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| Consulttee: | Chief Fire Officer |
| Notes: | Note to be included |
The application site comprises of a vacant piece of land which is situated to the south side of the junction of Hope Street and St Georges Street in the town centre of Douglas. The site was previously occupied by the Forester's Arms Public House and three further terraced properties. To the south east of the application site is No.15 St Georges Street and to the south west is No.25 Hope Street. The application site is located within an area zoned as predominantly offices in the Douglas Local Plan.
This application is seeking planning permission to erect a four storey office development with basement parking. The footprint of the building will be approximately 23m x 16m and the height of the building (excluding plant room) will be 14.65m. A 7.4m x 6.1m plant room/circulation area with a 2.9m x 2.3m lift shaft will be erected on the roof of the building and the height of this structure will be 2.6m.
The proposals take the form of basement parking which provides ten parking spaces on site, and which is accessed via a vehicle lift with the entrance and exit position from Hope Street via a secure automatic roller shutter door. This entrance is designed to allow a pull-off area from Hope Street so that cars accessing or egressing the buildings basement car park can do so without obstructing the traffic flow on Hope Street.
The materials for the building are a mix of smooth red engineering facing brick to the lower storey with matching red coloured mortar which forms a base for the building. The two storey upper section will be in a self coloured rendered terminated by a cornice. The upper storey is formed substantially from glazed curtain wall system with selected cladding infill panels and is set back from both main elevations. The corner of the building at the junction of Hope Street and St Georges Street is articulated in a full height curtain wall glazed tower feature.
Within the adopted Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007, the following policies are considered to be relevant in the determination of this application: Strategic Policies 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 10, General Policy 2, Environment Policy 42, Business Policies 7 and 8, Transport Policies 1, 4 and 7
Business Policy 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007, states that "New office floor space should be located within town and village centres on land which is zoned for the purpose on the appropriate area plan; exceptionally, permission may be given for new office
Business Policy 8 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 states that "New office buildings should, in terms of height and mass, respect the scale and character of adjoining and nearby buildings and should accommodate parking space in accordance with the standards specified in Appendix 7 of the Plan".
Transport Policy 7 states that "The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards".
Environment Policy 42 states that "New Development in existing settlements must be designed to take account of the particular character and identity, in terms of buildings and landscape features of the immediate locality. Inappropriate backland development, and the removal of open or green spaces which contribute to the visual amenity and sense of place of a particular area will not be permitted. Those open or green spaces which are to be preserved will be identified in Area Plans".
The following previous applications are considered relevant in the consideration of this application:
86/00244 – Erection of four wall signs, two projecting signs and two lanterns- consent granted
99/01595 – Extension and refurbishment of public house at ground floor level and conversion of upper floors to create office accommodation – granted on appeal 23rd February 2001
04/01259 - Demolition of existing buildings and erection of a replacement public house on ground floor and cellar, with four apartments and managers – refused at review on 06 May 2005
The reason for refusal was “By virtue of its height and architectural treatment (particularly of the corner), the proposed building would have an inappropriate and adverse effect on the local street scenes.”
05/01667 - Demolition of the Forester's Arms and 19, 21 & 23 Hope Street and to build on site a new public house (ground floor level & cellar) with seven flats plus manager's accommodation above in a three storied (plus cellar) building (Re submission to PA 04/01259) – granted at review on 10 February 2006
The Highways Division of the Department of Transport and Douglas Corporation have not commented on the application.
Standard comments have been received from the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service, Isle of Man Water Authority and the Manx Electricity Authority.
The occupiers of No.2 Georges Terrace have objected to the application on the following grounds: Loss of natural light; increased feeling of being blocked in, loss of value to the property and increased parking problem within the area.
A resident of Port Soderick considered this development to be out of place and overbearing to the adjacent properties. Furthermore, he considers the developer should be made to conduct a CAMRA pub viability test before the change of use of the site to offices should be considered. He is also concerned that the development of offices within a predominantly office areas will see other uses (community pubs, small shops and homes) be obliterated in the drive to provide office space.
The principal issues in assessing this application are a) Land use; b) Parking provision; c) Visual impact of the building within the context of the existing street scene and d) Impact on No. 2 Georges Terrace. The following paragraphs deal with these issues in the above order, followed by consideration of other matters of detail.
The Local Plan zoning of the site is for office use. Therefore, the principle of developing the site for office use would be in accordance with the land use zoning within the Douglas Local Plan.
The car parking standards set out in Appendix 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 requires 1 space for every 50 square metres of net floor space. The application is proposing to provide 1119.48 square metres of floor space which would equate to a requirement for 22 car parking spaces. However, the development only provides 10 car parking spaces on site, which is 45% of the total car parking requirement for this development.
The Isle of Man Strategic Plan states that “the car parking standards may be relaxed where the development is within a reasonable distance of an existing or proposed bus route and it can be demonstrated a reduced level of parking will not result in unacceptable on street parking in the
locality". The application site is within 55m of Circular Road and 90m of Peel Road with both of these roads serving as major bus routes into and out of Douglas. The applicant has not demonstrated that the reduced level of parking will not result in unacceptable on-street parking in the locality; however, it must be acknowledged that the site is situated within a town centre location. The site cannot physically provide any further car parking spaces within the submitted scheme. The applicant is proposing that the other 12 parking spaces will be provided off-site.
In summary, the site is located within a town centre location where the provision for car parking within developments will be limited. It is considered that the reduced on-site car parking provision and the provision of off-site parking would be acceptable as it would provide the necessary parking provision for the proposed development.
The design of the building is modern in its appearance and reflects the needs for the buildings use as a modern office block. It is considered the overall appearance of the building is pleasant. However, this does not necessarily mean that the building fits in with the general context of the surrounding locality. The architecture of the surrounding locality is a general mix from traditional styles to more modern styles of buildings.
In respect of the visual impact of the proposal on the streetscene of St Georges Street, the road slopes down from Circular Road to Athol Street with the buildings stepping down between Rose House and the Nationwide Building. The proposed building will not exceed the height of Rose House, which fronts onto Circular Road, and will sit comfortably within the street scene.
However, the design and massing of the proposed building onto St Georges Street is another issue. The building is excessively large when viewed from the public highway. The proposed setback at 3rd floor level is very minimal and does not help to reduce the overall massing of the building within the streetscene.
In respect of the visual impact of the proposal on the streetscene of Hope Street, the road slopes down from the junction of St Georges/Hope Street to Peel Road with the buildings gradually stepping down. The proposed building will project above the ridge line of the neighbouring property by 3.2m to the roof level and 5.8m to the top of the proposed plant room and it is considered that the building would be disproportionate in scale with the neighbouring buildings on Hope Street. Furthermore, the building would be excessively large when viewed from the public highway. The proposed setback at 3rd floor level is very minimal and does not help to reduce the overall massing of the building within the streetscene.
In summary, the proposal will introduce a building onto a prominent corner plot position which does not respect the character and appearance of the locality and would cause demonstrable harm to the visual amenities of the locality.
In respect of the impact on 2 Georges Terrace, the application site is set to the north of No.2 Georges Terrace and the proposed building will be set 17m away from No.2 at its nearest point. The proposed building will not directly project in front of the rear elevation of No.2 Georges Terrace. Due to the orientation of the site, the impact from overshadowing and loss of light will be minimal. Furthermore, it is considered the proposed building will not have any overbearing impact on the residential environment of No.2 Georges Terrace.
In respect of the concerns regarding the impact on the value of the property, this is not a material planning consideration and cannot be considered in the determination of this application.
It is recommended that the application be refused for the above reasons.
The Department of Transport and the local authority are, by virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, paragraph 6 (5) (c) and (d), considered "interested persons" and as such should be afforded party status.
Whilst the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue Service, Manx Electricity Authority and the Isle of Man Water Authority represents a statutory authority, the points raised in correspondence relate to Building Control matters and not planning and as such should not be afforded party status in this instance.
Mr Jessop of Seacliffe, Old Castletown Road, Port Soderick, given his distance from the application site is not granted Interested Party Status under the provisions of Planning Circular 1/06.
In summary, it is considered that the following parties, who submitted comments, accord with the requirements of Planning Circular 1/06 and are therefore, afforded interested party status:
Accordingly the following parties are not afforded interested party status:
Recommended Decision: Refused
Date of Recommendation: 15.01.2008
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal
R 1.
The proposed building would be contrary to General Policy 2 and Environment Policy 42 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2007 by reason of its design, external appearance, height and massing would introduce a building onto a prominent corner plot position which does not respect the character and appearance of the locality and would cause demonstrable harm to the visual amenities of the locality.
Decision Made : _________________________ Committee Meeting Date : _________________________
17 January 2008 07/02075/B Page 6 of 6
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