DEC Officer Report

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No.: 22/01020/B Applicant: Miss Samantha Lund Proposal: Variation of condition two of PA 18/00376/B to increase the number of children from 32 to 40 Site Address: Lezayre Church Hall Churchtown Ramsey Isle Of Man IM7 2AN Planning Officer: Mr Paul Visigah Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 13.10.2022

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 maximum number of children attending the building at any one time shall not exceed forty (40).

Reason: In the interests of the amenity of the surrounding area along with highway safety and parking and to safeguard the welfare of children.

• C 3. All fencing/field gate which were required to be erected/installed and painted in a dark green/brown colour as indicated in Condition 3 of the previous application (PA 18/00376/B) and shown on the referenced documents within the condition shall be retained as stipulated.

Reason: In the interests of safeguarding the welfare of children, highway safety and in the interest of visual amenities of the area.

• C 4. The "field gate" which restricts access and exit via the main road and which was required to be installed under Condition 3 of (PA 18/00376/B) shall remain locked during the operation of the Nursery. Reason: In the interests of highway safety

• C 5. No nursery customers (children or parents) shall remain in the building outside the following hours 0745hrs till 1830hrs.

Reason: In the interests of the residential amenity of the area and as the application has specifically listed these times (albeit a slightly earlier opening & later closing time is suggested, taking account of people being early & late for drop off and pick-ups) and the application has been considered on this basis.

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

Overall, it is concluded that the planning application accords with the provisions set out in Strategic Policy 1, Recreation Policy 2, Community Policy 2, Transport Policy 4, and General Policy 2 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the submitted documents and drawings received on 04.08.2022. _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status

Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE - 1.1 The application site is the Lezayre Church Hall, Churchtown, Ramsey which is a detached building located to the south of Lezayre Road and north of the Churchtown Loop Road. Access to the site can be achieved from existing accesses from the Lezayre Road and the Churchtown Loop Road. To the south of the building is a car park associated with the building.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The application seeks planning approval for variation of condition no. 2 of PA 18/00376/B to increase the number of children from 32 to 40. The hours of operation would remain unchanged. - 2.2 Condition 2 for PA 18/00376/B reads thus: The maximum number of children attending the building at any one time shall not exceed thirty two.

Reason: In the interests of the amenity of the surrounding area along with highway safety and parking and to safeguard the welfare of children.

• 2.2.1 The applicant wishes to increase the number of children at the nursery to 40 children and seeks to vary condition 2 accordingly.

2.3 The applicants have provided a Planning Statement which states the following:

• a) The nursery was initially registered for 32 children aged 0 to 5. However, the service was amended to 0-11 year olds in 2020 to enable the school offer After School Club (ASC) provision to meet the needs of the community.
• b) They note that the ASC would not be allowed on site until the numbers increased.
• c) They state that the nursery caters for children from two nearby schools which the 32 number limit impedes.
• d) They note that initial concerns for the school which limited the numbers to 32 were based on highway safety and parking, in order to safeguard the safety of the children. However, over the last three years, the school has managed the risks by having staggered sessions, including a

• clause in the parent/carer contracts about responsible driving. As a result, there has been no accidents and no reports in relation to traffic and road safety.
• e) They note that the increase in numbers would not necessarily increase the number of vehicles travelling to and from the premises as they now have an increasing number of sibling groups accessing the school service since adding the ASC provision. In, addition, some children accompany staff to the schools to meet their parents/carers collecting older siblings which also serves to reduce traffic at the premises.
• f) They state that Registration and Inspection supports the application as they meet the requirements set out in the Child Day Care Standards.
• g) They state that the increased numbers would enable the flexibility for the provision offered both for nursery and school aged children and will allow the nursery maximise their capacity to offer the much needed childcare to families in the north of the island. This will also enable the small business to cover the ever increasing overheads, thus, safeguarding the future of the business.
• h) There is a car park behind the hall which is sufficient for staff parking and family drop off/collection.
• i) They note that the nursery is not accessed directly from the main road due to the restricted visibility and that a gate has been erected to prevent vehicles accessing the site this way.

- 3.0 PLANNING POLICY

3.1 In terms of local plan policy, the application site is within an area recognised as white land or not zoned for development. The site is also designated as an Area of High Landscape Value. The site is not within a Conservation Area or a registered tree area, and there are no registered trees on the site. The site is not shown to be susceptible to flooding on the Isle of Man Indicative Flood Maps. - 3.2 The following policies within the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 are considered relevant to the application. - 3.3 Strategic Aim: To plan for the efficient and effective provision of services and infrastructure and to direct and control development and the use of land to meet the community's needs, having particular regard to the principles of sustainability whilst at the same time preserving, protecting, and improving the quality of the environment, having particular regard to our uniquely Manx natural, wildlife, cultural and built heritage. - 3.4 Section 10.5: Civic and Community Facilities "10.5.1 Community facilities are those services or facilities that provide for the needs of the Island population. As such, they should be appropriate to the needs of the Island's population and be located as to be easily accessible. Community facilities include community centres, medical facilities, places of worship, schools, nurseries, library services and premises which provide an element of care for those sectors of the community that are in need of this.

• 10.5.2 It is not for the Strategic Plan to address or determine the needs for community facilities, but to address the land use issues arising from such proposals. Where there are known site requirements these will be safeguarded in the relevant Area Plans for that area. Proposals for such uses will therefore be assessed against general criteria based policies.
• 10.5.3 It is one of Government's general policies to promote equity and equality of access to education, health, community and recreation facilities, services and the wider environment for all sectors of the community."

3.5 Strategic Policy 1 seeks to promote the best use of resources by optimising the use of previously developed land, unused and under-used land and buildings, ensuring efficient use of sites, taking into account the need for access, landscaping and open space and being located so as to utilise existing and planned infrastructure, facilities and services.

3.6 Transport Policy 4: requires existing highways which serve any new development to be capable of accommodating the vehicle and pedestrian journeys generated by that development in a safe and appropriate manner, and in accordance with the environmental objectives of this plan. - 3.7 Transport Policy 7 requires parking provision to be in accordance with the Department's current standards. There are no specific standards related to nurseries or schools within the Strategic Plan. - 3.8 Since the site has an established community use and the site is within a location with existing properties, it would also be relevant to consider the general standards of development as set out in General Policy 2. This policy indicates that development should be supported provided it: "(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 unacceptable effect on road safety or traffic flows on the local highways."

3.9 General Policy 3 sets out that development will not be permitted outside of those areas which are zoned for development subject to exceptions, of which none are relevant in this instance. - 3.10 Recreation Policy 2 seeks to protect facilities that have the potential to be of recreational or amenity value to the community, unless alternative provision of equivalent community benefit is made or where there would be an overall community gain from the development. - 3.11 Community Policy 2 seeks new community facilities should be located to serve the local population and be accessible to non-car users, and should where possible re-use existing vacant or underused buildings.

- 4.0 PLANNING HISTORY

4.1 The previous planning application is considered relevant in the assessment and determination of this application: - 4.2 The nursery which is the subject of the current application was approved under PA 18/00376/B for Alterations in connection with an additional use of hall as a children's day nursery, including the erection of timber fencing to create a secure outdoor area.

4.2 A limit of 32 children was imposed via a condition as this was the maximum number of students stipulated by the applicants in their submission. No specific reason was given for this limit within the officer report and no argument was made as justification for this limit.

4.2 Creation of car park to rear of church hall - 99/00710/B - APPROVED. This car park is currently not marked out. However, it provides sufficient parking to meet the needs of the nursery/church hall/other uses. This was assessed under PA 18/00376/B and considered sufficient and appropriate for the various uses on the church site, including the nursery (See paragraph 6.9 of the Officer Report). - 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 19 August 2022. They note that they find the proposal

to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and /or parking. They also state that they are unaware of any evidence to the contrary.

5.2 Lezayre Parish Commissioners have indicated support for the application (9 September 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 the current application are;

• i. Whether the increase in number of children at the school would have any impacts on the existing facility;
• ii. Whether there would be increased highway safety concerns; and
• iii. Whether there would be impact upon neighbouring amenities.

6.2 Impacts on existing facility (SP 1, RP 2, & CP2)

• 6.2.1 As has been established in the previous application which enabled the use of the church facility for the nursery (PA 18/00376/B), the proposal would not result in the loss of a community/church hall, but would enable an additional use with minimal internal alterations to the facility. It was also noted that the scheme would help support the long term survival of the building as a whole via income generation and the required maintenance to keep the nursery fit for the intended use. Furthermore, it was argued that the additional use of community/church hall for a children's nursery is not unusual, with evidences across the Isle of Man of a number of children's nurseries and pre-school nurseries that are occupied within such premises.

• 6.2.2 Given that the current scheme would not result in further subdivision of the building or internal alterations to make it suitable for the increase in number of children to 40 (which would be an increase of 8 children), it is not considered that there would be adverse impacts on the existing facility. As well, there are no external alterations proposed which would undermine the status of the building. Accordingly, it is considered that the proposal would meet the aims of Strategic Policy 1, Recreation Policy 2, and Community Policy 2.

6.3 Highway safety/parking provision issues (TP4 & TP 7) 40. This is hinged on the fact that the separating distance between the church and its neighbours would limit such impacts. Gateways, Lezayre Road is 39.3m; Glebe Mooar, Churchtown, 50.5m; and Kione-Ny-Curragh, Churchtown is 46m). These distances would ensure that there are no impacts on these properties.

• 6.3.1 With regard to impacts on parking and highway safety, it is noted that the key concern with such applications (for new children's nursery), border on highway safety and parking issues. In this case, the advice offered by DOI Highways who are the professionals tasked with providing professional advice on highway safety concerns confirm that there would be no concerns with parking and highway safety. These clearly suggests that parking and highway safety should not be a concerns for the development. As such, it is not considered that there would be no concerns with regard to parking and highway safety resulting from the proposed development.

6.4 Potential impact upon neighbouring amenities (GP 2)

• 6.4.1 In terms of impacts on neighbouring amenity, it is considered that there would be minimal impacts on the neighbouring properties resulting from the increase in pupils from 32 to

• 6.4.2 Whilst 'The Vicarage' is immediately to the west of the application site, and positioned about 10.6m from the church building, the thick cluster of trees and mature landscaping on the boundary would serve as a sound buffer and diminish any impacts that would result. Besides, the comings and goings would be at times when traffic would already be constant and frequent within the area as a result of people travelling to and from work along the Lezayre Road and to a lesser extent on the Loop Road. More so, the site is located adjacent to the Lezayre Road that has a fairly constant flow of traffic throughout the day so the passing of vehicles would not be

• uncommon in this area. Additionally, the existing situation is such that any person/s visiting the Church/Community Hall/ and existing nursery with 32 children would potentially create some disturbances, whether this application is approved or refused. As such, it is not considered that any impacts that result in this case would be sufficient to warrant refusal of the application.
• 7.0 CONCLUSION

7.1 Overall, it is judged that the increase in number of children allowed in the nursery from 32 to 40 would not result in a significant impact upon highway safety and neighbouring amenity, and there would be no adverse impacts on the existing church facility. It is concluded that the planning application is in accordance with aforementioned policies of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and is 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 in Article 4(2) who should be given Interested Person Status.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Director of Planning and Building Control 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 : 17.10.2022 Determining officer Signed : J CHANCE Jennifer Chance Director of Planning and Building Control

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