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PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

Application No. : 24/00710/B Applicant : Mr Ian Harland Proposal : Erection of 54 ground-mounted photo-voltaic panels (retrospective) Site Address : Field 124768 Farrant's Fort Jurby Road St Judes Andreas IM7 2EN

Principal Planner: Chris Balmer Photo Taken : Site Visit : Expected Decision Level : Planning Committee

Recommendation

Recommended Decision:

Permitted Date of Recommendation: 02.08.2024 __

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

C 1. For the avoidance of doubt no planning approval is hereby given for the extension of the residential curtilage into Field Nr 124768.

Reason: No permission is sought for any extension to the residential curtilage of Farrant's Fort and as such has not been considered as part of the planning application.

C 2. The 54 ground-mounted photo-voltaic panels hereby approved shall be removed and the ground restored to its former condition in the event that it is no longer used for a period greater than 18months or no longer require for the production of electricity.

Reason: In the interests of the visual amenities of the countryside setting and to avoid unnecessary built development in the countryside.

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. It is concluded that the development proposed is acceptable when assessed against the relevant policies and the site context having not significant impacts upon public or private amenities.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the submitted documents and drawings reference numbers all received;

27.06.2024 Drawing 24/15/01 - Existing Site Plan Drawing 24/15/02 - Proposed Site Plan PV Panel Data Sheet

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08.07.2024 Drawing 24/FF/MSP REV A - Master Site Plan A3 - Location Plan. __

Interested Person Status - Additional Persons

None __

Officer’s Report

THE PLANNING APPLICATION IS BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AS IT COULD BE CONSIDERED CONTRARY TO THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN BUT RECOMMENDED FOR AN APPROVAL

1.0 THE SITE 1.1 The application site represents the curtilage of Farrant's Fort which is an existing large traditional (although built in recent decades) Manx farmhouse style with five uppers windows over a central doorway which is flanked with two windows either side. The detached dwelling is situated at the northern side of the Jurby Road, west of the Bernahara Road and is easts of St Jude's Crossroads. The dwelling is setback a distance from the main road and is partially screened due to mature trees/landscaping between the site and the Jurby Road.

1.2 To the rear of the dwelling (northwest) is an "L-shaped" traditional Manx stone barn and beyond and immediately to the north is a modern portal steel frame agricultural barn with a lean- to stoned wall barn attached. These buildings are well screen from the Jurby Road, being to the northwest of the main dwelling house and the mature landscaping along the southern and western boundaries of the site and between the site and the Jurby Road, namely a mature hedgerow which runs along the northern section of the Jurby Road. The main dwelling is partially apparent from the Bernahara Road to the east of the site, albeit Manx sod banks and landscaping does recue its distance appearance. The barns are screened from view given their siting behind the main dwelling house.

1.3 The main access to the site is via a private access/driveway which directly accesses onto the Jurby Road and runs in a north westerly direction for an approximately 100+metres towards the Farrant's Fort holding (building outlined above).

1.4 To the northeast of the Farrant's Fort holding is Field Nr 124768 which is approximately 1.12 hectares in area. This field is of particular interest. It is generally flat in nature with mature hedgerows forming the boundaries of the field and mature trees along the south west and northwest boundaries of the field as well.

1.5 The applicants also own fields Nr 124022, 124021, 122612 and 122575 which surround the Farrant's Fort holding. The total holding associated with the site is 6.39 hectares in size.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL 2.1 Proposed is the installation of a total of 54 solar panels (retrospective) which are split into two separate blocks, albeit appear as a single row. They have an overall total width of 28.5m, a total depth of 3m and a height between 0.74m and 2.5m above ground level. They are located within Field Nr 124768 to the northeast of the main dwelling.

2.2 In support of the application the applicants have stated: "Having built our eco house, Curlew House, IM72EH, 15 years ago, with both wind and solar PV generation, it has always been our intention to do the same at Farrant's Fort. Renewables technology has moved on dramatically since we built Curlew House in that the MU has now a developed policy for grid tied systems, PV panels have dropped in cost and wind turbines have rocketed in cost. Furthermore, PV inverters have developed to the point that they manage the

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maximum power that the grid can accept opening up the possibility of putting in far more PV in than the grid limit. This was not possible when we built Curlew House.

To achieve our carbon zero standard, the decision was made for now at least, to forget the wind turbine and install a big array of 54 PV panels at Farrant's Fort. At that time there was an opportunity to take advantage of very low prices (with the Chinese oversupply of solar PV) and with the inverter advances we now had the option to go big.

The PV array is an essential part of the mix required to achieve as near carbon zero as possible. At this point we had owned Farrant's Fort for over a year and spent a good amount of time working on the best location on the property for the array. It was a balance between the array not being seen, take up least usable land and be in the most sun. We went ahead and bought the array, inverter, cables etc and installed the system at this location in June 2022.

By way of illustration the array has produced 36.6 MWh since the start up date until today. Sometime later, we were informed that a planning application should have been submitted because the site we had chosen was in one of our agricultural fields, not within the domestic cartilage. In late July 2023, planning officer Chris Balmer was asked to visit the site primarily to discuss the possibility of developing the stone barns. The question of the now existing PV array was discussed and Mr Balmer confirmed, planning permission was required. He suggested that a retrospective planning application be submitted, at the same time as the stone barn conversion application and the resiting of the agricultural barn application so the whole project can clearly understood and assessed.

As stated above, PV array is part of trying to achieve as near as possible Passivhaus standard on all the buildings on site. This involves the grid tied PV array, battery storage and use of the Manx grid itself as the sources of power. This whole system is now approved by MU on approval number: RE210405/2. This setup requires all these elements to be as carbon zero as possible."

3.0 PLANNING POLICY 3.1 The application site is partially within an area of "Woodland" namely the holding and driveway, whereas Field Nr 124768 is not designated for development under the Isle of Man Development Plan Order 1982. The site is not within a Conservation Area, nor is the site within an area zoned as High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Significance.

3.2 Paragraph 12.2.8 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 states;

"The Department is fully supportive of the need to secure greater energy efficiency in new and existing development and has recently introduced additional energy efficiency requirements in the Building Regulations 2003. Energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources are covered in General Policy 2(m) of the Building Regulations. At the same time the Department recognizes that renewable energy sources can have adverse environmental impacts. The idea of a wind turbine Installation is currently being investigated and considered by the Manx Electricity Authority. Any feasible site is likely to be exposed and have considerable visual impact. There may also be other impacts such as noise. On a smaller scale, the popularity of domestic wind turbines has been increasing in recent years in response to rising energy prices and increasing awareness of climate change. Planning applications for domestic wind turbines are unlikely to require the submission of an Environmental Impact Assessment. The Department will assess any proposals for wind turbine installations by weighing the benefits of using such renewable energy sources against the environmental impact arising in any particular site. It is likely that the visual impact would be less detrimental on a coastal site than on a rural or upland one. Accordingly:

3.3 Environment Policy 22 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 states: "Development will not be permitted where it would unacceptably harm the environment and/or the amenity of nearby properties in terms of: i) pollution of sea, surface water or groundwater; ii) emissions of airborne pollutants; and

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iii) vibration, odour, noise or light pollution."

3.4 Energy Policy 4 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 states: "Development involving alternative sources of energy supply, including wind, water and tide power, and the use of solar panels, will be judged against the environmental objectives and policies set out in this Plan. Installations involving wind, water and tide power will require the submission of an EIA".

3.4.1 Appendix 5 of the Strategic Plan identifies developments where an EIA is required. It states in part: (c) Energy industry i. Thermal power stations and other thermal installations ii. Surface storage of natural gas iii. Underground storage of combustible gases iv. Surface storage of fossil fuels v. Industrial briquetting of coal and lignite vi. Installations for the harnessing of wind power for energy production

3.4.2 There is no reference made to the installation of solar panels within appendix 5. The scale is also not considered to be significant enough to warrant an EIA in any case, and the site is not a sensitive site as stated in paragraph 3.1 of this report.

3.5 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 also contains the following policies that are considered specifically material to the assessment of this current planning application.

3.5.1 Strategic Policy 1 states: "Development should make the best use of resources by: (a) optimising the use of previously developed land, redundant buildings, unused and under- used land and buildings, and re-using scarce indigenous building materials; (b) ensuring efficient use of sites, taking into account the needs for access, landscaping, open space(1) and amenity standards; and (c) being located so as to utilise existing and planned infrastructure, facilities and services."

3.5.2 General Policy 3 states: "Development will not be permitted outside of those areas which are zoned for development on the appropriate Area Plan with the exception of: (c) previously developed land(1) which contains a significant amount of building; where the continued use is redundant; where redevelopment would reduce the impact of the current situation on the landscape or the wider environment; and where the development proposed would result in improvements to the landscape or wider environment; (f) building and engineering operations which are essential for the conduct of agriculture or forestry; (h) buildings or works required for interpretation of the countryside, its wildlife or heritage."

3.5.3 Environment Policy 1 states: "The countryside and its ecology will be protected for its own sake. For the purposes of this policy, the countryside comprises all land which is outside the settlements defined in Appendix 3 at A.3.6 or which is not designated for future development on an Area Plan. Development which would adversely affect the countryside will not be permitted unless there is an over-riding national need in land use planning terms which outweighs the requirement to protect these areas and for which there is no reasonable and acceptable alternative."

3.5.4 Environment Policy 14: Development which would result in the permanent loss of important and versatile agricultural land (Classes 1-2) will not be permitted except where there is an overriding need for the development, and land of a lower quality is not available and other policies in this plan are complied with. This policy will be applied to (a) land annotated as Classes 1/2 on the Agricultural Land Use Capability Map; and (b) Class 2 soils falling within areas annotated as Class 2/3 and Class 3/2 on the Agricultural Land Use Capability Map.

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4.0 PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 The following planning applications are considered relevant in the determination of the application;

4.2 Conversion of barn and erection of double garage extension to provide ancillary and tourist accommodation - 24/00708/B - PENDING CONSIDERATION

4.3 Erection of a replacement multi-purpose agricultural building - 24/00709/B - PENDING CONSIDERATION

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS Copies of representations received can be viewed on the government's website. This report contains summaries only.

5.1 Highway Services comment (04.07.2024 & 09.07.2024): "After reviewing this Application, Highway Services HDC finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking."

6.0 ASSESSMENT 6.1 The Department is supportive of proposals to harness renewable energy but must balance this against the other principles of the Strategic Plan, particularly those relating to preventing harmful development in the Island's countryside. In this respect, the provisions of Environment Policy 1 are particularly relevant where it states that within such areas development which would adversely affect the countryside will not be permitted.

6.2 From public views none of the panels are apparent, given the significant boundary features which run along the Jurby Road and Bernahara Road, the heights of the panels and distance from public viewpoints. The solar panels are also located close to the north-eastern field boundary, which is made up of a mature hedgerow and mature trees. While they are at a distance from the main dwelling (approx. 108m), they are position to gain as much solar gain as possible. Any closer to the dwelling would either be more centrally into the field; which is not ideal from a practical use of the field, a visual impact or potentially affected by the shade of the mature trees to the southwest boundary of the field. The solar panels could have been installed into the field 122612, to the southwest of the main holding (dwelling and barns); however, these would be closer to the Jurby Road and potential publically apparent. Overall, it is considered the siting is arguable the best location within the ownership of the applicant, which benefits from gain solar gain, is not publically viable and is positioned along a boundary of a field to ensure that field is still suitable for agricultural activities to take place without obstruction.

6.3 As such, the position of the solar panels on the field would not spoil the character of the surrounding countryside and not have an adverse visual impact, thus the development would comply with Environment Policy 1.

6.4 Since the solar panels would be installed on an agricultural field, the agricultural status of the land to which the solar panels would be installed was assessed. It should be noted that generally solar panels of this design do not necessary result in the loss of agricultural use of the land. They are generally designed so that sheep etc. can still be kept on site as the panels are raised of the ground. The proposal does not propose to fence the land accommodating the solar panels off from the majority of the unaffected field. Even if this small section of field was fenced off, in terms of the amount of agricultural land lost, it would be inconsequential. The applicants currently use the fields surrounding the main holding for the growing of grass (hay) and vegetables.

6.5 Accordingly, there is not consider to be any loss of agricultural land (Class 2/3 - Agricultural Land use capability map for the Isle of Man) enabling the development to comply with Environment Policy 14.

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7.0 CONCLUSION 7.1 For the above reasons, it is concluded that the development proposed is acceptable when assessed against the relevant policies and the site context having not significant impacts upon public or private amenities.

7.2 It is recommended that the planning application be approved.

8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS 8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons:

(a) the applicant (including an agent acting on their behalf); (b) any Government Department that has made written representations that the Department considers material; (c) the Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure; (d) Manx National Heritage where it has made written representations that the Department considers material; (e) Manx Utilities where it has made written representations that the Department considers material; (f) the local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated; and (g) a local authority adjoining the authority referred to in paragraph (f) where that adjoining authority has made written representations that the Department considers material.

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 above who should be given Interested Person Status. __

I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to that body by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Committee has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status.

Decision Made : Permitted

Committee Meeting Date: 19.08.2024

Signed : C BALMER 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

Customer note

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