DEC Inspector's Report

Crown Division

Government Offices

Douglas

Isle of Man

26 October 2020 To the Council of Ministers Case Reference DF20/0005 Planning Application 20/00928/B

Application by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) for planning approval for the creation of an entrance lobby and an additional window to the east elevation of the DEFA Training Centre, Knockaloe Farm, Patrick Village, Isle of Man, IM5 3AJ.

Introduction

1. I have the honour to report that on 5 October 2020 I carried out a site visit at the above location. The case is being made by written representations.

1. Under Section 16(1)(b) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the application has to be considered by the Council of Ministers, not the Planning Authority, because the site is owned and maintained by DEFA, of which Planning and Building Control forms part.

1. The description above is based upon that used in the advisory report of the Planning Authority, as more aptly describing the proposed development than the application form.

Site Description and the Proposal

1. The site is the curtilage of an existing classroom building which sits within Knockaloe Farm, a former WW1 prisoner of war camp but now an agricultural complex of dwellings and outbuildings located on the coastal side of the A27 coast road which links Peel with Glen Maye.

1. The classroom is the first building on the left as one enters through the main farm entrance. The building is of simple functional form with high level windows facing the estate road and larger windows facing south over open agricultural land. The farmhouse is close by on the other side of the access lane and a little further west. There is a large agricultural building immediately to the west of the application site.

1. The proposal is to erect an entrance lobby on the northern side of the building facing the estate road. This would increase the current projection of the doorway from 0.6m to 2.5m over the same the same width. The lobby roof would be of the same construction as the existing main roof and the walls would be glazed on all three sides. The windows would be replaced in their existing apertures with uPVC-framed units and a new,

small, square window would be inserted alongside two existing windows in the eastern elevation.

Representations Received

1. There are no objections to the proposed development.

Advice from the DEFA Planning and Building Control Directorate

Policy

1. The site lies within an Area for Government or Department Service Purposes and within a wider Area of High Landscape Value and Scenic Significance (AHLV) designated by the Town and Country Planning (Development Plan) Order 1982.

1. There is accordingly a presumption against development at the application site, as set out in Environment Policies 1 and 2 (EP1-2) and General Policy 2 (GP2) of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 (IMSP). There are no policies in the IMSP which provide specific guidance on the alteration and extension of existing non-residential buildings, such as the subject classroom.

1. However, GP2 also requires that all development (b), respect the site and surroundings in siting, layout, scale, form, design and landscaping of buildings and the spaces around them, (c) not affect adversely the character of the surrounding landscape and (g), not affect adversely the character of the locality.

Assessment

1. In deciding the application, it should be considered whether there would be any harm resulting from the proposal in terms of the character and appearance of the building, having regard to the historical interest of the wider site but also the character and appearance of the surrounding AHLV landscape.

1. If there is considered to be harm, it should be weighed against the benefits of the works, including the provision of greater protection from the weather for users of the classroom and the additional light from the proposed window.

1. Other minor changes within the proposal would not, by themselves, require planning approval and would not materially change the building.

Appraisal by the Inspector

1. In my view, the main issues are, as advised by the Planning Authority, the effect of the proposed development on the appearance and character of the existing classroom building in the context of the surrounding historic farm complex and wider AHLV.

1. From inspection, these relatively minor additions to the essentially utilitarian classroom building would have no harmful impact upon its appearance or on the character of the surrounding farm complex or of the wider landscape of the AHLV.

1. Moreover, the development would bring material benefits of additional shelter and natural light to users of the building.

1. Overall, the proposal complies with all the relevant policies of the IMSP, as set out above by the Planning Authority, and I conclude that it should be approved.

RECOMMENDATION

1. I recommend that planning approval be granted for the creation of an entrance lobby and an additional window to the east elevation of the DEFA Training Centre, Knockaloe Farm, Patrick Village, Isle of Man, IM5 3AJ as shown on Drwg No 990.20.01 C, received 14 August 2020 and subject only to the standard condition that the development permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of the approval notice, in order to comply with Article 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

B J Sims

Brian J Sims BSc CEng MICE MRTPI Independent Inspector