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23/01415/LAW Page 1 of 4
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Application No. : 23/01415/LAW Applicant : EG Services Proposal : Certificate of Lawful Use for the storage of materials and vehicles in association with a construction company Site Address : Shed And Yard Ardonan Nurseries Ardonan Lane Regaby IM7 3HN
Planning Officer: Mr Paul Visigah Photo Taken : Site Visit : Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Certificate of Lawful Use/Devel Approved Date of Recommendation: 25.01.2024 __
Conditions and Notes for Approval
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
C 1. The evidence submitted suggest on the balance of probability that the property as shown in the submitted plans, has indeed been used for the storage of materials and vehicles in association with a construction company (EG Services) for a period in excess of ten years.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to application form and documents received 10 January 2024. __
Interested Person Status - Additional Persons
None __
Officer’s Report
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 In accordance with the provisions of Schedule 4, Part 1, paragraph 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 ("the Act"), a development carried out in breach of planning control shall become immune from enforcement action after a certain period of time, provided that formal enforcement action has not already been taken. The relevant time periods are set out below:
a) in respect of a breach of planning control consisting of the carrying out without planning approval of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under
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23/01415/LAW Page 2 of 4
land, after the end of the period of 4 years beginning with the date on which the operations were substantially completed;
b) in respect of a breach of planning control consisting of the change of use of any building to use as a single dwelling house, after the end of the period of 4 years beginning with the date of the breach;
c) in respect of any other breach of planning control, after the end of the period of 10 years beginning with the date of the breach.
1.2 Section 24 of the Act makes provision for the submission and issuing of a Certificate of Lawfulness to establish the lawfulness of a breach of planning control.
1.3 An application for a Certificate of Lawfulness is determined on the basis of fact. Unlike an application for planning approval, it is not concerned with land-use planning considerations or the impacts of the development upon the public realm.
1.4 The principal test is whether, on the balance of probabilities, the breach of planning control has occurred continuously for the given period. The burden of proof rests with the applicant and their evidence must be both precise and unambiguous. If the Planning Directorate has no evidence of its own to contradict that provided by the applicant, then provided that the applicant's evidence is sufficiently precise and unambiguous, a Certificate of Lawfulness may be issued. It is not usually necessary for the Planning Department to corroborate the applicant's evidence.
2.0 THE SITE 2.1 The application site is the Ardonan Nurseries, Ardonan Lane, Regaby, Ramsey, situated to the south west of Regaby, off Regaby West Road. The site is part of a wider farm unit that includes numerous horticultural buildings, greenhouses and polytunnels. There are several agricultural type barns and a farmhouse on the main part of the site, and there are numerous agricultural fields to the north and south of the site.
3.0 THE PROPOSAL 3.1 The application seeks a Certificate of Lawful Use for the storage of materials and vehicles in association with a construction company.
3.2 The application states that the storage use commenced in November 2011 and has been carried out there in the same manner to the current time. They note that the original signed lease which is still in force, invoices from 2013 and 2014 referring to items to be delivered to the site, letters from the site owner from whom the site is leased, demonstrate that the use has been operational on the site for these periods.
4.0 PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 The site has been the subject of the following previous planning applications: a. PA 86/01379/B for Erection of an agricultural building, Part of Field 2525, Ardonan, Andreas - Approved. b. PA 97/00284/B for Erection of multi-span polytunnel house, field 2528, Ardonan Nurseries, Regaby, Andreas - Approved. c. PA 18/00157/B for Erection of an agricultural building to house livestock and farm machinery - Approved. d. PA 20/01435/B for Construction of a horse manege (retrospective) - Approved. e. PA 23/10120/AIR for Information in relation to condition 1 PA 20/01435/B for a planting scheme at Field No. 124965, Ardonan Nurseries - Approved.
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 None received at the time of writing this report.
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23/01415/LAW Page 3 of 4
6.0 EVIDENCE SUBMITTED 6.1 The application has been submitted with the following evidence (in no order): a. Application form; b. Location and Site Plans; c. Site Plan; d. Email dated 3 December 2013 detailing delivery of 147 no. x 1.2m lengths of Gripdeck to address; e. Email dated 20 October 2014 detailing the operation of a business (EG Services) from the address. f. Statement from Ellan Vannin Fuels detailing payments for delivery of fuels to EG Services covering three months (January to March 2016). g. Letter from TG Plant Services dated 5 January 2024, which states that they have offered maintenance and repair services for plant and machinery to EG Services at the address since January 2012; h. Lease document which indicates agreement between James Radcliffe, Ardonan Nurseries, Ardonan Lane, Regaby, Ramsey and EG Services, Ramsey for lease of buildings within the farm to support business operations since 1 November 2011; i. Email from James Radcliffe, Ardonan Nurseries, Ardonan Lane, Regaby, Andreas, dated 28 August (year not shown), which seeks to support that EG Services has operated from the premises at Ardonan Nurseries, Ardonan Lane, Regaby, Andreas for more than 12 years. j. Letter from Malcolm and Carole Bucker of Fairy Oaks, Ardonan Lane, Regaby (who have been resident at the address since 1969), dated 24 July 2023 which seeks to confirm that EG Services have been based at Ardonan Nurseries since 2011.
7.0 ASSESSMENT 7.1 The applicant seeks to rely on the fact that the area outlined in red on the location and Site Plans has since 2011 been occupied as an operating centre with associated storage of materials and vehicles in association with a construction company (EG Services). The application seeks to demonstrate a period of operation of at least a minimum of 10 years to establish that the development is immune from enforcement action as set out in 1.0 Introduction of this report and Part 4, Section 24(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999.
7.2 The applicant has provided information in the application form, and other dated supporting information which shows the land being used an operating centre associated with associated storage of materials and vehicles operated by EG Services. The invoices and emails which reference the site as the business address also point to the use of the site for the indicated business, and serve to corroborate and support that the site has been used as operating centre with associated storage of materials and vehicles by EG Services since at least 2011 and this is in excess of the 10 years required to be considered lawful.
8.0 CONCLUSION 8.1 It is recommended that the application for a Certificate of Lawfulness is agreed.
9.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 9.1 As the application is for a CLU this is not required to be assessed. There is no right to appeal against this decision. __
I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Head of Development Management in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status
Decision Made : Certificate of Lawful Use/Devel Approved
Date : 30.01.2024
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23/01415/LAW Page 4 of 4
Determining officer
Signed : S BUTLER
Stephen Butler
Head of Development Management
Customer note
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