is currently underway is highlighted through the egaming and ICT sectors, the e- business sector is forecast to be providing 90% of the growth in GDP for these emerging sectors, and ICT expected to deliver two thirds of the jobs in these sectors. A key source of growth for the Island over the past decade has been the emergence of small and medium sized enterprises. These are forecast for continued growth. Other economic successes have been the ship registry; during 2013 the Island's register secured more ships from new owners with a corresponding increase in gross registered tonnage of more than twice the growth rate of the world's fleet. The Isle of Man has now moved into 14th place in the table of world registers by tonnage, which places it ahead of Germany for the first time, in 2010 the Island did not feature within the World's top twenty registers so has demonstrated considerable success. The commercial yacht register also continues to perform very well with over 100 of the world's most prestigious yachts registered to the Island. The maritime sector has become very important to the Isle of Man and now employs around 600 people 3. The Island has also shown commitment and growth in specialist sectors such as Space, offering zero corporate tax and incentives to businesses. One of the 3 http://www.gov.im/news/2014/jan/07/2013-proves-a-success-for-the-isle-of-man-ship-registry/ Central Douglas Masterplan World's top 10 Satellite companies now has a presence on the Island, and it is also home to the International Institute of Space Commerce. Other high performing sectors include Bio-tech and Clean-tech, Film and Food Production. This evolving economic sector emphasises the need for the Island to remain and increase its attractiveness as a place to live as well as invest. Tourism is a less direct employer (Tourist accommodation making up 1.6% of employment, rising 0.7% since 2006) however it is an important sector attracting 290,754 visitors in 2013 4. The number of visitors has fluctuated over the past 10 years considerably, peaking in 2004 at 340,902, declining to 275,203 in 20085. Douglas Town Centre - Retailing A 'health check' was undertaken for Douglas as part of the Retail Strategy evidence base in 2013. Of note is that the town has largest number of UK national multiple retailers on the Island, along with independent traders. The principal retail area is located on Strand Street, Castle Street and Duke Street. The main convenience retailers within this area are the Iceland on Chester Street and M&S Food on Drumgold Street. Tesco is on Lake Road, the largest superstore on the Island and also within the Central Douglas Masterplan area. The main comparison retailers are also located in this area, within Strand Street and Strand Shopping Centre, within the centre major retailers include M&S, Boots, Topshop, Monsoon, HMV, TK Maxx, River Island and Next. In October 2012 there were 35 vacant units, whilst a number of these were on 4 Passenger Survey Annual Report 2013, Isle of Man Government 5 Passenger Survey Annual Report 2013, Isle of Man Government S

Environment Policy 42

New development in existing settlements must be designed to take account of the particular character and identity

Strategic Policy 1

Development should make the best use of resources by: a) optimising the use of previously developed land, redundant buildings

Strategic Policy 1: Development should make the best use of resources by: (a) optimising the use of previously developed land, redundant buildings, unused and under -used land and buildings, and re - using scarce indigenous building materials; (b) ensuring efficient use of sites, taking into account the needs for access, landscaping, open space (1) and amenity standards; and (c) being located so as to utilise existing and planned infrastructure, facilities and services. 4.2.2 In pursuance of (c) abo ve, the Department will, when formulating its programme for the preparation of new Area Plans, have particular regard to: (a) the availability of mains drainage connected to IRIS or other mains systems; (b) securing the future viability of rural primary schools; (c) the public investment in the Island's highway, bus, railway and tramway networks; (d) the provision and availability of water; and (e) community facilities. 4.3 Environment 4.3.1

Housing Policy 5

In granting planning permission on land zoned for residential development or in predominantly residential areas the Department will normally require that 25% of provision should be made up of affordable housing

Housing Policy 5: In granting planning permission on land zoned for residential development or in predominantly residential areas the Department will normally require that 25% of provision should be made up of affordable housing. This policy will apply to developments of 8 dwellings or more. The term affordable housing is defined by the Department as housing which is either:  directly provided by the Department; or  directly provided by Local Authorities; or  meets the criteria for the Department's House Purchase Assistance Scheme 2004 (and any successor schemes approved by Tynwald). 8.7 New Housing in Existing Settlements 8.7.1 Recent Local Plans and Area Plans have included development briefs guiding the design and layout of land which is zoned for residential use. Such briefs should not needlessly prescribe design, but should indicate site-specific constraints, the need for provision of public facilities or amenities (such as play areas, neighbourhood shops, or land for schooling, open space, or road improvements), and, if appropriate, the maximum or minimum density and the need for the inclusion of an element of affordable housing. Where these briefs state that an optimum density should be achieved this should not be used as an argument for higher density development which has an adverse effect on the residential amenity of adjoining properties or the character of the area.

Environment Policy 5

velopment which would erode the separation and detract from the openness between the settlements is unlikely to be supported. Douglas, Union Mills and Strang (see Maps 3, 4 and 8) Natural Environment Proposal 5 (Green Gap) Between the settlements of and Douglas, Union Mills and Strang, development which would erode the separation and detract from the openness between the settlements is unlikely to be supported. The Upland Environment The Manx Uplands are an iconic part of our landscape and heritage. Reference to the 'sweet mountain air' and 'green hills and rocks' are enshrined in our national anthem and the colours of the heather and gorse are woven into the very fabric of Manx tartan. The hills are a place of great beauty, yet for some they are also a place to work and for others a place to exercise or simply enjoy open space. Our Uplands are also home to plants and animals that whilst familiar to us, are rare and impor tant in a global and European context. Furthermore, the uplands are a rich repository of cultural and archaeological remains, which are sensitive to change and can easily be damaged by inappropriate development. Production of food is an important and obvi ous function of hill land. But surprisingly, the Manx hills provide everyday functions that most people take for granted. Peatlands, which cover most of our hills reduce the impacts of climate change by locking up carbon dioxide, collect and filter our drinking water and slow the passage of rainfall into streams and rivers, thus reducing downstream flood risk. These multiple uses are of great benefit to the economy of the Isle of Man and the well - being of its people. It is important that the hills continue to provide these benefits long into the future. Ensuring sustainable management of such a wide range of uses to the satisfaction of all interested parties whilst retaining functions essential to the well -being of the Isle of Man is of paramount importance. The Isle of Man Government is the owner and landlord for the majority of the Uplands in the East region and is therefore in a position to implement policy which will deliver the optimum range of ecosystem services. Appropriate and positive Upland management such as controlled rotational burning/cutting of heather and low intensity grazing helps to reduce the fuel load of the hill, provides firebreaks and reduces the risk of unplanned wildfires that further protects the biodiversity of the site, but also the vast amounts of carbon locked away in the peat soils. The majority of this work is carried out by The Department of Environment, Food & Agriculture's grazing and shooting tenants. The Manx Uplands are critically important from a habitat and biodiversity perspective. The hills in the East support a significant number of breeding hen harriers; however, other native Upland breeding birds such as curlew and red grouse have suffered severe declines in recent decades and as such are of high conservation concern. Strict control of access and recreational activity on vulnerable soils should be implemented to reduce soil erosion and subsequent carbon loss. Curlew and hen harriers are recognised as an internationally important species, while (within the EU) upland heather moorland is designated as a priority habitat. In order to ensure protection and positive management of the Uplands, the following proposal is appropriate: Environment Proposal 6 Uses of the Uplands that contribute to the management and preservation of this distinctive environment will be supported. Dark Skies On the Isle of Man, 26 Dark Sky Discovery Sites have been identified, of which nine are located in the East. They are classified as Milky Way Sites meaning that at these sites the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye. The sites are accessible and light pollution is limited. The following Dark Sky Discovery Sites are located within the East: • Port Soderick Upper Car Park • Port Soderick Brooghs, Little Ness Car Park • Mount Murray Golf Club • Onchan Park • West Baldwin Reservoir Car Park • Clypse Kerrowdhoo Reservoir Car Park • Conrhenny Car Park • Ballanette Nature Reserve • Axnfell Plantation Natural Environment Proposal 7 Proposals for development in the vicinity of Dark Sky Discovery Sites are to have minimal outdoor lighting and be encouraged to have a design response which is non-intrusive into the darkness of night. Baffling and directionality of lighting must be sensitive to contain any necessary lighting within a subject site only. Watercourses and Wetlands The collection of hills in the East has produced a network of mountain streams which gradually join and widen to become the rivers flowing out into Douglas Bay, Port Groudle and Laxey Bay. Several of these rivers fro m the natural boundaries between the Eastern Parishes. A non-exhaustive list of streams and rivers in the East includes: Crammag River Injebreck River Creg-y-Cowin River West Baldwin River Awin Ny Darragh Baldwin River River Glass