Commissioners' office restriction finally lifted

A condition of the planning was that the site could only be used as a commissioners' office

A planning committee has unanimously backed the change of purpose for a former local authority's office.

Braddan Parish Commissioners has been looking to sell its former office in Close Corren, Union Mills, after it relocated to its new facility, the Roundhouse, Strang, in January.

A condition of the previous 1993 planning approval was that the site could only be used as a commissioners' office and a change of purpose would need to be permitted by the committee.

Colin Whiteway, Clark of Braddan Parish Commissioners said the planning condition had been a "major hurdle" to negotiations but that now it had been removed he hoped discussions could resume.

The change of use was "deemed acceptable", as an office already existed on the site, and that it could be returned back into a residential property in the future, the planning officer's report said.

The site, which was formerly two dwellings, is located in a predominantly residential area.

Mr Whiteway said the commissioners had marketed Close Corren as a rental property "for some time" but were "unsuccessful", until they were approached by a company looking for offices.

In documents provided to planning in January, Mr Whiteway had said that a prospective purchaser had been found and would be using the site for five members of staff, with no intention to make internal or external alterations.

The commissioners in January said that the site would be sold for £480,000, but this is still under negotiation.