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Application No.: 18/00135/B Applicant: Mr Steven Ridgway Proposal: Conversion of existing barn to provide a farm shop (Class 1) and cafe (Class 3) with associated kitchen in association with works approved under 17/00322/B Site Address: Close Leece Farm Patrick Road St Johns Isle Of Man IM4 3BR Case Officer : Miss S E Corlett Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 20.03.2018 _________________________________________________________________
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
Reason: To comply with article 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
June 2017) in respect of PA 17/00322/B shall be provided and shall thereafter remain permanently clear of obstruction for the purposes of access, manoeuvre and parking.
Reason: in the interest of highway safety.
Reason: to prevent the undesirable establishment of a more general retail use in this countryside location.
Reason: to prevent the undesirable establishment of a more general retail use in this countryside location.
Reason: the part of the building shown as farm shop shall not be used for any other purpose within Class 1 of Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2012 (or any Order revoking and/or re-enacting that Order with or without modification).
Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to drawings 01A and A101 both received on 7th February, 2018. _______________________________________________________________
Additional Persons
None _____________________________________________________________________________
Preliminaries The application, as submitted was for conversion of existing barn to provide a farm shop (Class 1) and cafe (Class 3) with associated kitchen, erection of an agricultural building, improvement works to existing farm tracks and creation of additional parking (Amendment to PA 17/00322/B). The proposed works concerned only one element of this - the conversion of the barn to a cafe and farm shop and involve modifications to the physical changes to the rear of the building. The description of the application has thus been changed to reflect what is proposed - that is, just the conversion of the existing barn to provide a farm shop (Class 1) and cafe (Class 3) with associated kitchen.
The previous application was referred to the Planning Committee due to comments from the local authority which amounted to an objection (concerns regarding the position of the agricultural building, insufficient parking for the cafe and that there may be parking on the highway). The proposal, as will be seen later in the report, is considered to accord with
Strategic Plan policy and there is no objection to this application by the local authority. As such, it is not considered relevant to refer the application to the Planning Committee.
1.1 The site is a small part of a larger area - Close Leece Farm which is farmed (goats, pigs, bees and hens) and which lies on both sides of Patrick Road (A30) which links St. John's with Patrick village. The site has been the subject of a recent application for the replacement of the former cottage with a new house and the creation of visitor facilities which are currently being implemented. These facilities include the creation of a cafe, farm shop, access improvements and the erection of an agricultural building (17/00322/B). - 1.2 The cafe and farm shop will be accommodated in a small building alongside the road on its southern side. This building is in existence and is being modified to accommodate the new use. Once the applicant had commenced with the approved works, it was discovered that the rear wall of the existing building had poor foundations and that it may have required underpinning or rebuilding. As such, they decided a better approach would be to apply for the rebuilding of the rear wall but at the same time to remodel the rear pitch and the inside of the building. This is what is currently being proposed. THE PROPOSAL
2.1 This application concerns only that part of the earlier approved scheme which relates to the conversion of the outbuilding to a cafe and farm shop and the changes concern only the rear of the building. The rear wall is now to be demolished and rebuilt further back incorporating a longer rear pitch but at the same angle and covering an approved rear annex. The resulting additional upper area will be used to provide a higher internal ceiling above the cafe. - 2.2 The front elevation and internal layout will remain as for the original approval, that is including the full retention of the existing windows and doors, with repairs and repainting undertaken as necessary. Internally, there would be no changes to the first floor arrangement, while at the ground floor one of the internal walls would be broken through and another more or less removed. Various styles of tables and chairs are shown. The café, farm shop and commercial kitchen will be fairly well interlinked in use terms, although the shop may sell some products from other Manx farms. The commercial kitchen will produce local and export food products. - 2.3 It was proposed in the earlier application that the café/shop would be open 0900 to 1800hrs seven days per week, although the Planning Statement suggested that these are likely to be condensed during the off-season and at the initial stages of opening. PLANNING POLICY
3.1 The application site is in an area zoned as an "Area of High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Significance" on The Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Development Plan) Order 1982 and not for a particular purpose. As such, there is a presumption against development here although the previous approval is a significant material consideration to be taken into account. - 3.2 The proposed barn conversion needs to be assessed against Environment Policy 16
"The use of existing rural buildings for new purposes such as tourist, or small-scale industrial/commercial use may be permitted where:
4.1 The most relevant previous application is 17/00322/B as referred to above. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Patrick Parish Commissioners have no objection (13.03.18).
5.2 Highway Services initially indicated that there was no highway interest (06.03.18) then raised no objection as the proposal makes no changes to the parking or access (08.03.18). ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The issue is whether the conversion to the proposed uses would comply with EP16 and particularly, given the previous approval which is extant, whether proposed change to the rear elevation would have any adverse impact on the character or appearance of the building, referring to the principles of EP16.
6.2 The works are contained at the rear of the building and as such will not have any public impact other than to those visiting the site to use its cafe and farm shop facilities. In any case, the proposed works will provide more streamlined side and rear elevations to the benefit of the character and appearance of the building. As such, it is not considered that the works would have any adverse impact nor would they conflict with the spirit or wording of EP16 which seeks to preserve the character of the building.
6.3 In respect of the other elements of the scheme, they are still considered to accord with EP16 - the elements of change and new build are limited, the building has been proven to be redundant and capable of renovation under the earlier application - and will complement the other elements of the development of this site. The car parking provision remains as originally approved and is considered acceptable and indeed there is no objection from Highway Services. The provision of a cafe outside of an established settlement is not in accordance with the general principles of sustainability contained within the Strategic Plan, but provision is made for development outside settlements within EP16 in the interests of preserving valuable rural buildings, and the proposed use is immediately concerned with products from the site itself which is a sustainable approach to the selling of the products. CONCLUSION - 7.1 The works are in accordance with EP16 and the application is recommended for approval. INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 (Article 6(4), the following persons are automatically interested persons:
8.2 The decision-maker must determine:
I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Senior Planning Officer in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.
Decision Made : Permitted Date: 29.03.2018 Determining officer
Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Senior Planning Officer
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