Planning Secretary DEFA Planning & Building Control Division Murray House Mount Havelock Douglas IM1 2SF
Dear Mr Balmer,
TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1999 TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (DEVELOPMENT PROCEDURE) (No 2) ORDER 2013
I refer to the abovementioned application and, in accordance with the obligations set down in in accordance with Article 10(9) of The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013, I herewith give notice of the decision as follows.
On 12th April 2018 the Council of Ministers considered the recommendations of the Planning Inspector and determined to approve the application subject to the conditions specified below.
M. Clow.
Mr W Greenhow ACMA Chief Secretary
Date of Issue: 17th April 2018
Application
18/00071/GB
Applicant
Mrs Anne Corbett
Proposal
Installation of a sewage treatment plant (in association with 18/00072/CON)
Address
Land adjacent to Kate’s Cottage, Keppel Gate, Mountain Road, Onchan
Conditions of Approval
The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this 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.
The development hereby approved shall not commence until a method statement has been submitted to and approved by the Planning Authority which ensures that the fish populations downstream of the site are protected from sediment, concrete or other harmful materials that could enter the watercourse, which passes through the site, during the construction period of the development and the development shall be carried out only in accordance with the method statement approved.
Reason: To safeguard the nearby watercourse from pollution.
Please be advised that the decision of the Council of Ministers is binding and final.
All parties should note that there is no prescribed right of appeal relevant to the Council's decision herein and accordingly the only right of challenge is by a petition of doleance brought to the High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man. Such doleance proceedings required to be issued promptly and in any event within three months.
Yours faithfully,
A Johnstone
Planning Appeals Administrator On behalf of the Chief Secretary
Crown Division Government Offices Douglas Isle of Man 26 March 2018 To the Council of Ministers Case Ref DF18/0001 Application Ref 18/00071/GB Application by Mrs Anne Corbett for Planning Approval for the construction of a sewage treatment plant (in association with Ref 18/00072/CON) to serve the adjacent residential property, Kate's Cottage, Keppel Gate, Mountain Road, Onchan, Isle of Man, IM4 5BP.
Case Ref DF18/00002 Application Ref 18/00072/CON Application by Mrs Anne Corbett for Registered Building Consent for the construction of underground drainage and replacement of two manholes (in association with Ref 18/00071/GB) at Kate's Cottage (Registered Building No 117), Keppel Gate, Mountain Road, Onchan, Isle of Man, IM4 5BP.
I have the honour to report that, on 20 March 2018, I carried out a site visit at the above location. The cases are being made by written representations.
Procedural Matters
Pursuant to Section 10(1)(b) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013, the applications must be considered by the Council of Ministers, not the Planning Authority. This is because the application site includes part of a field which is owned by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA), of which the Planning Authority forms part. In practice, DEFA has no other interest in the proposal. Therefore, the advice of the Planning Authority can properly be taken into account in the determination of these applications by the Ministers.
I consider both interrelated applications together but provide a separate recommendation for each.
Site Description and the Proposal
The application site comprises Kate's Cottage, Registered Building 117 (RB117), located on the Mountain Road at Onchan, together with part of the adjacent field (No 530104) to the west. Originally a shepherd's house, known as Tait's Cottage, unlike other properties along the TT Course, the building has remained unaltered. A watercourse passes through the application site.
The property is presently served by a septic tank outside the application site boundary. It is proposed to install a BioDisc sewage treatment plant, in association with the other ongoing works. The plant would have a depth of 1.4m and a diameter of 1.9m and would be required to be sited outside the residential curtilage of Kate's Cottage, on part of the neighbouring field, in order to achieve the required minimum separation distance of 7m from the Cottage. A 100mm diameter underground pipe would connect to the treatment plant from the front of the Cottage. The installation of the pipe would require the temporary removal of a section of the western Manx stone boundary wall. It is proposed to rebuild the wall following the installation of the sewage treatment plant.
Planning Policy
The following policies of the adopted Strategic Plan 2016 (SP) are relevant to the planning application.
a. Environment Policy 1 (EP1) protects the countryside and its ecology outside settlements. b. EP7 safeguards watercourses from harm due to pollution from development and normally resists development within 8 m of any watercourse. c. General Policy 3 (GP3) resists rural development with certain exceptions, none of which expressly cover the development proposed in this case.
The following SP policies are relevant to the application for Registered Building Consent (RBC).
a. Strategic Policy 4 (SP4) requires development to protect the fabric and setting of Registered Buildings and the landscape and avoid unacceptable environmental pollution. b. EP32 and EP34 resist detrimental alterations to Registered Buildings and require the use of traditional materials. These policies are supported by Planning Policy Statement 1/01 (PPS1/01)
Representations Received
Onchan Commissioners recommend approval, subject to a condition to protect the environment.
The Fisheries Directorate recommends a condition to secure compliance with an approved construction method statement to ensure protection of fish populations within the watercourse downstream of the site.
Advice from the DEFA Planning and Building Control Directorate
Planning Application
With respect to the planning application, the issues are: the principle of the development; potential visual impact on the countryside; and potential impact on the nearby watercourse.
Although in principle capable of refusal under GP3, it is reasonable for Kate's Cottage to be provided with a modern sewage treatment system to replace its existing septic tank.
The BioDisc plant would be largely underground and screened by the Manx stone boundary wall so that it would result in little visual impact on public views. The development would thus comply with EP1.
Compliance with a condition to abide by an agreed construction method statement to avoid pollution of the adjacent watercourse, as sought by the Fisheries Directorate, would bring the development into compliance with EP7.
Registered Building Consent Application
With respect to the RBC application, the key issue is whether the proposals would affect detrimentally the character of Kate's Cottage as a building of special architectural or historic interest.
The BioDisc plant would be outside the curtilage of the Registered Building. Concern relates to the removal of the Manx stone wall in order to complete the installation of the underground pipework. Subject to a condition requiring the proper reinstatement of the wall, the development would have little impact on the character of the Registered Building and it is considered that it would comply with SP4, EP32, EP34 and C1/01.
In conclusion, it is further advised that the RBC be granted.
Assessment by the Inspector
I agree with the advice of the Planning Authority and consider the main issues to be the effects of the proposed installation on the countryside, the watercourse and the character of the Registered Kate's Cottage.
For the reasons advised by the Planning Authority, the BioDisc sewage treatment plant would be unobtrusive, having no unacceptable visual impact on the Registered Building or its countryside setting, subject to the proper reinstatement of the Manx stone boundary wall, secured by planning condition. A further condition would secure compliance with a construction method statement to avoid pollution of the watercourse and harm to ecology.
The proposal would thus accord with Policies EP1, EP7, EP32 and EP34 to protect the environment, the Registered Building and its rural setting.
I conclude that the proposal to provide Kate's Cottage with modern sewage treatment facilities is soundly justified and that any conflict in principle with GP3 would be outweighed by the benefit of the development. Therefore, both the planning approval and the Registered Building Consent sought should be granted, subject to the conditions outlined above.
Recommendations
With respect to Application Ref 18/0071/GB, I Recommend that planning approval be granted for the construction of a sewage treatment plant (in association with Ref 18/0072/CON) to serve the adjacent residential property, Kate's Cottage, Keppel Gate, Mountain Road, Onchan, Isle of Man, IM4 5BP, as shown on Drwg Nos 052/p00 and 052/p01, dated December 2017, and subject to the following conditions:
1) The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this 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. 2) The development hereby approved shall not commence until a method statement has been submitted to and approved by the Planning Authority which ensures that the fish populations downstream of the site are protected from sediment, concrete or other harmful materials that could enter the watercourse, which passes through the site, during the construction period of the development and the development shall be carried out only in accordance with the method statement approved. Reason: To safeguard the nearby watercourse from pollution.
With respect to Application Ref 18/0072/CON, I Recommend that Registered Building Consent be granted for the construction of underground drainage and replacement of two manholes (in association with Ref 18/0071/GB) at Kate's Cottage (Registered Building No 117), Keppel Gate, Mountain Road, Onchan, Isle of Man, IM4 5BP, as shown on Drwg Nos 052/p00 and 052/p01, dated December 2017, and subject to the following conditions:
1) The works hereby granted Registered Building Consent shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this consent. Reason: To comply with Article 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented registered building consents. 2) Within one month of the installation of the subterranean drainage pipe the existing Manx stone western boundary wall shall be
reinstated in the same form as the existing wall, reusing the original stone, and thereafter retained. Reason: In the interests of the protection of the Registered Building No117 and its setting.
B J Sims
Brian J Sims BSc CEng MICE MRTPI Independent Inspector
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