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Council Gives Backing To Cafe

Thu, 11 Oct 2018

Douglas Council will offer no objection to the latest plans submitted by the owners of Ivy House on Douglas Head Industrial Estate.

An amended application for the building, which currently hosts the Tradesman Café, was submitted in September.

Petromanx Holdings has included altered proposals for ‘change of use’ from a warehouse to a studio workshop, for the creation of furniture and a ‘rent a bench’ service for students.

Residents along the Head Road have written to planners complaining about the plans, the café’s opening hours, and a loss of parking spaces.

The latest application was considered by the Environmental Services Committee, which deals with planning matters for the Council.

Two members agreed that no objection should be raised, but chairman Ritchie McNicholl voted against the resolution.

At a council meeting yesterday he said he objected to the plans, as a way of representing all the complaints that had been made by residents.

Despite this, Councillor McNicholl admitted the close proximity of residential and industrial areas had made the issue a ‘grey area’.

Countering claims about a loss of parking, Councillor Quirk said a lack of spaces had been a problem in the area long before the cafe was established.

Council Leader David Christian said he had no problem with the cafe’s location and the authority should be encouraging businesses where possible.

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