10 February 2017 · Director of Planning and Building Control (Jennifer Lange)
Lorne House, Douglas Street, Castletown, Isle Of Man, IM9 1az
Lorne House in Castletown was registered as a protected building in 2015, including its curtilage, gardens, kitchen garden, and adjacent field, but this was legally challenged because the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 only allows registration of buildings, not surrounding land.
Click a button above to find applications similar to this one.
See how this application compares to similar ones — policies, conditions, and outcomes side by side.
The original 2015 registration of Lorne House (RB269) included curtilage, gardens, kitchen garden, and adjacent field, but this was legally challenged as the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 permits…
Identification of Buildings for Registration
Policy RB/2 guides identification and registration of historically/architecturally important buildings. The officer applied it in past processes (2008, 2012, 2015) but re-assessed due to statutory limits on registering land beyond the building/curtilage fixed features, leading to de-registration of wider extents while preserving building protection via new processes.
In support of the 2015 registration application
Both Manx National Heritage and Isle of Man Natural History & Antiquarian Society strongly oppose the deregistration of Lorne House and its curtilage, emphasising the historical, archaeological, and landscape significance of the entire site including the house, kitchen garden, and field.
Key concern: de-registration would leave the site vulnerable to piecemeal development, demolition, and loss of historical, archaeological, and landscape integrity
Manx National Heritage
ObjectionMNH supports the Department's decision to register this property and is opposed to the appeal to de-register the site either as a whole or in part; There are clearly significant remains present which, together with the long-standing tradition regarding the existence of a keelli and burial ground, raise substantial issues of preservation, sensitivity and setting
Isle of Man Natural History & Antiquarian Society
ObjectionIsle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society strongly objects to this application for de-registration; the whole landscape within the above boundary wall should be kept intact
Lorne House, a historic Georgian mansion in Castletown, was registered on the Protected Buildings Register in November 2015 including its extensive curtilage; owners Mr and Mrs Tilleard applied for de-registration in December 2015, objecting primarily to inclusion of the field and kitchen garden. The Department approved de-registration on 10 February 2017 following legal advice that registration could not extend to unbuilt curtilage land, planning simultaneous re-registration of the house and entrance archway with interim Building Preservation Notice. Appellant argued procedural irregularities including invalid application, delay, non-disclosure of negotiations, financial pressure, and inadequate reasons, plus substantive merits of retaining full curtilage. Inspector found legal basis exists under s14(2) 1999 Act and Reg 4 2013 Regulations to include curtilage features in PBR entries, deemed original registration appropriate given historic walls and structures, criticised decision reasons as inadequate, rejected procedural claims as non-prejudicial, and recommended allowing the appeal to rescind de-registration.
Precedent Value
Establishes PBR can include curtilage extent/map where man-made features (walls/gardens) warrant preservation under s14(2), with duty to detail them per Reg 4(b); entries must specify features; de-registration decisions require full reasons explaining legal resolutions. Future applicants should provide feature inventories/historic evidence; authorities ensure transparent procedures/explicit PBR particulars to avoid appeals.
Inspector: Michael Hurley BA DipTP
