DEC Officer Report

PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No.: 24/00198/LAW Applicant: Mr Jake McKeown & Miss Breeshey Harkin Proposal: Certificate of Lawful Development for the installation of a replacement roof Site Address: Lilac Cottage Main Road Kirk Michael Isle Of Man IM6 2HG Planning Officer: Miss Lucy Kinrade Recommended Decision: Certificate of Lawful Use/Devel Approved Date of Recommendation: 22.03.2024 _________________________________________________________________ Reasons This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. There is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the replacement roof has been in situ and installed for a period in excess of 4 years and therefore it is recommended that a Certificate of Lawful Development can be issued. Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the following, all date stamped and received 19/02/2024: - o Location plan - o Google streetview image - o 2 x Rear elevation photographs - o 5 x pages of invoices from roofing contractor dated 2016 & 2017 _______________________________________________________________

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 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 APPLICATION SITE - 2.1 The application site relates to Lilac Cottage, Main Road, Kirk Michael

3.0 THE PROPOSAL AND EVIDENCE SUBMITTED - 3.1 A Certificate of Lawful Development is sought for: o Replacement roofing works - 3.2 The application has been submitted with the following evidence (in no order):

• o Location plan;
• o Google streetview image 2010;
• o 2 x Rear elevation photographs
• o 5 x pages of invoices from roofing contractor dated 2016 & 2017

3.3 The application form compiled by the applicant states that the operations started or were substantially completed '2017'.

4.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 The site has been subject to previous application relating to window and door replacements under 07/01149/B.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS Copies of representations received can be viewed on the Government's website. This report contains summaries only. - 5.1 No comments have been received as of 22.03.2024

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 This is an application seeking a Certificate of Lawful Development, and therefore it is not a matter of considering the planning merits of the scheme but rather a legal determination based on the facts to establish whether the stated operations are established and lawful by period of time and therefore beyond the scope of enforcement action. The test of the evidence is based on the balance of reasonableness. In this instance, the applicant seeks to rely on the fact that the roofing works in question have been in situ for a minimum of 4 years to establish that the development can be considered lawful, as set out in Part 4, Section 24(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999. - 6.2 The applicant has provided 2 x site photographs neither of which provide evidence of 4 years. A streetview images dated 2010 is also not helpful in that because the roofing works retain a slate finish it is difficult to distinguish any changes to the roof in any corresponding google aerial image or from any DEFA internal aerial images dated 2001, 2006, 2015, 2018 or

1. The application is however provided with several quotes from a roofing companying dating back to 2016 and 2017 outlining roofing works to be undertaken and invoices being paid in full and so on the balance of probabilities taking the quote information supplied it is considered that the roofing works have been installed and in situ for a period in excess of 4 years.

7.0 CONCLUSION - 7.1 In view of the above, it is recommended that a Certificate of Lawfulness can be issued.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 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 Acting 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 : 28.03.2024 Determining officer

Signed : A MORGAN Abigail Morgan Acting Head of Development Management

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