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The site represents the curtilages of 5, 6 and 6A, The Parade, buildings which are Registered (numbers 34, 35 and 36) and situated within Castletown’s Conservation Area. The curtilage of 6A incorporates only the footprint of the building and a small piece of garden enclosed by railings to the front: that of 5 incorporates space at the rear of the building and 6 incorporates space both at the rear and a small area at the front of the building, contiguous with that to the front of number 6. Number 6 is also known as "Balcony house".
It should be noted that there are two contemporaneous applications for registered Building Consent (both reference 05/92412/CON) for the works to Balcony House and number 6A. The applicant refers to an earlier letter dated 20th October, 2005 relating to the de-registration of the Registered Building.
The site lies within an area of Mixed Use on the Castletown Local Plan which was adopted by Tynwald in 1991. This plan contains a number of policies which are relevant to this proposal:
"In the existing and future commercial areas it is proposed that the ground level uses be retained for retail use only but that, where it is desirable and practical the upper levels be permitted use as residential, offices or in instances such as paragraph 2.6[the are between Arbory and Malew Streets], for tourism. Conversion from residential to office use should however be discouraged. This should have a beneficial affect [sic] on maintenance of these upper levels. (paragraph 2.7)
"Any office development in this zone should provide the maximum appropriate car parking requirements on the basis of 1 space per 50 square metres nett floor space, although discretion in the application of this standard may be necessary incertain [sic] cases were the site characteristics dictate against this provision. The provision of the car parking off-site would be permitted where this is possible" (paragraph 2.8)
"USE OF THE UPPER FLOORS OF EXISTING RETAIL PREMISES FOR RESIDENTIAL OR OFFICE USE WILL BE ENCOURAGED, THEIR CONVERSION FROM RESIDENTIAL USE TO OFFICE USE WILL HOWEVER BE DISCOURAGED."
"DEVELOPMENT OF NEW RETAIL AREAS IN THE CONSERVATION AREA WHICH WOULD ENTAIL THE DEMOLITION OF EXISTING BUILDINGS WILL ONLY BE SANCTIONED WHERE AN APPROPRIATE REPLACEMENT BUILDING HAS BEEN [sic] DESIGNED TO THE SATISFACTION OF THE PLANNING COMMITTEE (paragraph 2.13)
"Office development in Castletown now tends to be centred on the Parade, although individual office developments are also located in areas such as Lorne House, the Old Customs House on Bridge Street and the Red Gap site." (paragraph 3.1)
"Since the successful conversion of St. Mary's Church and the Old Town Hall to office use, further pressure for office development in The Parade has occurred" (paragraph 3.2)
"Generally this tends to be for conversion from residential to office use and it is considered that this is acceptable and will have a beneficial effect on the central area in terms of enhanced appearance and maintenance" (paragraph 3.3).
"CAR PARKING PROVISION SHOULD BE ON THE BASIS OF 1 SPACE PER 50 SQUARE METRES NETT FLOOR SPACE WHERE PRACTICABLE. DISCRETION AS TO THE DEGREE AND LOCATION OF CAR PARKING WILL HOWEVER BE EXERCISED IN CASES WHERE DEVELOPMENTS MAY BE PREJUDICED BY A RIGID APPLICATION OF CAR PARKING STANDARDS. (paragraph 3.9)
"IN GENERAL TERMS OFFICE DEVELOPMENT WHICH IS RELATED TO THE TOWN CENTRE WILL BE ENCOURAGED. DUE TO THE EXTREMELY SENSITIVE NATURE OF THE HISTORIC TOWN PROSPECTIVE DEVELOPMENT WILL BE TO AN APPROPRIATELY HIGH STANDARD OF DESIGN AND PARTICULAR ATTENTION WILL BE PAID TO THE USE OF MATERIALS, COLOUR AND DETAIL IN ADDITION TO THE DESIGN CONCEPT WHICH MUST BE DESIGNED TO ACCORD WITH ANY HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS WHICH MAY BE ADVOCATED." (paragraph 3.10)
"Demolition of even a single building which in itself may not be of architectural or historic significance and there not registered, and its replacement by a new building, could prejudice the character or appearance of a Conservation Area. (paragraph 9.5)
"The Parade area is now the centre of further office developments based on the residential units on the north-east of The Parade and the Old Town Hall. This is seen as beneficial in injecting finance into the refurbishment and maintenance of important Registered Buildings" (paragraph 9.11)
"It should be noted that the highest concentration of Registered Buildings in the island at present is based upon the area between the Castle, The Parade and the sea" (paragraph 9.12)
"EACH APPLICATION WILL BE CONSIDERED ON ITS MERITS AND BY ADOPTING SUCH A POLICY IT IS INTENDED THAT INVESTMENT IN BUILDINGS (WHICH MIGHT OTHERWISE BE UNECONOMIC TO REPAIR OR MAINTAIN) WILL BE ENCOURAGED, PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO THE UPPER FLOORS" (paragraph 9.15)
"ESSENTIALLY, THE POLICY OF THE CONSERVATION AREA IS INTENDED TO BE POSITIVE IN ENCOURAGING INVESTMENT IN AN AREA OF BOTH HISTORICAL AND TOURIST IMPORTANCE TO THE BENEFIT OF THE TOWN AS A WHOLE". (paragraph 9.16).
In general terms, the plan policies emphasise the importance of the history of the town and promote flexibility of use of existing buildings and requirement for car parking spaces to encourage investment in interesting and historic fabric.
Planning policy statement 1/01 which makes provisions for policy to identify and protect historic buildings, conservation areas and other elements of the environment.
Policy RB/4 states: "In considering a proposal for change of use of a registered building, the principal aim should be to identify the optimum viable use that is compatible with the fabric, interior and setting of the building, all of which affect its special character as building of merit. An applicant will have to illustrate that the effect of any proposed changes upon the architectural and historic interest of the building will be minimised".
RB/6 gives guidance on applications for demolition of registered buildings and states: "There will be a general presumption against demolition and consent for the demolition of a registered building should not be expected simply because redevelopment is economically more attractive than repair and re-use of an historic building or because the building was acquired at a price that reflected the potential for redevelopment, rather than the condition and constraints of the existing historic building. Where proposed works would result in the total or substantial demolition of a registered building, an applicant in addition to the general criteria set out in RB/3 above, should be able to demonstrate that the following considerations have been addressed:-
*the condition of the building, the cost of repairing and maintaining it in relation to its importance and to the value derived from its continued use. Any such assessment should be based on consistent and long term assumptions. Less favourable levels of rents and yields cannot automatically be assumed for historic buildings and returns may in fact, be more favourable given the publicly acknowledged status of the building. Furthermore, historical buildings may offer proven performance, physical attractiveness and functional spaces, that in an age of rapid change, may outlast the short-lived and inflexible technical specifications that have sometimes shaped new development. Any assessment should take into account possible tax allowances and exemptions. In rare cases where it is clear that a building has been deliberately neglected in the hope of obtaining consent for demolition, less weight should be given to the costs of repair;
*the adequacy of efforts made to retain the building in use. An applicant must show that real efforts have been made, without success, to continue the present use or to find new uses for the building. This may include the offer of the unrestricted freehold of the building on the open market at a realistic price reflecting the building's condition
*The merits of alternative proposals for the site. Subjective claims for the architectural merits of a replacement building should not justify the demolition of a registered building. There may be exceptional cases where the proposed works would bring substantial benefits for the community;
these would have to be weighed against preservation. Even here, it will often be feasible to incorporate registered buildings within new development, and this option should be carefully considered. The challenge presented by retaining registered buildings can be a stimulus to imaginative new designs to accommodate them".
PA 03/0803 for the conversion of 1, 3 and 5, Queen Street to four flats and two maisonettes. This application was approved on appeal and is subject to a legal agreement which makes provision within the curtilage of "Balcony House" for 3.5 parking spaces (see attached Agreement dated 24th May, 2004).
There have been two previous applications in respect of this site:
PA 87/0272 - alterations and extensions to refurbish premises including part re-roofing, 5 The Parade - refused due to lack of detailed information and without prejudice to a complete and fully detailed submission
PA 99/1772 - alterations and extensions to office and flats, 5, The Parade - approved initially and at review (23/6/00). This involved the retention of the existing building and refurbishment thereof with the erection of a three storey extension to the rear incorporating office accommodation. This application applied to number 5, The Parade only.
PA 89/0573 - approval in principle for alterations and extensions to provide 2 storey office block, the Warehouse to the rear of balcony House – refused
PA 89/1121 - approval in principle for conversion of warehouse to offices, The Warehouse, rear of Balcony House – permitted PA 91/0604 - internal alterations Balcony House, The Parade – permitted PA 92/0855 - replacement of chimney cappings and repointing of stack - permitted PA 94/0275 - remedial work including re-roofing, Balcony house - permitted PA 97/1590 - change of use from off-licence to office and archive storage, Royal Wine Stores (Balcony House)- permitted
The application proposes the refurbishment of Balcony House and its use for commercial purposes. Also proposed is the demolition of 5, The Parade and its replacement with a new building for offices with a new extension which extends through to the rear of Balcony House, incorporating the rebuilding of the warehouse building. As the proposed floor plans do not differentiate between the existing and proposed walling, it is not possible to ascertain whether 6A is to be retained and it is not readily clear from these floor plans that 5, The Parade is to be demolished and/or Balcony House retained. The side and rear walling is the same in the proposed and existing plans but there are to be new window arrangements to the front elevation in all three floors in respect of this building. (The Registered Building application for 6A clarifies that the front wall is to be demolished to cill level at ground floor).
The new 5, The Parade will extend the full depth of Balcony House across the width of the frontage rather than the present situation where the main frontage extends back to 9m with a further 5m
annex which is 4.7m wide. Only the main block which extends 9m is continued up through the first and second floors.
The new extension to the rear of all three buildings is to be linked to the new 5, The Parade by a full height glazed element which accommodates internally toilets, a stairwell, lift shaft and a store. Beyond this, along Queen Street is a new streetscape formed by two new elements, each three storeys, one with a full height roof, the rearward element having attic accommodation and eaves level dormers (3 in number).
The new rear elevation incorporates a substantial stone façade which obscures the rear of both Balcony House and 5, The Parade. The façade is a three storey stone faced building with large expanse of glazing stretching through the first and second floors. There is to be a three storey flat topped stone element to the rear of Balcony House which will accommodate the lift shaft.
The new rear annex will not incorporate windows looking out towards the rear of 7, The Parade only rooflights. The new walling alongside the rear of number 7 will be set back slightly at ground floor level (by a minimum of 0.2m), by 2.4m at first floor level and 5.4m at second floor level. There will no as such be an adverse impact on the amenities of the rear of number 7 through overlooking.
The new front elevation to The Parade presents a different façade to that of the existing 5 and 6A, The Parade. The new 5, The Parade will have two conjoined round-headed windows at ground floor level in place of two flat headed windows in the existing. At first floor level there will be three flat-headed windows but these will be larger than the four existing ones and similarly at second floor level.
Balcony House is to be retained externally with three new rooflights in the front pitch and the existing second floor windows replaced like for like (timber sliding sash windows). The existing doors on the first floor are to be retained and refurbished and the existing balcony "replaced with one of similar design (access for maintenance purposes only)".
The front façade of 6A is to be rebuilt from ground floor cill level (although as there is to be a new window and door, it will effectively be completely rebuilt)and a new first and second floor added, replacing the existing flat roofed two storey structure. The existing railings which extend right across the frontage of 6A is to be curtailed to two thirds of the frontage, leaving the new door free for access from he Parade.
8 parking spaces are to be provided: 6 within the ground floor of the rear extension and 2 in the space between the rear of the new extension and Farrants Way. It should be remembered that 3.5 of these spaces are reserved for use in connection with 1,3 and 5, Queen Street. No reference is made to this in the application.
There are a number of objections from local residents who are concerned about the following issues:
In addition representatives of the owner of 7, The Parade objects on the grounds of the impact which the new windows in the side of 6A will have on the existing windows in number 7, the introduction of windows in the glazed link and the impact which this will have on the privacy of the garden at the rear or number 7, the impact of the increase in the height of the chimney stack on 6A and the need for this chimney as there are no fireplaces in this part of the scheme. This objection also points out that part of the curtilage of number 7, a small shed is included within the defined site.
Mr. and Mrs. Cringle of 9, Queen Street recommend that the application should be determined by the Council of Ministers on account of the involvement of the Department in the select committee of Tynwald into 5, the Parade. They also raise other concerns which are included above.
Speaker of the House of Keys, Hon J.A. Brown MHK is strongly opposed to the loss of the registered building, the alterations to number 6A and the internal alterations to Balcony House and the extensions at the rear. This submission also suggests that the application should be referred to and determined by the Council of Ministers due to the application including matters of general importance to the Island as referred to in section 11 of the 1999 Town and Country Planning Act. Mr. Speaker has already written separately to the Council of Ministers in this respect.
Disability Access Officer recommend the inclusion of facilities for disabled persons
Fire Prevention Officer recommend discussion regarding fire safety.
Isle of Man Water Authority recommend discussion regarding the water main which runs across the front of the site, and the general note regarding water supply (SN22).
The Society for the Preservation of the Manx Countryside and Environment consider that this is an improvement on the last scheme although it could be improved further if the new dormers had pitched roofs.
The Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society object on the basis of the loss of the registered building and the absence of an application for deregistration or the demolition of the registered building.
A resident of Port Soderick expresses his general opposition to the loss of a registered building but suggests that in this case the new scheme may be justified.
There are no views on the file from Castletown Heritage, Castletown Commissioners or Department of Transport Highways and Traffic Division all of whom I would have expected to comment.
I would recommend that interested party status is afforded to the residents of the following addresses from which we have received comments:
9, Queen Street 11, Queen Street 13, Queen Street 17, Queen Street 19, Queen Street 2, The Parade 7, the Parade.
In addition, the following parties are generally accepted as statutory undertakers and should be afforded interested party status:
Fire Prevention Officer
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