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Application No.: 22/00485/B Applicant: 1886 Limited Proposal: Temporary erection of a stage and associated structures for four weeks over the TT period Site Address: Villiers Square Fort Street Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 2AX Head of Development Management: Mr S Butler Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 07.05.2022
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
The use hereby approved shall not be operational before the 28.05.22 and after the 12.06.22, and the site shall be cleared and returned to its former condition by the 18.06.22.
Reason: To ensure the development takes place in accordance with the approved details.
Reason: for the avoidance of doubt and in the interests of residential amenities of local residents.
The policy framework set out in the Strategic Plan and Area Plan for the East (in particular paragraphs 3.4.2, 6.7.2 and 9.3.1) is supportive of Temporary entertainment uses within Douglas Town Centre. Given the short duration of the proposal it is considered to have a neutral impact on the Conservation Area and so not to conflict with Strategic Plan Environment Policy 35. Given the central location and availability of other parking and public transport it is
not considered the lack of on-site parking provision is unacceptable. Whilst a level of amenity impact is unavoidable, in the context of a short term event, taking place during TT (when this is already a level of impact), within a Town Centre location and within the overall policy context which supports temporary events/entertainment within Douglas town centre it is not considered that the amenity impact is sufficient to warrant refusal.
This decision relates to the following plans/information (all date stamped as having been received 13.04.21 unless otherwise indicated); Location and Site Plan (Drawing No. 1886-P-01) Proposed Site Plan (Drawing No. 1886-P-02) Main Stage General Arrangement (Drawing No. NN2495-01 Rev C) Front of House GA (Drawing No. NN2495-02 Rev O). Copy of Occasional Licence for 11/06/22 - 12/06/22 Copy of Occasional Licence for 28/05/22 - 10/06/22 E-mail from Applicant dated 13/04/22 providing PDFs of Mojo Barrier, Cable Ramp, Site Office (used for both offices) and Container Bars with links to toilets and fencing to be used E-mail dated 04.05.22 amending application E-mail dated 06.05.22 relating to music times
_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons
It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties NOT should be given Interested Person Status as they ARE NOT considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are not mentioned in Article 4(2):
As they are not within 20m of the application site and the development is not automatically required to be the subject of an EIA by Appendix 5 of the Strategic Plan. _____________________________________________________________________________
1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The application site is located within Douglas Town Centre. It comprises Villiers Square and the car-park to the East. To the North-West, West and South of the Site are smaller parking areas and buildings, to the East is the road and promenade. The most Northern part of the site faces onto Regent Street. The applicant' also own 1886 which is to the North-West of the site (the other side of Regent Street)
2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Application Form indicates full approval is sought for temporary erection of stage and associated structures for 4 weeks, no parking to be provided. E-mail dated 04/05/22 reduced the use of the site to the 2022 TT period only - i.e. from Saturday 22nd May to Friday 17th June 2022. - 2.2 The application is accompanied by a cover letter dated 12/04/22 which indicates that:
2.3 The Proposed Site Plan shows:
2.4 The copies of the Occasional Licenses include the condition that, "Music to be played until 11.45 daily" and also specify the hours of liquor sales. - 2.5 Phone call to applicant on 05.05.22 confirmed that details provided of temporary toilets and fencing are indicative but will be as used in events elsewhere on island, and that access for set up/put down will be via existing access (controlled by removal of bollards).
3.1 The site is within the Douglas Promenades Conservation Area. It is outside the High River and Tidal Floodrisk Areas, although surface water flood risk within the site is identified. The site is shown in the Area Plan for the East as site DM003g (Mixed Use). This is within CTA1 (Villiers) and within the broad Strand Street Mixed Use Proposal Area. - 3.2 The following elements of the Area Plan for the East (2020) are considered relevant:
3.3 The following elements of the Strategic Plan (2016) are considered relevant:
4.1 Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act (1999) states, "(4) Where any area is for the time being a conservation area, special attention shall be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing its character or appearance in the exercise, with respect to any buildings or other land in the area, of any powers under this Act". - 5.0 PLANNING HISTORY
5.1 No directly relevant applications on the site are identified, however it is noted that PA 18/00283/B for, "Creation of a temporary event space for the duration of the TT for a five year period to provide a marquee, stage, food, merchandise and toilet facilities with perimeter fencing" was approved at Bottleneck Car Park, Loch Promenade on 15.05.2018 subject to three conditions:
5.2 Also noted is PA 20/01198/B for, "Erection of marquee and ice rink for seasonal use over a period of three months" at Former Lord Street Car Park, Lord Street. - 6.0 REPRESENTATIONS
6.1 DOI (Highways) (06.05.22) acknowledge that the proposal does not encroach onto the public roads but consider that there is a need to appropriately manage the safety risks at the highway interface and on the surrounding public roads given likelihood of queuing and overspill impacts. These can be resolved through temporary management of pedestrians and non-ticket holders as well as the Applicants / Organisers own health and safety risk assessments for the management of events. Specifically on highways
6.2 Douglas Borough Council wrote on the 19.04.22 and 22.04.22 seeking more information in relation to the waste management plan, noting the proposed food outlets and potential for a large amount of waste to be produced. On the 28.04.22 DBC commented,
"I am writing to confirm that the Council's original request for detailed information relating to the management of waste during the event has now been addressed. The applicant has now liaised directly with the Council's waste management team and all appropriate measures will be implemented to ensure that any additional waste created during the event will not have a negative effect on this part of the town centre. Based upon these discussions and the details provided within the application Douglas Borough Council supports the application".
6.3 Owner/Occupier of 1 Railway Terrace (14.04.22) states,
"I have two concerns, one as a resident of Douglas living 5 minutes away this will increase noise pollution to me as well as blocking quick access through the back lane to the Prom without walking around multiple buildings. They are taking away complete public access under the freedom of public walkways to profit which is completely illegal under the current laws.
Second, I am linked with a local bar in the area that is in competition and this takes away from the business that have suffered for two years directly on the Quay pushing customers into the town centre. Surely, having one Beer Tent is acceptable this year in town rather than taking customer EVERY night from the local business in the area?".
6.4 Owner/Occupier of 41-45 Duke Street (21.04.22) states,
"We run accountancy exams during 4 weeks of the year. One of these weeks is during TT race week however we do not have control over when the exams are sat, this is decided by ACCA. We are worried that with the music starting at 10am, as it is very open spaced, that this will disturb students, as it did when the soundcheck for the Ukranian charity night did when exams were being sat. The exams are primarily between 9 am and 5 pm however on Tuesday the 7th the exams will run until 6:45 pm. We have no issue with music being on outside of working hours however when it is likely to be such a disturbance to students we are worried it will negatively impact them, and that their hard work will have been for nothing".
7.1 The starting point is whether the proposal will preserve or enhance the character of the overall Conservation area, and if not is the negative impact sufficient within the context of the Conservation Area as whole to warrant refusal, irrespective of any planning balance. Given the limited duration of the proposal it is considered that it passes this first test and the planning balance can be applied.
7.2 In terms of the planning balance, it is considered that the main issues are:
7.3 In terms of the principle it is noted that the policy framework directs development to Douglas, seeks to make best use of underused sites (Strategic Plan StP1 and SpP1), develop Douglas as an entertainment and event centre with temporary uses (TAPE para 3.4.2, 6.7.2 and 9.3.1). TAPE MUP3 is more applicable to permanent uses, but does highlight the potential for entertainment venues in the area. The long term aspirations for the site include entertainment uses, and in any case the longer term implementation of the CTA would not be undermined by a 2 week temporary event. It is also noted that temporary events such as this can help to maximise the economic benefit of the TT, as per BP1. - 7.4 In terms of the impact on the Conservation Area, given the short duration of the proposal it is considered that it has a neutral impact on the CA and so complies with Environment Policy 35 (as was the finding for 18/00283/B - see paragraph 6.9). - 7.5 In terms of highways, GP2(h) requires acceptable access/servicing space and GP2(i) seeks to avoid unacceptable impacts on road safety or traffic flows, TP1 directs new development to close to existing routes/facilities and TP7 sets out the need to meet parking standards. There is no specific standard for temporary entertainment, however Assembly and Leisure is 1 space per 15 square metres floor space. Appendix 7 does indicate that standards may be relaxed where 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". - 7.6 It is noted that 18/00283/B did not include on-site car parking and the officer report stated (6.10), "The proposed complex would utilise existing parking found within Douglas. Further, a large number of visitors to the site either use public transport to the site (within a
few minutes' walk of the Douglas bus station which has transport link throughout the IOM) or close to a number of hotels/B&B's/residential properties within Douglas which are all within easy walking distance".
7.7 On balance it is considered that the central location of the site, availability of public transport and other parking areas nearby is sufficient to apply the flexibility set out in Appendix 7 and to comply with the TP1. - 7.8 While Highways raise no overall objection (subject to conditions) they have made suggestions for dealing with the possible risks at the highway interface, with particular reference to likelihood of queuing and overspill impacts, however it is considered that such queuing systems within the highway would be dealt with under licence from Highways (as set down in the comments).
7.8 In terms of impact on Amenity (Noise, Light and Litter), GP2(g) seeks to protect the amenity of local residents StP4 and EP22 seek to prevent unactable impacts in terms of pollution nuisance with EP22 highlighting inter alia noise and light pollution. - 7.9 Although the proposed mitigation is noted, it is inevitable that an event of this scale/nature will have an impact on the amenity of nearby properties. The objections received are noted. However, this needs to be seen in a context of a short term event, taking place during TT when this is already a level of impact and within a Town Centre location where there might be expected to be more impact than in purely residential areas. Furthermore, there is an overall policy context which supports temporary events/entertainment within Douglas town centre. The support from the Local Authority is also noted. It is noted that the hours music can be played until is controlled by the Occasional Licenses. Therefore, on balance, it is not considered that the amenity impact is sufficient to warrant refusal. - 7.10 In terms of waste management it is noted that the applicant has discussed matters with DBC directly and based on these (rather than only the application details) DBC do not object. Of course the Department can only enforce details submitted as part of a planning application and not other discussions/details to which they are not party. Nevertheless, given the temporary nature of the use and the lack of objection it is not considered that this is a reason to refuse the application. - 7.11 In terms of other issues (Flooding, Fire, Crime etc.) no impacts have been identified which would warrant refusing the application.
8.1 The policy framework set out in the Strategic Plan and Area Plan for the East (in particular paragraphs 3.4.2, 6.7.2 and 9.3.1) is supportive of Temporary entertainment uses within Douglas Town Centre. Given the short duration of the proposal it is considered to have a neutral impact on the Conservation Area and so not to conflict with Strategic Plan Environment Policy 35. Given the central location and availability of other parking and public transport it is not considered the lack of on-site parking provision is unacceptable. Whist a level of amenity impact is unavoidable, in the context of a short term event, taking place during TT (when this is already a level of impact), within a Town Centre location and within the overall policy context which supports temporary events/entertainment within Douglas town centre it is not considered that the amenity impact is sufficient to warrant refusal.
8.2 The proposed timings are Saturday 22nd May to Friday 17th June 2022. The 21 days publicity expires on 07.05.22 which means if the decision notice were issued that day the decision does not become final until the 28.05.22 (assuming no appeal). Therefore there is no need to include a condition preventing set up in advance of 22.05.22.
8.3 It is noted that the music hours and liquor sales hours are controlled under other legislation, and that in terms of people being present on site generally, that the site is public open space. - 9.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS
9.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons:
9.2 The decision maker must determine:
I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Principal Planner in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status.
Decision Made : Permitted Date: 07.05.2022 Determining officer
Signed : A MORGAN Abigail Morgan Principal Planner
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