DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 22/00537/B Applicant: Cevdet Atis Proposal: Siting of a cold storage container and change of use of unit from industrial to food distribution (retrospective) Site Address: Unit 9 Kirby Farm Industrial Estate Vicarage Road Douglas Isle Of Man IM4 4LA Planning Officer: Mr Paul Visigah Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 31.08.2022

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

• C 1. The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice.

Reason: To comply with Article 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

• C 2. The storage use hereby approved shall only take place in the approved cold storage unit and main industrial unit, and shall be in accordance with the submitted plans and documents, date stamped as having been received 21 April 2022. There shall be no external storage of material outside the storage unit hereby approved or within the site, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Planning Authority.

Reason: To protect the amenities of adjoining land users and to safeguard the visual character of the site and area.

• C 3. The installation and use of the storage container hereby permitted as part of the proposed development is the subject of a temporary approval, the container must be removed from the site on or before the expiration of 4 years from the date of this decision notice and the land restored to its former condition within 1 subsequent month.

• Reason: The cold storage container is acceptable only for a temporary period because it meets a specific short-term need.
• C 4. The food distribution use of the Unit and cold storage container hereby approved, shall not be undertaken or be in operation for the purposes hereby approved outside the following times:

• o 07.00 and 19.00hrs Monday to Friday
• o 07.00 and 13.00 hours on a Saturday ,and
• o The use shall not be undertaken at any time on Sundays. Reason: In order to maintain the amenities of the area.

• C 5. There shall be no external lighting of the development hereby approved without the prior written approval of the Planning Authority. Reason: In the interests of the character and appearance of the site and surrounding area.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.

Overall, it is concluded that the planning application is in accordance with General Policy 2, Business Policies 1 and 5, and Transport Policy 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, and is recommended for approval.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This approval relates to the submitted documents and drawing all received on 21.04.2022. _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status

Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site is the curtilage of an existing industrial building at Unit 9, Unit 9, Kirby Farm Industrial Estate, Vicarage Road, Douglas, situated on the northern side of Vicarage Road. This building which is situated at the north-western end of the estate and about 144.9m from the access to the industrial estate has a parking area in front capable of supporting about 18 vehicles. This unit also has a parking area at the rear. - 1.2 The unit is single storey, finished in brick walling with a corrugated sheeted roof. The frontage has a roller shutter door with one horizontally proportioned window on each side and a pedestrian door alongside the right hand side window situated on the projecting section of the front elevation. There is space for the parking of around five vehicles in front of the unit.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Planning approval is sought for siting of a cold storage container and change of use of unit from industrial to wholesale food distribution (retrospective). - 2.2 The storage container which is a shipping container is positioned in front of the industrial unit (2.9m south of the front of the unit), and within the car park at a position west of the car park. This unit is 12.1m long, 2.8m wide and 2.8m wide and would retain the appearance of a shipping container. The engine unit and its control are positioned on the northern side of the unit, directly facing the main industrial building. No roof is proposed and

• there would be no form of cladding on the external walls. The floor area would measure 33.8sqm.
• 2.3 The application also proposes change of use of the unit from industrial to wholesale food distribution, which would pass for storage and distribution from the main unit (this element of the scheme is retrospective as it is already operational. A layout drawing of the main unit has been provided by the applicant to show the space use within the main industrial unit. There would be no external alterations to the industrial unit.
• 2.4 The applicants have provided a Planning Statement which provides a justification for the scheme, which includes the need to create more storage space to support their whole sale distribution operations from the unit. They state that they supply about 80 food outlets around the island with around 500 products. The statement also indicates that:

• o As a wholesale business, they currently employ 7 full time employees and 2 part time employees, with their job advert currently live at the job centre website as they seek to recruit
• one more delivery driver and a sales representative.
• o The business currently has 3 delivery vans.
• o Their aim is to widen their product range with competitive prices.

3.0 PLANNING POLICY - 3.1 The site lies within an area designated on the Area Plan for the East (Map 4) as 'Industrial, and the site is not within a Conservation Area. The site is not prone to flood risks or within a registered tree area, and there are no registered trees on site. - 3.2 The Area Plan for the East Written Statement contains the following texts which are considered relevant to the current scheme:

• 3.2.1 Paragraph 8.1.2 "The main urban area in and around the edge of Douglas includes a number of key employment areas outside the town centre, including industrial land at Middle River & White Hoe, Kirby Farm, Tromode and Ballafletcher, along Peel Road (including Hills Meadow), the Isle of Man Business Park and some land to the South of Cooil Road/Kewaigue. Some of these areas include land which is within the parish of Braddan."
• 3.2.2 Paragraph 8.10.1 "The development and occupation of Industrial Land is dependent on a number of factors beyond the allocation/release of land through the planning system. Key issues include how sites are managed (including how potential bad neighbour uses are located and run) and the potential for wider incentives to encourage investment. It is also important to consider how local businesses are catered for."
• 3.3 Due to the site location, zoning and the type of proposal, the following policies are relevant for consideration:

• 3.3.1 General Policy 2 states (In part): "Development which is in accordance with the land-use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted, provided that the development:

• (b) respects the site and surroundings in terms of the siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them;
• (c) does not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape or townscape; (g) does not affect adversely the amenity of local residents or the character of the locality;

• h) provides satisfactory amenity standards in itself, including where appropriate safe and convenient access for all highway users, together with adequate parking, servicing and manoeuvring space;
• i) does not have an adverse effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways;

• (k) does not prejudice the use or development of adjoining land in accordance with the appropriate Area Plan; (m) takes account of community and personal safety and security in the design of buildings and the spaces around them".

• 3.3.2 Strategic Policy 6: Major employment-generating development should be located in existing centres on land zoned for such purposes and identified as such in existing Local or new Area Plans.
• 3.3.3 Strategic Policy10: New development should be located and designed such as to promote a more integrated transport network with the aim to: minimise journeys, especially by private car; make best use of public transport; not adversely affect highway safety for all users, and encourage pedestrian movement.
• 3.3.4 Business Policy 1: The growth of employment opportunities throughout the Island will be encouraged provided that development proposals accord with the policies of this Plan.
• 3.3.5 Business Policy 5: On land zoned for industrial use, permission will be given only for industrial development or for storage and distribution; retailing will not be permitted except where either: (a) the items to be sold could not reasonably be sold from a town centre location because of their size or nature; or (b) the items to be sold are produced on the site and their sale could not reasonably be severed from the overall business; and, in respect of (a) or (b), where it can be demonstrated that the sales would not detract from the vitality and viability of the appropriate town centre shopping area.

• 3.6.7 Transport Policy 7 The Department will require that in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards. The current standards are set out in Appendix 7.

• Storage and distribution - 1 space per 100 square metres gross floor space.*

• 3.6.8 Environment Policy 22: Development will not be permitted where it would unacceptably harm the environment and/or the amenity of nearby properties in terms of: iii) vibration, odour, noise or light pollution.

4.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 The industrial unit which is the subject of the current application was approved under PA 10/01336/B for Erection of an industrial building on 26 October 2010. This application was the subject of five conditions which includes: C1. The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.

• C2. This approval relates to the location plan and drawing no's 1023/60/01, 1023/60/20 and 1023/60/21 date stamped the 10th September 2010.
• C3. No outside storage of materials associated with the use hereby approved, is permitted within the site.
• C4. No external lighting shall be affixed to the building without the prior approval of the Planning Authority.

C5. The premises shall be in operation for the purposes hereby approved, only within the hours of 07.00 and 19.00hrs Monday to Friday, 07/00 and 13.00 hours on a Saturday and at no time on a Sunday.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS Copies of representations received can be viewed on the government's website. This report contains summaries only. - 5.1 Representation from the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) Highways Division confirms that they 'Do not oppose' in a letter dated 29 April 2022. - 5.2 Braddan Commissioners indicate that they have no objection to the application (13 May 2022). - 5.3 No comments have been received from neighbouring properties.

- 6.0 ASSESSMENT

6.1 The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are;

• i) The principle of the proposal (SP6 & BP1, 2)
• ii) Visual impact on the site and wider environment (EP 22 and GP2 b&c)
• iii) Impact on the neighbouring amenity (GP2g & EP 22)
• iv) Impact on the highways & parking (TP7, GP2 h & i)

6.2 The principle

• 6.2.1 The site is designated for industrial use and as such there is a presumption in favour of the use of the industrial building for storage and distribution as articulated in Business Policy 5. It is also considered that the proposal would align with Strategic Policy 6 and Business Policy 1 which takes into account the need for employment generating developments to be sited on land for which they are zoned for (as identified on the Area Plans), and provided the development accords with other policies of the Strategic Plan, given that the site is zoned for industrial use. Likewise, the storage unit, by its very nature is a temporary structure which can be easily craned on and off site once the use has ceased. It is understood the container would house the necessary cold storage needed to support the increased demand for the products kept in the main industrial unit.
• 6.2.2 Similarly, the proposal is considered to be consistent with the development round about, considering the industrial unit and cold storage container are within the grounds of an existing industrial site located within a wider industrial area, with the cold storage container providing a further 33.8sqm of specialised storage space in a sustainable location, close to the main concentration of population, close to the ferry routes and on a principal traffic route.
• 6.2.3 Based on the foregoing, it is considered that the principle of the proposed development is acceptable.

6.3 Visual impact/Impact on the wider environment

• 6.3.1 In terms of visual impacts, it is considered that no views of the proposed storage container proposed within the scheme would be achievable from any of the nearby highways, with views only achievable from within the industrial estate, where in this case it would be read against the backdrop of the existing industrial site and buildings and as such in connection with the established industrial use of the site and no visual harm is expected as a result.
• 6.3.2 It is also considered that given the distance from the boundary vegetation and trees, and the location of the container on an area lower than the nearby bank and on an area already utilised for car parking including parking on distribution vehicles, it is not expected that the installation of the shipping container at this part of the site will result in any adverse visual impacts on the site and immediate vicinity.

6.4 Impact on neighbouring amenity

• 6.4.1 In terms of impacts on neighbouring amenity, the key concern would be noise generated by the engine unit positioned on the northern side of the unit. However, this engine unit would be situated about 37.9m from Unit 10 to the south, and 34.8m from Unit 8 to the east, and across the parking area accustomed to frequent vehicular movements and engine sounds. As such, it is not considered that any sounds generated would be sufficient to warrant refusal of the scheme.

6.5 Impact on highway safety & parking

• 6.5.1 The containers would not project into or obstruct the existing parking spaces or access into the site, therefore no new highway issues are expected as a result of the development. Whilst it is usually required that additional parking provision be made to accommodate the increase in storage area on the site, in this case the increase is only about 33.8sqm which should require the provision of 0.33 parking space provisions when the 1 space per 100 square metres gross floor space is applied. As such, it is not considered that the increase in floor space would be sufficient to warrant an additional parking provision for the site.

- 7.0 CONCLUSION

7.1 Overall, the development is deemed acceptable and is not judged to cause harm to public or private amenity of those using and working in nearby buildings to the application site. The application is, therefore, recommended for approval. - 8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS

8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• (a) the applicant (including an agent acting on their behalf);
• (b) any Government Department that has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (c) the Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure;
• (d) Manx National Heritage where it has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (e) Manx Utilities where it has made written representations that the Department considers material;
• (f) the local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated; and
• (g) a local authority adjoining the authority referred to in paragraph (f) where that adjoining authority has made written representations that the Department considers material. 8.2 The decision maker must determine:

• o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than the Department of Infrastructure Highway Services Division) are material; and
• o whether there are other persons to those listed above who should be given Interested Person Status.

_____________________________________________________________________ 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: 01.09.2022 Determining officer Signed : J SINGLETON Jason Singleton Principal Planner

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