Officer Report

Application No.: 25/91120/C Applicant: Infinity Dental And Beauty Spa Ltd Proposal: Additional use as dental and medical clinic (Class 1.2b and Class 4.1) Site Address: Unit 16 Opul Centre Castle Street Douglas Isle Of Man IM1 2EZ Planning Officer: Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 05.02.2026 _________________________________________________________________

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposal complies with General Policy 2, Environment Policy 35 and Transport Policy 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 24th December 2025;

• o Site/ Location Plan
• o Existing Plan
• o Proposed Plan
• o Email dated received 24th December 2025

_________________________________________________________________ Right to Appeal

It is recommended that the following organisations should NOT be given the Right to Appeal: DOI Highway Services - No objection Douglas Corporation - No objection.

Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is Unit 16, which is located on the second floor of Opul Centre complex (previously the Tower House complex) situated upon the seaward side of Castle Street. The complex is a mix of associated offices, retail and beauty treatments. THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for the additional use of the unit as a dental and medical clinic.

2.2 The application is a continuation of PA18/00644/C which was for the "additional use of existing beauty treatment, office and retail to include dental clinic and medical spa," which is situated within Unit 19. - 2.3 The applications have provided the following regarding the nature of aesthetic medicine services, "The aesthetic medicine services will be limited to procedures that are appropriately carried out in a clinical environment and delivered by regulated healthcare professionals. These are distinct from services typically offered in a standard beauty salon. (No nails, lashes or hairdressing). The intension is to ensure the use aligns with a clinical healthcare setting, and we are happy for the application description to reflect this accurately." - 2.4 It's noted that within the previously approved application, the proposal stated the following, "The applicants have confirmed that a medical spa includes the following services; "…providing non-surgical and aesthetic treatments such as Botox, fillers, laser hair removal, tattoo removal, fat reduction, radiofrequency facials and intravenous vitamin supplementation."

PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 There are no previous applications upon the Unit itself bar the original application for Tower House under PA96/01573/B.

3.2 It should be noted that there have been several approvals upon the site from change of use of retail to offices. PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "Mixed Use" on the Area Plan for the East, Map 5 Douglas Central. The site is situated within a Conservation Area and a Flood/ Service Water Risk Zone.

4.2 Given the nature of the of the land designation and the property being within a Conservation Area, Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act (1999) is the most relevant in the assessment of this application. Followed by paragraph 7.29.2 and Environment Policy 35 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, which set out development in Conservation Areas will only be permitted where they preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the area.

4.3 With regards to the proposed tourist use of the property, the following Strategic Policies are relevant, General Policy 2 and Transport Policy 7 from the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 which set out the general standards towards acceptable development and that there is the recommended amount of parking space available. - 4.4 Whilst Environment Policy 10 is relevant due to the flood risk of the overall site, it's noted that the unit isn't suited upon the ground floor level and as such, there is no flood risk assessment required. REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 The following representations can be found in full online, below is a short summary;

5.2 Highway Services have considered the proposal and state, "After reviewing this Application, Highway Services HDC finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking as the site is the sustainable Douglas centre with public transport services operating and public car parking spaces nearby." (05.01.26)

5.3 Douglas Corporation have considered the proposal and raise no objections. (16.01.26) ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this application are;

• - Section 18(4) test
• - land use and proposed additional use
• - highway services

- 6.2 SECTION 18(4) TEST

6.2.1 The unit is situated within a Conservation Area, as such it's necessary to test theapplication under Section 18(4) of the Town and Country Act (1999), see section 4.2 of thisreport, on whether the works preserve or enhance the Conservation Area.

• 6.2.2 When looking at the appearance of the Conservation Area and whether the proposal would impact this, it is noted that the proposed additional change of use does not include any external alterations. With this in mind and noting that the additional use of the site, should not alter the Conservation Area as a whole, the proposal would pass this part of the Section 18(4) test by preserving the Conservation Area.
• 6.2.3 Turning towards the character of the Conservation Area and whether the additional use of the site would impact this. It's noted the site is situated within a mixed use area, with the main area being a shopping centre within a shopping "street" as such, the coming and going of customers would be what would be expected of such an area, and the overall character of the area in relation to the overall streetscene would not be altered. As such the proposal would not impact the character of the Conservation Area and the proposal would pass this part of the Section 18(4) test by preserving the Conservation Area.

- 6.3 LAND USE AND PROPOSED ADDITIONAL USE

• 6.3.1 As stated previously the complex as a whole has a range of uses situated within it, of which there is already a "Dental Clinic and Medical Spa," as such the proposed use would be a similar use to complement the already existing uses within the site and as such is considered acceptable.

6.4 HIGHWAY SERVICES

• 6.4.1 Appendix 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 states that there such be "3 spaces per consulting room plus staff parking." This means for the site there would need to be a minimum of 6 spaces. Whilst this is the case, the site is situated within a very accessible part of the town centre with there being a large car park situated approximately 50m away from the site and a bus link directly to the East of the site, as such there is suitable alternatives available for the site. Highway Services has no objections. Therefore, it is considered that the impact on parking provision is acceptable.

CONCLUSION

7.1 Overall the proposal is considered to be acceptable by not to result in any new or increasedimpacts on the public highway nor will it impact the visual amenity of the surroundingstreetscene, as such the proposal complies with General Policy 2, Environment Policy 35 andTransport Policy 7 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.RIGHT TO APPEAL AND RIGHT TO GIVE EVIDENCE

8.1 The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 sets out the process for determining planning applications (including appeals). It sets out a Right to Appeal (i.e. to submit an appeal against a planning decision) and a Right to Give Evidence at Appeals (i.e. to participate in an appeal if one is submitted). - 8.2 Article A10 sets out that the right to appeal is available to:

• o applicant (in all cases);
• o a Local Authority; Government Department; Manx Utilities; and Manx National Heritage that submit a relevant objection; and
• o any other person who has made an objection that meets specified criteria.

8.3 Article 8(2)(a) requires that in determining an application, the Department must decide who has a right to appeal, in accordance with the criteria set out in article A10. - 8.4 The Order automatically affords the Right to Give Evidence to the following (no determination is required):

• o any appellant or potential appellant (which includes the applicant);
• o the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, the Department of Infrastructure and the local authority for the area;
• o any other person who has submitted written representations (this can include other Government Departments and Local Authorities); and
• o in the case of a petition, a single representative.

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 and/or rights to appeal.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 05.02.2026 Determining Officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner

Customer note This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the office copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online service/ customers and archive record.