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19/01144/B Page 1 of 4
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 19/01144/B Applicant : Mr Graham Taylor Proposal : Installation of doors and windows and additional use of barn for recreation, catering and refreshment facilities, storage and accommodation of animals (retrospective) Site Address : Middle Cordeman Farm Cordeman Road St Marks Ballasalla Isle Of Man IM9 3AJ
Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken : Site Visit : Expected Decision Level : Planning Committee
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Permitted Date of Recommendation: 25.11.2019 __
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 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This approval relates to drawings 1278.R1, 1278.R2 and 1278.R3 all received on 14th October, 2019.
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Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
None
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19/01144/B Page 2 of 4
Officer’s Report
THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AS IT COULD BE CONSIDERED TO BE CONTRARY TO THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
THE SITE 1.1 The site is the holding of Middle Cordeman Farm, a holding situated to the north west of St. Mark's and accessed from the Cordeman Lane which continues north from B30 and which accesses a small number of houses as well as the farm, and which continues to Stoney Mountain Plantation.
1.2 The site accommodates a number of permanent buildings - a farmhouse, large modern barn, more recent modern outbuildings including an approved shop/cafe (12/00841/B). Planning approval has been granted for a number of recent developments which culminate in a tourist venture which offers modest and basic tourist accommodation in three traditional cottage style units and a converted stone barn together with associated car parking and access to a facilities building for clothes drying, storage etc. Permission has also been granted for a visitor's centre in association with a local hedgehog conservation organisation. The focus of the tourist facilities are access to the agricultural operations and learning about wildlife and agriculture. Planning approval has also, previously, been granted for the creation of a shop and cafe although not implemented.
THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed are alterations to an existing large agricultural building which sits close to the existing farmhouse. The alterations include the insertion of bifold doors and a pedestrian door in the front elevation, the insertion of windows and a pedestrian door on the rear elevation, the insertion of a window on the southern elevation and the replacement of a pedestrian door with timber sliding doors on the northern elevation.
2.2 The building is to be used as an animal petting area and for storage and for café facilities and a place for visitors to consume their own food.
2.3 The application is retrospective.
PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The site is within an area on the Area Plan for the South (APS) adopted in 2013 designated as open space, that is not identified for a particular purpose. During the consideration of the Area Plan, the applicant made a submission to the Department to have this site designated as Tourism (for the creation of 6 holiday chalets) but this was rejected on the basis that the site is clearly part of the countryside and the proposal does not comply with any of the exceptions listed in the Strategic Plan.
3.2 The site lies within an area of Incised Slopes on the draft Landscape Character Appraisal where the APS states the following:
Ballamodha, Earystane and St Marks (D14) The overall strategy is to conserve and enhance the character, quality and distinctiveness of the area, with its wooded valley bottoms, its strong geometric field pattern delineated by Manx hedges, its numerous traditional buildings and its network of small roads and lanes. The strategy should also include the restoration of landscapes disturbed by former mining activities.
Key Views Distant views prevented at times by dense woodland in river valleys and by the cumulative screening effect of hedgerow trees, which tend to create wooded horizons. Open and panoramic views out to sea from the higher areas on the upper western parts of the area where there are few trees to interrupt views.
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19/01144/B Page 3 of 4
3.3 There are no specific landscape policies which should be applied to this area.
3.4 The Area Plan includes part of the southern part of the site, near where the ponds are situated, as a draft area of ecological interest.
3.5 The Strategic Plan protects the countryside for its own sake (EP 1) and sets out in General Policy 3 where there may be exceptions to this general provision:
"a) essential housing for agricultural workers who have to live close to their place of work (Housing Policies 7, 8, 9 and 10) b) conversion of redundant rural buildings which are of architectural, historical, or social value and interest (Housing Policy 11) c) previously developed land which contains a significant amount of buildings; where the continued use is redundant; where redevelopment would reduce the impact of the current situation on the landscape or the wider environmental and where the development proposed would result in improvements to the landscape or wider environment d) the replacement of existing rural dwellings (Housing Policies 12, 13 and 14) e) location-dependant development in connection with the working of minerals or the provision of necessary services; f) building and engineering operations which are essential for the conduct of agriculture or forestry g) development recognised to be of overriding national need in land use planning terms and for which there is no reasonable and acceptable alternative and h) buildings or works required for interpretation of the countryside, its wildlife or heritage".
3.6 The Plan is very specific that tourism-related development should be subject to no less strict restrictions than other forms of development as the countryside itself is one of the attractions for tourists to the Island (paragraph 9.5.3).
REPRESENTATIONS 4.1 Malew Parish Commissioners have no objection to the application (06.11.19).
PLANNING HISTORY 5.1 The site has been the subject of a great number of applications, the most recent of which are those relating to the creation of the tourist facilities - 16/00125/B and 16/01258/B and 18/00471/B.
ASSESSMENT 6.1 The works result in little change to the character of the building.
6.2 Whilst the use of the barn as proposed is not agricultural and does not fall within the exceptions listed in General Policy 3, it is complementary to the range of uses which have been approved on the site previously. Permission has previously been granted for a farm shop and café in this part of the site (12/00841/B) in the building to the south west.
6.3 As such, the proposed alterations and use of the barn are considered to be acceptable.
CONCLUSION 7.1 The proposal is considered to support the Government's Destination Management Plan 2016 - 2020 through the creation of additional visitor attractions and facilities and would not have an adverse environmental impact that would contravene EP1 and the proposal is supported.
INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 Article 6(4), the following persons are automatically interested persons:
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(a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent; (b) The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested; (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material (d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.
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 in Article 6(4) who should be given Interested Person Status.
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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:...16.12.2019
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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