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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 20/00553/B Applicant : Mr Philip Cringle & Miss Ashley Bradshaw Proposal : Erection of an agricultural workers dwelling with associated vehicular access Site Address : Field 425318 & 424873 Friary Farm Main Road Ballabeg Castletown Isle Of Man
Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken :
Site Visit :
Expected Decision Level : Planning Committee
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 13.07.2020 __
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 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
C 2. The occupation of the dwelling hereby approved shall be limited to a person engaged or last engaged solely in agriculture on the Isle of Man, or a widow or widower of such a person, or any resident dependants.
Reason: The site is in an area where new dwellings are not normally approved except where an agricultural need has been established and accepted by the Department.
C 3. All planting, seeding or turfing comprised in the approved details of landscaping must be carried out in the first planting and seeding seasons following the completion of the development or the occupation of the dwelling, whichever is the sooner. Any trees or plants which within a period of five years from the completion of the development die, are removed, or become seriously damaged or diseased must be replaced in the next planting season with others of a similar size and species.
Reason: The landscaping of the site is an integral part of the scheme and must be implemented as approved.
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C 4. Once constructed, if the dwelling is no longer required or occupied by persons engaged in agriculture, as required by condition 2 above, it must be demolished and the ground returned to part of the surrounding fields.
Reason: an exception to the general presumption against development is being made on the basis of agricultural need and should that need no longer be present, there is no justification for the dwelling and it should be removed.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The development is considered to accord with Housing Policies 7, 8, 9 and 10, General Policy 3 and Environment Policies 1 and 2 of the Strategic Plan.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to drawings 226/001, 226/002, 226/020 and 226/021 all received on 27th May, 2020
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
None __
Officer’s Report
THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AS THE SITE IS NOT DESIGNATED FOR DEVELOPMENT AND THE APPLICATION IS RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL
Preamble Planning approval was granted in principle (AIP) by the Planning Committee, following a recommendation for approval, for an agricultural dwelling on this same site under 19/01077/A. What is now proposed are the full details of the dwelling but with a different means of access. As this differs from the access shown in the approval in principle, these details cannot be considered as a reserved matters application relating back to that AIP and has to be a full, detailed application but where the previous and still extant AIP is a material consideration.
THE SITE 1.1 The site is part of the holding of Friary Farm, a holding of 330 acres centred around the main complex of farm buildings which lie within Ballabeg on the western side of the A7 opposite Friary Park - a development of modern, mostly single storey dwellings. The farm is managed by two farmyards, one here at Friary Farm and the other a mile to the south at Ballakeighan, to two bisected by the Southern 100 Course and the steam railway.
1.2 The complex comprises a farmhouse which is of historic and architectural interest along with stone outbuildings which are similarly interesting. There are more modern render and sheeted buildings on the outer edge of the complex with open fields surrounding them. Access into to the farmyard is directly from the A7 in front of the farmhouse through an entrance formed by stone walls with an outbuilding to the south which sits immediately alongside the public footway.
1.3 The site differs from that shown in the AIP only insasmuch as where the proposed access is shown to link from the proposed residential curtilage to the A7. Previously the access was to skirt around and close to the existing agricultural buildings to the north of the proposed track and then to follow the roadside wall. Now proposed is a road which crosses the field in between the proposed house and the road, at an angle to the agricultural building. The details of this are dealt with further into the report below.
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THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the erection of a new dwelling on the site for occupation by a farm worker and the creation of a new access.
2.2 The location of the new dwelling is to the west of the existing farm buildings, around 40m from the nearest building as was the case in the AIP. The house
2.3 The house is of a traditional design and format with a frontage of 11m which is in accordance with the recommendations of the Planning Circular 3/91 - Design of Residential Development in the Countryside, and a depth of9.3m which is considerably more leading to a very wide gable but which is mitigated by a large chimney stack of the correct proportions for so wide a gable and a roof pitched at 30 degrees and resulting in not overly high ridge height (7.9m).
2.4 The windows in the front elevation are vertically proportioned but rather than the traditional sliding sash half and half subdivision, the windows are side opening casements with a vertical, not horizontal subdivision of the panes. The rear elevation is overtly more modern with larger openings and cladding between the ground and first floor glazing.
2.5 Attached to the house is a utility room and single garage. Faced in stone as is the small front pitched roofed porch. The roofs will be finished in slate.
Access 2.6 The means of access will be 85m to the south of the existing main farmyard access compared with 200m in the AIP which utilised an existing field entrance which has an existing pair of field entrances with gates angled and set back from the footway. The proposed access is completely new.
2.7 A 7m wide section of stone wall along the roadside will be removed narrowing to 3.5m between two new entrance piers, details of which are not provided but the applicant has confirmed that they will be 1.2m tall and stone with a concrete coping but given their position 6m into the site, will not interfere with the visibility splays of 2.4m by 70m in both directions. From the pillars, a 3.5m wide hardcore drive will run directly to the residential curtilage where the house will face the A7 with a hardstanding across the northern half of the front elevation including the garage.
Landscaping 2.8 The residential curtilage will be bounded on the northern side by the existing hedgerow bounding the farm lane. On the eastern and southern sides will be a native hedge of hawthorn, blackthorn, field maple, guelder rose, hazel and alder and incorporating specimen trees of serviceberry, crab apple (3 species) with stock proof fencing and no planting on the south western boundary which sits 27m from the rear elevation of the house. No hedging is proposed along the sides of the access lane as it is intended for this to be an access into the farmyard and access into the fields would be required along the length of the track.
Justification 2.9 The applicant relies upon the principle established under the AIP. For information, the AIP was supported by a statement which explained that that one of the applicants (the same as the current application), with his father, is a director of the company which is the tenant of Friary Farm which is owned by The Friary Ltd - the applicant's father and grandfather, Messrs Murray and Noel Cringle respectively. Mr. N. Cringle lives at the Friary Farmhouse and Mr. M. Cringle lives at Ballakeighan. Mr. Murray Cringle is 58 and his son, Philip (the applicant) wishes to pursue a career in agriculture on the Island which will require the existing business to grow. They are currently based and working in the UK and are hoping to move back to the Island within the next three years.
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2.10 The farms are involved primarily in the finishing of prime beef cattle and currently has 250 head of cattle on the farm and 85 breeding ewes where the lambs are sold finished. The business currently has a labour requirement of 1.88 labour units which is currently supplied by Mr. Murray Cringle with assistance from his 82 year old father. They describe the company as one of the largest and more consistent suppliers of finished cattle to the Isle of Man Meat Company. The Department's Agricultural Development Scheme and Red Tractor Farm Assurance requires that animal welfare and health is not compromised as part of the farm operations and a key part of this is observing stick and their management and handling as well as security of the livestock and the associated medicines, fuels and machinery.
2.11 The business could not financially sustain the applicant as an addition to the farms' operation without a substantial change to the output ad income and Mr. M. Cringle sees the erection of the dwelling as a key part of the succession for the farm business. They estimate that with Mr. P. Cringle living on site, the enterprise would be able to increase to 350 head of stock with 300 breeding ewes plus 10 rams and 50 replacement ewes) which would increase the labour requirement to 3.15 standard units.
2.12 Residing at Ballakeighan with his father and mother is not practical for the applicant and his partner and Mr. N. Cringle who resides at Friary Farm has no wish to leave what has been his home for all of their working lives. In addition, Friary Farmhouse is of substantial character and historical value and any extension or significant alteration to accommodate additional family members could result in the interest being lost which is something the family would wish to avoid.
2.13 They describe the existing buildings at both farmyards as being fully utilised for agricultural purposes and are not available for conversion to residential use. The Friary Farm buildings are home to three quarters of the livestock particularly in the winter months due to the majority of the buildings being here. Whilst Mr. N. Cringle is responsible for the animals at The Friary for large periods of time but considering his age, this is not something which is considered to be sustainable in the long term although having Mr. P. Cringle living on site to assist, this could ensure that Mr. N. Cringle can continue to do this but on a reduced basis and enjoy his retirement.
2.14 The applicants are not aware of any dwellings for sale in the immediate area which are restricted to agricultural occupancy and which could be within their means to buy. Available properties in the area include a 2 bed mid terraced property in need of modernisation for £179,000 to a 3 bed bungalow at £289,000 with rental properties ranging from £1,350 to £1,500 pcm. Given that the land on which the proposed dwelling is proposed to be built would be at no cost, the dwelling could be constructed for up to two thirds of the purchase price of an existing dwelling with reduced on-going costs for maintenance and operation. This makes better financial sense to the farm to improve the cash flow to grow the business enabling everyone involved to have a wage and living off site would bring time and financial implications to the business which would in turn, limit its growth. The farm is likely to need new labour input given the age of those currently involved and a dwelling is unlikely to be available within the farm until at least 10 to 15 years from now and the family can see greater benefit from having a family member involved with the enthusiasm which a family member will bring compared with that of a paid employee.
2.15 The chosen location will not affect the living conditions of any existing residents and will not impede the expansion or operation of the farm. It could be screened sympathetically by new planting to ensure that the landscape is enhanced as much as possible.
2.16 The existing access is considered to be dangerous as many delivery vehicles have to reverse in and the access also limits the size of lorry which can be used to deliver goods. Some vehicles use the existing access which is proposed to be used for the new drive and drive across the fields to the existing farm buildings.
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2.17 The applicant explains that as they were preparing the detailed documents for the reserved matters application, they decided there was a better alternative to the approved access and they liaised with both Highway Services and the Planning Office to pursue an alternative scheme whilst discussing the details of the building. They add that the design of the house does not preclude renewable energy installations and the substantial areas of glazing on the rear will maximise solar gain and daylight reducing the need for artificial heating and lighting and the reduced areas of glazing on the front elevation will reduce heat loss.
PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The site is within an area designated on the Area Plan for the South adopted in 2013 as not for a particular purpose and outside the proposed Conservation Area which includes the farmyard and existing buildings.
3.2 Friary Farm is suggested as worthy of research for potential registration, within the Area Plan.
3.3 On The Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Development Plan) Order 1982 the site is not designated for a particular purpose and lies within a wider area of High Landscape Value and Scenic Significance. There is also a Scheduled Ancient Monument indicated as on the site of the existing buildings relating to Bemaken Friary. The Friary Church is the only surviving building of the former religious house of Bemaken, and the other farm buildings are of various later periods. The church has a modern slate roof and is now used as a store. A plaque on the outside wall states that it is a protected monument. The church stands at the centre of the farmyard with its east gable facing the road. Its most obvious feature is the now-blocked east window, only part of which survives above a later doorway; the surviving original dressed stonework defines a Gothic window. The original roof profile is also visible in the gable, and can just be seen in the stonework below the verges.
3.4 The Strategic Plan contains a general presumption against development in areas which are not designated for a particular purpose and where the protection of the countryside is of paramount importance (EPs 1 and 2). There is provision for the erection of farm dwellings as follows: General Policy 3: "Development will not be permitted outside of those areas which are zoned for development on the appropriate Area Plan with the exception of:
(a) essential housing for agricultural workers who have to live close to their place of work; (Housing Policies 7, 8, 9 and 10)" 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 are sympathetic 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."
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8.9.5 If it is not possible for the farm worker to live in the nearest village, the siting of the proposed dwelling should be selected having regard to the various landscape policies in Chapter 7. In particular, the dwelling should self-evidently form part of the farm group.
Housing Policy 7: "New agricultural dwellings will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances where real agricultural need is demonstrated."
Housing Policy 8: "Where permission is granted for an agricultural dwelling, a condition will be attached restricting the occupation to a person engaged or last engaged solely in agriculture; or a widow or widower of such a person, or any resident dependants."
Housing Policy 9: "Where permission is granted for an agricultural dwelling, the dwelling must be sited such that;
(a) it is within or immediately adjoining the main group of farm buildings or a group of farm buildings associated with that farm, (b) it is well set back from any public highway and (c) it is approached via the existing farm access."
Housing Policy 10: "Where permission is granted for an agricultural dwelling, the dwelling should normally be designed in accordance with policies 1- 7 of present Planning Circular 3/91 which will be revised and issued as a Planning Policy Statement." 3.5 Ancient Monuments are protected under Strategic Policy 4 and Environment Policy 40. It is noted, however that the proposed development will not affect the existing farmyard or Ancient Monument, in fact, the proposal has been designed to avoid any impact thereon.
PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 The most recent application for the site and the only one for the site of the dwelling is 19/01077/A which is referred to above. This was approved subject to a number of conditions including the following:
The occupation of the dwelling hereby approved shall be limited to a person engaged or last engaged solely in agriculture on the Isle of Man, or a widow or widower of such a person, or any resident dependants. Reason: The site is in an area where new dwellings are not normally approved except where an agricultural need has been established and accepted by the Department.
The reserved matters application must include full details of a landscaping scheme to establish the curtilage of the new dwelling. Such landscaping should also seek to mitigate the visual impact of the new dwelling and should incorporate hedging and planting as boundary features rather than walling and fencing. Reason: to protect the character and appearance of the area.
All planting, seeding or turfing comprised in the approved details of landscaping must be carried out in the first planting and seeding seasons following the completion of the development or the occupation of the dwelling, whichever is the sooner. Any trees or plants which within a period of five years from the completion of the development die, are removed, or become seriously damaged or diseased must be replaced in the next planting season with others of a similar size and species. Reason: The landscaping of the site is an integral part of the scheme and must be implemented as approved.
Once constructed, if the dwelling is no longer required or occupied by persons engaged in agriculture, as required by condition 5 above, it must be demolished and the ground returned to part of the surrounding fields.
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Reason: an exception to the general presumption against development is being made on the basis of agricultural need and should that need no longer be present, there is no justification for the dwelling and it should be removed.
REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 Arbory Parish Commissioners support the application (24.06.20).
5.2 Highway Services have no objection, noting that the proposed garage is of sufficient size to allow for car parking and the storage of bicycles and other items and they recommend that it should be retained for its stated purpose and that an electric vehicle charging point should be provided. They observe that there is space for waste bin storage, but collection would need to take place from the kerb side. They conclude that the proposal is unlikely to give rise to significant road safety or cause highway efficiency issues meeting general policy requirements and accordingly, Highway Services raises no opposition subject to conditions for access, pedestrian and vehicle areas to accord to drawings 226/020 and 226/021 hereby approved with any gates to open inwards, garage retention and provision of an ECVP plus an advisory for a Section 109(A) Highway Agreement under the Highways Act 1986 (22.06.20).
5.3 DEFA's Ecosystems Policy Office are content that the proposed new hedging will mitigate the loss of the hedging to be lost to provide the new access. They advise the applicant of the provisions of the Wildlife Act in respect of nesting and breeding birds (03.07.20).
ASSESSMENT 6.1 The issues here are whether the proposed dwelling is justified in agricultural terms and whether there would be any unacceptable environmental impact from the proposal - particularly in terms of impact on the landscape and highway safety. The principle of an agricultural dwelling here has very recently - November 2019 - been considered acceptable with no intervening change of circumstance or policy. Whilst this is no longer considered an issue, it is worth reiterating the conclusions reached in respect of the previous application which are set out in the following two paragraphs.
Agricultural justification 6.2 The farm is an established one and not only that, has important connections with the village of Ballabeg in which it sits in terms of the age and historical value of the original farm buildings. The future expansion and management of the farm relies upon having appropriate staff on hand and in this particular case, although planning approval runs with the land rather than with individual occupants, the intention is to continue the family running of the farm whilst retaining accommodation for those who currently live in the existing farm houses.
6.3 The farm is situated within a village where there are many existing properties, some of which are currently available to buy or rent. The Strategic Plan makes it clear that the first consideration should be for the farmer to live in the nearest town or village. However, the applicant has looked into the purchase or rent of these and has concluded that the money spent on that would be better directed to the farm itself and the saving between purchasing an existing house compared with building their own property. Added to this, a presence on-site would provide more efficient care of the animals and they would also be close to the occupants of Friary Farmhouse and could enable them to reduce their involvement in the day to day activities on the farm.
Visual and landscape impact 6.4 The new dwelling will be visible from the A7 to the north of the existing farmhouse and will be visible from the south as the area for the construction of the dwelling currently has no existing hedge or tree screening although such is now detailed in the proposed application. It was suggested in the earlier application that the proposed dwelling could be moved north to the other side of the access track which would render it less visible from the south. However,
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the applicant advised that they wish to reserve the northern area for potential future expansion of the farm buildings and siting the dwelling there could compromise that.
6.5 It is important to note that the proposal will result in a building seen largely in the context of modern farm buildings rather than any effect on the older, historically important buildings in the farmyard itself. The dwelling as viewed from the A7 will appear generally as a traditional farmhouse: the additional mass resulting from the additional width will be appreciable from further south on the A7 but in time this will be screened by the proposed planting. In all, it is considered that the proposed building will have an acceptable impact on the surrounding area.
Highway safety 6.6 The proposed access is not opposed by Highway Services and is considered acceptable in highway safety terms. It is not considered appropriate to require an electric vehicle charging point as this is not within any adopted planning policy and as there is proposed to be a garage, electricity will be available there without the need for a specific charging point. Also, as there is sufficient space to be able to park at least two vehicles in the front of the residential curtilage, it is not considered appropriate to require that the garage is reserved solely for car parking as the two spaces required by the Strategic Plan are available without the garage space.
CONCLUSION 7.1 It is considered that the proposed dwelling is justified and subject to appropriate landscaping, will not have an unacceptable visual impact and is acceptable in highway safety terms. The application is considered to accord with all of the relevant Strategic Plan policies and is supported.
INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons: (a) the applicant (including an agent acting on their behalf); (b) any Government Department that has made written representations that the Department considers material; (c) the Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure; (d) Manx National Heritage where it has made written representations that the Department considers material; (e) Manx Utilities where it has made written representations that the Department considers material; (f) the local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated; and (g) a local authority adjoining the authority referred to in paragraph (f) where that adjoining authority has made written representations that the Department considers material.
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 above 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: 27.07.2020
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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
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