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                                      19/01443/B                                     Page  1  of  4

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Application No. : 19/01443/B Applicant : Mr Brian Lee Cain Proposal : Erection of an agricultural barn Site Address : Trollaby Farm Trollaby Lane Union Mills Isle Of Man IM4 4AW

Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken : 05.11.2019 Site Visit : 05.11.2019 Expected Decision Level : Planning Committee

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 21.02.2020 __

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

C 1. The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice.

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.

C 2. The building hereby approved may only be used for agricultural purposes.

Reason: The countryside is protected from development and an exception is being made on the basis of agricultural need. As such the building must be used for the purposes for which it is approved.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The development is considered to accord with Environment Policy 15 and General Policy 3.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the drawings received on 17th December, 2019.

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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None __

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                                      19/01443/B                                     Page  2  of  4

Officer’s Report

THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AS THERE IS AN OBJECTION FROM THE LOCAL AUTHORITY AND THE APPLICATION IS RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL

THE SITE 1.1 The site is a small parcel of land within a much larger holding which stretches from close to the A23 Crosby Top Road to part way down Trollaby Lane which is a public footpath. The applicant is intending to purchase the blue land within which there is a farm yard which comprises some old stone barns and more modern outbuildings. There is no dwelling on the site, the original farmhouse having been demolished around the 1960s-70s. One of the stone buildings is partially collapsed.

1.2 It is understood that the applicant has rented the farm buildings and land for some time and now has the opportunity to purchase them and is in the process of doing so.

1.3 At the time of the site visit the modern barns were occupied by cattle and feed and the applicant has provided photographs of this.

1.4 A public footpath runs through the site linking the A23 and the A1.

THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the erection of a new barn to the north of an existing modern barn, opposite the large stone building which has other modern buildings to the north. The proposed building will have a footprint of 15m by 6m and will be 3.5m high finished in 1m high concrete walling with green sheeting above to match the other existing modern buildings around. Four trees will need to be removed to facilitate the development and the applicant has discussed this with DEFA Arboricultural Office prior to the submission of the application. The trees are self seeded and some of many around the existing buildings.

PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The site lies within an area not designated for a particular purpose on the draft Area Plan for the East and the Town and Country Planning (Development Plan) Order 1982 where the latter also designates this area as of High Landscape Value and Scenic Significance. The site also lies within an area of Broad Lowland Valley in the draft Landscape Character Appraisal where the following policies are relevant:

Landscape Strategy The overall strategy should be to conserve and enhance the character, quality and distinctiveness of the well-treed valley with some scattered and nucleated settlements.

3.2 Specifically within the draft Area Plan for the East there is the following advice specifically for this area of Broad Lowland Valley:

Union Mills, Glen Vine & Crosby (C3)

Landscape Strategy - Conserve and enhance a) the character, quality and distinctiveness of the well treed valley with some scattered and nucleated settlements.

Key Views Open views up to the Northern Uplands and the upper slopes of Foxdale in places. Glimpsed views in the east towards the urban edge of Douglas.

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                                      19/01443/B                                     Page  3  of  4

3.3 The Strategic Plan has policies which support agricultural development - General Policy 3f (buildings which are essential for the conduct of agriculture) and Environment Policy 15:

"Environment Policy 15: Where the Department is satisfied that there is agricultural or horticultural need for a new building (including a dwelling), sufficient to outweigh the general policy against development in the countryside, and that the impact of this development including buildings, accesses, servicing etc. is acceptable, such development must be sited as close as is practically possible to existing building groups and be appropriate in terms of scale, materials, colour, siting and form to ensure that all new developments aresympathetic to the landscape and built environment of which they will form a part.

Only in exceptional circumstances will buildings be permitted in exposed or isolated areas or close to public highways and in all such cases will be subject to appropriate landscaping. The nature and materials of construction must also be appropriate to the purposes for which it is intended.

Where new agricultural buildings are proposed next to or close to existing residential properties, care must be taken to ensure that there is no unacceptable adverse impact through any activity, although it must be borne in mind that many farming activities require buildings which are best sited, in landscape terms, close to existing building groups in the rural landscape."

PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 Planning approval was most recently granted to this same applicant for a new modern agricultural building at the north western end of the existing line of buildings opposite the current application site. This has been constructed (16/00116/B). Prior to that, planning approval was granted to the other modern agricultural buildings under 01/01148/B and 96/01090/B again, all submitted by the current applicant.

REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Highway Services have no objection (10.01.20).

5.2 Marown Parish Commissioners cannot support the application without further information which demonstrates to them the agricultural need for the building, noting that the application states only that the building would be useful for food and equipment (16.01.20).

5.3 The Arboricultural Officer of DEFA confirms that the trees are of very poor quality and have multiple defects and he has no objection to the removal of these trees (31.01.20).

ASSESSMENT 6.1 The site is not designated for development but as noted above, there are policies within the Strategic Plan which allow development in such areas where it is justified by agricultural need and can comply with the other policies in the Plan. The applicant has clearly farmed this land as a tenant since at least 2001 and the evidence on site is that the existing buildings and land are used for agricultural purposes. The siting is adjacent to existing agricultural buildings and complies with EP15 in this respect.

6.2 The local authority did not consider that there was sufficient justification for another agricultural building as proposed and despite the applicant providing photographs of the existing buildings being used for the storage of feed and livestock, remain of this view. Having visited the site, it is clear that this is a working farm and that the existing buildings are all used for agricultural purposes. The applicant has explained that there are older, stone buildings on the site which are not fit for use due to their condition and that he hopes to develop a dairy unit in this part of the site so would not wish this currently proposed building to jeopardise these future plans.

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                                      19/01443/B                                     Page  4  of  4

6.3 The building will be similar to others alongside and opposite and those using the footpath will not be adversely affected by the proposal.

CONCLUSION 7.1 The development is considered to accord with EP15 and GP3 and is supported.

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: (a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent; (b) The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested; (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material (d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

8.2 The decision maker must determine: o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than the Department of Infrastructure Highway Services Division) are material; and o whether there are other persons to those listed in Article 6(4) who should be given Interested Person Status.

8.3 The Department of Environment Food and Agriculture is responsible for the determination of planning applications. As a result, where officers within the Department make comments in a professional capacity they cannot be given Interested Person Status. __

I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the appropriate delegated authority.

Decision Made : ...Permitted... Committee Meeting Date:...02.03.2020

Signed :...S CORLETT... Presenting Officer

Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph to the officer report).

Signatory to delete as appropriate YES/NO See below

Customer note

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