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Application No.: 16/00266/B Applicant: SES Satellite Leasing Ltd Proposal: Erection of four satellite ground antennas with related buildings and security fencing Site Address: Carnane Radio Site Adjacent To Upper Howe Farm Old Castletown Road Douglas Isle Of Man Case Officer : Mr Edmond Riley Photo Taken: 31.03.2016 Site Visit: 31.03.2016 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation
1.0 THE APPLICATION SITE - 1.1 The application site is an almost triangular-shaped parcel of land situated immediately south of the shorter of the two towers at Carnane. The land is at present entirely open and slopes down in a southern direction noticeably but fairly consistently. Elsewhere are the isolated towers operated by Arqiva and the Department for Home Affairs - measuring 77m and 40m in height respectively for various transmitting purposes, along with small associated buildings housing equipment. - 1.2 The site is visible from a number of public locations but from each of these at a fairly significant distance. Aside from the towers, the building associated with the DHA tower is the most visible of the associated structures in the area, but it would also be fair to say these structures tend to be read against the low level vegetation that is found on the edges of the site. Moreover, it is the towers themselves that are the most dominant of the built features here, from wherever they are viewed. It is true that the closest views of the site are achievable from the nearby Upper Howe Farm, to the southeast, but this as well as the entirety of the access track to the site (from Castletown Road) are within private ownership.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Full planning approval is sought for the erection of four satellite antenna dishes on the site, along with two buildings to host the antenna electronics, a back-up power generator and a meter cabinet. The dishes are the largest element of the proposal: each would measure just less than 10m above ground level in their most elevated positions, though because they can (and will need to) be tilted the height is understood to be likely between 8.5m and 9.6m above ground level. They are shown coloured white in the two photomontages. Each would be erected on a roughly 50sqm concrete pads of roughly 40cm in height, though the land would need to be levelled for these to be laid. The Statement submitted with the application is clear that any extraction from the site would be used for filling thereon, and so no import or export of material will occur. The antennae, which are understood to have a lifespan of roughly 15 years, would be evenly spaced across a roughly 80m area of land, with the buildings inbetween. - 2.2 An access track is shown on the approach to the land, which would connect to the existing track that services the existing buildings. Also proposed is a 2m-high fence made from welded mesh and with barbed wire atop to surround the site; this is described as being "e.g. green" in the accompanying Statement. In addition to this there would be some landscaping and retaining walls
3.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 3.1 The site itself has not been the subject of applications of material relevance to the current application, though clearly the two adjacent sites have both been the subject of a number of applications over several decades for various telecommunications and other related equipment, with the most recent coming in 2008. None of these, though, is considered to be directly material to the assessment of the current proposal for satellite antennae.
4.0 THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN - 4.1 The site is located within an area zoned as "Transmitting Station Carnane" on the Braddan Parish District Local Plan (South) 3 map. It is on the very southwestern boundary of the zoned land, but even though the Plan is old its zoning remains quite clear and, from the site visit, was clearly related to an existing stone wall and clear landscape features. It is similarly zoned as "Radio Transmitting Station" on the 1982 Development Plan, where it is also designated as being of High Landscape Value.
4.2 The site is also within a designated Wildlife Site. This is not a statutory designation, but is a site assessed for its value and given protection by the Manx Wildlife Trust, who were responsible for the designation in the first place on the basis of a clear understanding of the value of the site. This is discussed further in the Assessment section of this report. - 4.3 In view of this, it is considered that General Policy 2 and Environment Poliies 4 and 5 of the Strategic Plan apply. The wording of Environment Policy 2 and Infrastructure Policy 3 are helpful, but it is to be remembered that the site is zoned for the development proposed.
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 The Senior Biodiversity Officer recommended liaison with the Manx Wildlife Trust on 31st March 2016. Following this, the applicant commissioned a report into the wildlife value of the site; this was received from the MWT on 5th April and placed online for reference. The report's findings are discussed in the Assessment section below, but the MWT offered no objection to the proposal on its basis. - 5.2 The Communications Commission within the Department of Home Affairs requested they be granted Interested Person Status in a letter received 17th March 2016. They identified that they have no objection to the proposal but noted the Department's responsibility to provide a consistent and reliable Government radio system communications network and they also identify that it is therefore important that there is no threat or interference to that network. - 5.3 Braddan Parish Commissioners stated they had no objection on 22nd March 2016. - 5.4 The owner of OceanWeb Ltd., 10 Church Road, Port Erin, in comments received 29th March 2016, writes in support of the application. He comments that the satellites would enable his business to provide better service for existing and new maritime customers, benefitting the Isle of Man economy. - 5.5 The Chairman of Beckmann Group and Managing Director of Connect Media, Kionedrighad Farm, Orrisdale, in comments received 14th March 2016, writes in support of the application. He notes that a number of major channel owners have showed interest in relocating their businesses to the Island once Earth Stations and maybe "playout facilities" are operational. They also identify that the applicants are "a cornerstone of the island's future connectivity infrastructure to attract and grow the creative industry sector". - 5.6 The CEO of the Manx ICT Association, Barrule House, Ronaldsway Estate, in comments received 23rd March 2016, writes in support of the application. He identifies that the development proposed has a very long payback period and so this gives credibility to the applicants' desire to provide a long-term investment and support the case for construction. The letter also identifies that the application would support the Vision 2020 Government Strategy, with communications underpinning all of the e-business activity the MICTA undertake, with the addition of Earth Stations supporting onward growth. - 5.7 The founder and owner of isis digital Ltd., 13 North Quay, Douglas, in comments received 31st March 2016, writes in support of the application for the following reasons: (1) SES is a significant market operator and the significant uplink and downlink data traffic capabilities that would be provided from the four antennae are currently unavailable on the Island; (2) the proposal will allow for uplink original or rebroadcast content directly from the Island, allowing new content producers and aggregators to fully base their operations here; (3) the combination of satellite and internet distribution will encourage further operators to the Island; (4) the new antennae will reduce the cost burden for TV and content business becoming profitable; (5) a new professional sector to support this growth can be encouraged on the back of the proposal, and (6) the proposal represents
6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The site is zoned for the kind of development proposed; it is also designated as a Wildlife Site, which Environment Policies 4 and 5 combine to clearly indicate that any development approved in such an area should either be subject to mitigation measures or be demonstrated as having no negative impacts thereon. As such, the proposal's impact on biodiversity as well as the visual impact arising thereof are the key issues for assessment. - 6.2 The helpful Statement provided by the applicant shows from where the site is currently visible from public positions: these are generally from a significant distance and, as noted at the outset of the report, are such as to mean that the buildings at Carnane are not especially visible while the towers themselves are, and have been, a feature of the landscape for decades. The most sensitive locations for viewing the site are perhaps those from the Douglas Promenade, from one point in Peel Road in Douglas, and also from the roundabout of the A5 and A6. - 6.3 Each of these is sufficiently far away to mean that the additional development, though discernible, will not be so markedly different from the existing situation as to result in a harmfully adverse impact on the character of the area. The new antennae will break the horizon when viewed from certain of the distant locations, but not in a manner that has not already been undertaken with the existing buildings, against which the antennae will be read far more appreciably than against the wholly different scale of the towers. The same is concluded in respect of the associated equipment cabinets proposed. The fact that the new structures will, when viewed, largely be seen as sitting in between the existing towers and associated buildings is such that the site will not be perceived as 'spreading out' and instead will remain satisfactorily 'contained' in visual terms. - 6.4 One area from where visual impact has not been assessed in the Statement is from the sea: the ferry navigation route brings it fairly close to the coast and the site is certainly visible from here. However, and similarly to the above, the distances involved as well as the existing structures are such that an objection on this point would be difficult to sustain. - 6.5 In view of the above, it is considered that the proposal is acceptable in visual impact terms and will consequently not unduly affect the character of the countryside in this location; it therefore is concluded to comply with General Policy 2 as well as Environment Policy 2. - 6.6 In terms of the impact on the biodiversity offer on the site, a report has been commissioned from the Manx Wildlife Trust by the applicant to quantify this. The report, which was subsequently provided to the Department and now forms a part of the application, identifies the heathland habitat as being fairly limited in quality here, although the potential (in respect of invertebrates and reptiles) is quite high. At present, however, the MWT seem fairly comfortable with the proposal, with their report concluding that the "the proposed development is unlikely to seriously impact the ecological interest of the lowland heath here". They also suggest that the access track should be of acid rock rather than recycled aggregate or limestone. This is something that should be controlled by condition since the acid rock will be more appropriate to the landscape and also the heathland, which requires an acidic basis on which to establish.
6.7 The report highlights that the proposal would not affect the wildlife value of this site, while also recommending some management techniques appropriate for the site as a whole. While these would fail the lawfulness tests required of Planning conditions, the statement that the access track offers an "important area of open habitat in the heathland", and as such the application comes with something of an in-built mitigation measure by adding to this openness a little. As such, it is considered that the proposal would therefore comply with Environment Policies 4 and 5, subject also to a condition relating to the finish of the access track. - 6.8 It is therefore considered the case that the application proposes a sustainable form of economic development on the Island in a well-considered location. The support from other business owners in respect of what the proposal can offer is not altogether surprising yet does highlight the economic development benefits that may very well arise from the scheme. This is an important material consideration and helps give the application extra weight in its favour. - 6.9 Turning to other matters, the submitted plans include reference to a number of small, manmade and natural landscape features - retaining walls, fencing, landscape strips - and there is limited detail on this within the application. However, the visual impact of the site has been concluded to be such, in addition to the fact that the height of these features are shown, that a condition seeking further details on this would be unnecessary in this instance. Were public access more readily achievable nearby, such a condition would almost certainly be sought. Requiring the fencing be green unless otherwise agreed in advance with the Department would be appropriate, however, in view of the fact that what is proposed is significant in height and length and, even from a distance, a brighter colour would be readily discernible against the fairly neutral / natural colours of the hillside.
7.0 RECOMMENDATION - 7.1 In view of the favourable findings as outlined above, it is recommended that the application be approved subject to the conditions discussed above.
8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, the following persons are automatically interested persons:
8.2 In addition to those above, article 6(3) of the Order requires the Department to decide which persons (if any) who have made representations with respect to the application, should be treated as having sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings relating to the application.
The final five people in the list above have written almost exclusively with reference to commercial interests. While normally this would not represent a sufficient reason for a person to have an interest in the future development of the site, the economic development benefits arising from the proposal have been considered to be material to the assessment of the proposal. It therefore follows that those expressing the detail of those benefits also have sufficient interest in the development of the site to be granted interested person status in this instance.
Recommendation Recommended Decision: Permitted
Date of Recommendation:
11.04.2016
Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal
C : Conditions for approval
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.
Reason: In the interest of reducing the visual impact of the fencing in view of its prominent location on this hillside.
Reason: In the interest of protecting the heathland habitat in the area, which requires an acidic basis.
The development hereby approved relates to Plans ES1-010, ES1-011, ES1-012, ES1-013, ES1-014, ES1-015, ES1-016, ES1-017, ES1-018, and the Supporting Statement, all date-stamped as having been received 4th March 2016.
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: 13.04.2016 Determining officer
Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett Senior Planning Officer
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