Creation of vehicular parking area in northwest corner of Field 131559 with associated soft landscaping (retrospective)

Refusal Reasons

• ✗The proposal represents development within open countryside, detached from the historic and approved curtilage of Claddagh Farm. The Strategic Plan establishes a strong presumption against such development, permitting exceptions only where overriding national need or essential rural infrastructure is demonstrated. No evidence has been provided to justify the necessity of the car park or to confirm that reasonable alternatives within the existing curtilage have been explored. The proposal therefore conflicts with General Policy 3, Strategic Policy 2, and Environment Policy 1, which collectively seek to protect the countryside for its own sake and prevent incremental development creep.
• ✗The site lies within an Area of High Landscape Value where the Strategic Plan requires development to respect and enhance landscape quality. While public views of the site are limited, visibility alone does not determine acceptability. The introduction of engineered surfacing and enclosure into open pasture materially alters the rural character and erodes openness, creating a domesticated appearance inconsistent with the surrounding agricultural landscape. The proposal therefore conflicts with Environment Policy 2, Strategic Policy 4, and General Policy 2(b, c, f).
• ✗The site comprises Class 2 agricultural land, which is among the most versatile and productive soil categories on the Island. The Strategic Plan affords these areas the highest level of protection and only permits their loss where an overriding need for the development is demonstrated and land of lower quality is not available. No such justification has been provided in this case. The proposal therefore conflicts with Environment Policy 14, which seeks to prevent the permanent loss of important and versatile agricultural land.