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Application No.: 25/90636/B Applicant: Ms Deborah Allen Proposal: Reinstatement of embankment, rear decking area and outbuilding Site Address: Serien Glendhoo Cottage Gleneedle Foxdale Isle Of Man IM4 3BG Senior Planning Officer: Mrs Louise Phillips Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 19.08.2025 _________________________________________________________________
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
Reason: To comply with Article 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
N 1. The applicant should be aware that work on a watercourse or the banks thereof might additionally require the permission of the Department of Transport's Land Drainage Engineer in accordance with the Land Drainage Act 1934.
The proposed development would cause no significant harm to the character and appearance of the site or wider landscape; and, subject to conditions, it would neither be harmful to the adjacent watercourse nor suffer problems of ground instability. It would not be detrimental to
neighbouring living conditions or to the surrounding woodland and so the proposal would comply with the relevant policies of the Development Plan.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the following plans:
Right to Appeal It is recommended that the following organisations should NOT be given the Right to Appeal: o Flood Management Division (DOI) - no objection subject to conditions which have been applied.
_________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report
1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The site is the residential curtilage of a cottage accessed by a narrow country lane/track in Gleneedle in the countryside west of Lower Foxdale. A watercourse runs along the northern boundary of the of the site at a lower level so that the cottage is at the top of the bank. Beyond the watercourse is a band of woodland and open fields, and there is another residential property to the east. This is well screened from the application site.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 The riverbank along the northern boundary of the site was washed out in the storms earlier this year. When this happened, a small lean-to porch/outhouse attached to the north elevation of the cottage cracked away from the main building; and an area of decking extending out from the top of the bank fell away into the water below. The proposed development is to reinstate the damaged outhouse and decking. - 2.2 The outhouse would be a like-for-like replacement, measuring approximately 1.9m long by 1.1m deep x 2.1m high. It would be finished in painted render to match the cottage, and have a shallow sloping corrugated roof and white double glazed windows and door. - 2.3 There is an existing patio area around the outhouse which would be replaced by new hardstanding. The new decking would then extend across the sloping bank (not across the watercourse itself) and be supported by a reinforced concrete base and retaining wall at river level beneath a galvanised steel post. The deck would be approximately 4.3m wide x a maximum of 6.2m long. It would be surrounded by a timber railing 1.2m high.
3.0 PLANNING POLICY Site Specific - 3.1 The application site is not within a Conservations Area and there are no Registered Buildings in the vicinity. It is covered by Registered Tree Area PT27. While the site is adjacent to a watercourse, it is on higher ground and is not itself at risk of flooding.
3.4 Environment Policy 2 provides that landscape character is the most important consideration in Areas of High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Significance; and Environment Policy 3 seeks to protect woodland. - 3.5 Environment Policy 7 states that development which would cause demonstrable harm to a watercourse, wetland, pond or dub, and which could not be overcome by mitigation measures will not be permitted. Where development is proposed which would affect a watercourse, planning applications must comply with the following criteria:
3.6 Environment Policy 28 concerns development on unstable land. - 3.7 Housing Policy 15 states that the alteration or extension of traditionally styled properties in the countryside will normally only be approved where they respect the proportion, form and appearance of the property and measure less than 50% of the existing floorspace.
4.1 Paragraph 7.9.1 of the Strategic Plan states that any work on a watercourse, stream or designated Main River (and normally including the banks for a distance of 9m (30ft) either side) requires the permission of the Department of Transport's Land Drainage Engineer, in accordance with the Land Drainage Act 1934. - 5.0 PLANNING HISTORY
5.1 There is no planning history associated with this site. 6.0 REPRESENTATIONS
6.1 Forestry, Amenity & Lands (DEFA):
6.2 Flood Management Division (DOI):
6.3 The following organisations were consulted on 1 July 2025 but, at the time of writing this report, no comments had been received:
6.4 The applicant has corresponded directly with the Inland Fisheries Policy Manager at DEFA.
7.1 Taking account of the matters above, the main issues are the effect of the proposed development upon the character and appearance of the area; and upon the adjacent watercourse. Character and Appearance
7.2 Both elements of the proposed development, the outhouse and the decking, would be replacements of previously existing structures. The existing outhouse remains in situ and the one now proposed would clearly be a like for like replacement. It is/would be a very modest addition to the main building - discretely positioned, subordinate in scale and in keeping with the cottage in terms of its form and design. - 7.3 The pre-existing decking has fallen away completely and there is no planning permission or other specific evidence of its size and appearance. However, the wreckage is visible down the riverbank and an insurance claim is in progress, indicating that something similar to the present proposal was there before. - 7.4 The new deck would be quite large, extending the full width of the river bank and being sited significantly above the river. However, the site is in a remote location down a track away from the highway. The north side of the cottage where the deck is proposed cannot be seen from the track, from the house to the east or from the open land to the north due to the presence of woodland and other vegetation. Thus, the effect of the deck upon the landscape would be confined to the locality of the cottage which already has a residential character, and there would be no significant detriment in public views. Within the site itself, the deck would be level with the cottage and so appear as an extension of the garden. It would not look out of place. - 7.5 Therefore, neither the outhouse nor decking now proposed would be harmful to the character and appearance of the site or the surrounding countryside. The development would
comply with General Policy 2(b) and (c) of the Strategic Plan; with Housing Policy 15; and with Environment Policy 2.
The Watercourse
7.6 As stated above, the proposed outhouse and decking are replacements for similar structures which are/have been on the site previously. They are not polluting forms of development, and both the Flood Management Division of the DOI and the Inland Fisheries Section of DEFA are aware of the proposals. - 7.7 The Flood Management Division raises no objections provided that the development is constructed in a way which would ensure the stability of the riverbank, and a condition is recommended accordingly. The applicant has been liaising with the Fisheries Section to agree an appropriate method and timeframe for undertaking the works. In addition, a note should be attached to any grant of planning permission to advise the applicant that further permissions might be needed to carry out work to the riverbank in compliance with the Land Drainage Act 1934 (see paragraph 4.1 above). - 7.8 Subject to the conditions/advice notes above, the proposed development would not cause harm to the adjacent watercourse and would thus meet the aims of Environment Policy 7 and General Policy 2 (d) of the Strategic Plan. Other Issues - 7.9 Neither the outhouse nor the decking would be visible from the neighbouring residential property to the east and so there would be no impact upon the living conditions of the occupiers (General Policy 2 (g)). Following a site visit, the Tree Officer is not concerned about the effect of the development upon the Registered Tree Area and I concur with his conclusions (General Policy 2(f)). The condition concerning the technical construction of the decking required by the Flood Management Division should address stability issues (Environment Policy 28).
8.1 For the reasons given above, the proposed development would cause no significant harm to the character and appearance of the site or wider landscape; and, subject to conditions, it would neither be harmful to the adjacent watercourse nor suffer problems of ground instability. It would not be detrimental to neighbouring living conditions or to the surrounding woodland and so, overall, the proposal would comply with the relevant policies of the Development Plan. - 9.0 RIGHT TO APPEAL AND RIGHT TO GIVE EVIDENCE
9.1 The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 sets out the process for determining planning applications (including appeals). It sets out a Right to Appeal (i.e. to submit an appeal against a planning decision) and a Right to Give Evidence at Appeals (i.e. to participate in an appeal if one is submitted).
9.2 Article A10 sets out that the right to appeal is available to:
9.3 Article 8(2)(a) requires that in determining an application, the Department must decide who has a right to appeal, in accordance with the criteria set out in article A10.
9.4 The Order automatically affords the Right to Give Evidence to the following (no determination is required):
9.5 The Department of Environment Food and Agriculture is responsible for the determination of planning applications. As a result, where officers within the Department make
comments in a professional capacity they cannot be given the Right to Appeal.
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, and/or rights to appeal.
Decision Made : Permitted Date : 26.08.2025 Determining Officer
Signed : S BUTLER Stephen Butler Head of Development Management
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