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25/00554/LAW Page 1 of 3
PLANNING OFFICER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Application No. : 25/00554/LAW Applicant : Mr David Philip Allvey Proposal : Certificate of Lawful Development for conversion of pergola into shed Site Address : Dreemskerry Farm Dreemskerry Ramsey Isle Of Man IM7 1BF
Planning Officer: Paul Visigah Photo Taken :
Site Visit :
Expected Decision Level : Officer Delegation
Recommendation
Recommended Decision:
Certificate of Lawful Use/Devel Approved Date of Recommendation: 20.06.2025 __
Notes for Approval
There is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the completed works to enable the conversion of pergola into shed shown in the submitted information has been in situ for more than 4 years and as such, the Department may not issue an enforcement notice due to the provisions of Town and Country Planning Act 1999 Schedule 4 Part 1 paragraph 3(a).
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This approval relates to the submitted documents received on 30th May 2025.
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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.
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25/00554/LAW Page 2 of 3
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 Authority 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 APPLICATION SITE 2.1 The application site comprises Field 624608 which is associated with the curtilage of a dwelling known as Dreemskerry Farm, Dreemskerry, which is a large, two storey-detached building finished with Manx stone, white render (in places) and grey slate roof tiles. The dwelling is set within a significant area of surrounding land and includes and open-faced three- berth garage, with a long driveway from the main highway. The site is bounded by the Manx Electric Railway, which borders the application site to the northeast.
3.0 THE PROPOSAL 3.1 The application seeks a Certificate of Lawful Development in respect of operations carried out for a period in excess of 4 years for conversion of pergola into shed. The applicants indicate that the developments have been insitu since June 2015.
3.2 The application seeking the Certificate of Lawfulness was submitted on 30th May 2025.
4.0 PLANNING HISTORY 4.1 There have been a number of previous applications at the site. They include: i. PA 07/02192/B for Alterations, erection of a replacement dwelling, conversion of existing barns into living accommodation and erection of a detached garage - Approved. ii. PA 14/00019/B for Removal of existing detached garage and erection of replacement garage/equipment store - Refused. iii. PA 14/00700/B for Removal of existing detached garage and erection of replacement garage/equipment store - Approved. iv. PA 16/00372/B for Alterations and extension to existing access road, wall alterations and repositioning of two existing and installation of two additional lamp standards - Approved.
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS 5.1 None received at the time of writing this report.
6.0 EVIDENCE SUBMITTED 6.1 The application has been submitted with the following evidence (in no order):
Application Form 2. Statement from Applicants dated 22 May 2025. 3. Block Plan of Site. 4. Sale Brochure of Property with handwritten purchase dated 25.3.13 written by Agent BGC. 5. Invoice from Lee Christian Carpenter and Joiner for works carried out to enclose the structure dated 23 April 2013. 6. Land Registry Plan for property. 7. Location Plan. 8. Shed Photos (undated).
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25/00554/LAW Page 3 of 3
9. Shed Plan prepared by JBA Consulting and dated 12 April 2016. 10. Site Plan
7.0 ASSESSMENT 7.1 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 conversion of pergola into shed, which is the subject of the current application has 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.
7.2 The applicant has provided a number of documents for the developments which demonstrate that the changes to the pergola have been in situ prior to the end of 2015. The Invoice from Lee Christian Carpenter and Joiner show that the works to enclose the pergola were completed and paid for on 23 Aril 2015. As well, the Invoice from Lee Christian Carpenter and Joiner show that the works to install doors were completed and paid for on 30th June 2015. These clearly show that the development in its current form has been insitu since 30 June 2015.
7.3 Given the above, it is recommended that a Certificate of Lawfulness of Development is granted in respect of these works, as they have been insitu for a period exceeding 4 years.
8.0 CONCLUSION 8.1 In view of the above, it is not recommended that a Certificate of Lawfulness be issued.
9.0 INTERESTED PARTY 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.
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I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Principal Planner 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 : Certificate of Lawful Use/Devel Approved
Date: 26.06.2025
Determining Officer
Signed : J SINGLETON
Jason Singleton
Principal Planner
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