An application to build a new Co-op store in Port Erin on the site of a former chapel of rest has been approved.

The planning committee voted five votes to two in favour of the scheme (24/91051/B), going against the case officer’s recommendation that it should be refused.

Mark Pearce of applicants JM Project Management Ltd said that the existing Co-op store in the village was too small to cope with demand.

The new store to be built on the site of a former funeral directors and florist on Station Road will be modelled on the Co-op outlet in Crosby.

It had been recommended refusal by the planning officer, who argued the out-of-town centre development could threaten the long-term vitality and sustainability of Port Erin’s main shopping area.

He said its ‘starkly modern’ design was out of keeping and the demolition of buildings with historical and architectural significance was unjustified.

But clerk of Port Erin Commissioners Jason Roberts told the committee that the local authority would support the application provided issues relating to highway safety were resolved.

He said the area is within the proposed 20mph zone, and the commissioners have been asking for double yellow lines in the area for a while.

Mr Roberts pointed out that the property had been vacant for some time.

The building, which dates back to the end of the 19th century, was the Port Erin infants school until 1927 when Rushen School opened at Four Roads. It went on to become a chapel of rest for a funeral home.

JM Project Management had made changes to the scheme to address parking and highway concerns.

The development includes six tourist apartments on the first floor.

A local resident spoke out against the application, saying it wasn’t in the right location and that there are other units available in the village to be developed.

He added that it could also affect the businesses on Station Road and make the parking situation around the area worse.

The planning officer had said that based on out-of-town retail parking standards, the scheme should include 32 spaces for shoppers but it only had 29 - and six of these were exclusively allocated for residents of the first-floor tourist apartments.

Committee member Sam Skelton said the developers ‘missed a trick’ by not including a retail impact assessment, ‘despite the criteria’ as well as including alternative sites.

Mr Pearce said that a retail impact assessment wasn’t carried out due to the site being less than 500 square metres.

He added that the other retail stores on Station Road have a different offering, and its only direct competition would be Tesco.

Committee chairman Rob Callister said he was in support of the application based on the views of the commissioners and its local knowledge.

Committee member Matthew Warren said the redevelopment would make the village ‘more of a destination’.

But fellow member Peter Young said he had concerns about the visual impact of the building and its distance from the rest of the retail units in the village.