11 January 2023 · Delegated - Principal Planner Chris Balmer
Ballabunt Croft, Cooil Road, Cooil, Douglas, Isle Of Man, IM4 2aq
The proposal involved building a detached 15m x 11.4m garage with a 4.6m ridge height and 2.75m eaves height, finished in green box profile cladding, located in field 521730 adjacent to the existing dwelling at Ballabunt Croft.
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The officer determined that the site is within the countryside (field 521730, 'white land' in the Area Plan for the East) and outside the defined residential curtilage of Ballabunt Croft, with the pro…
General Policy 3
Requires exceptions for countryside development or overriding national need. The officer assessed that the garage does not qualify under any listed exceptions (e.g. no replacement of existing structures, no essential rural need) and no national need was shown, with alternatives available in the curtilage.
Environment Policy 1
Seeks to protect the countryside from unwarranted development. Combined with GP3, the proposal was found to introduce domestic development into open countryside without justification, despite acceptable visual assimilation.
Strategic Policy 2 - Priority for new development to identified towns and villages
Prioritises new development in identified towns and villages. The field location in countryside was contrary to directing development away from such areas.
Strategic Policy 5
Addresses design and visual impact. Visual impact was acceptable as the reduced-scale barn-like building would blend with existing development cluster and read as agricultural, but this did not overcome principle policy failures.
Spatial Policy 5
Requires development in accordance with General Policy 3. Directly linked to GP3 failure in countryside.
General Policy 2
General Development Considerations; listed as pertinent but not specifically tested in reasoning.
Transport Policy 4
Highway safety; Highways Services confirmed no material impact, so satisfied.
no objection (19.08.22)
development would have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking (19.08.22)
Highway Services and Braddan Parish Commissioners raised no objections to the application, while DOI Highways Drainage requested additional drainage information to prevent surface water runoff onto the highway.
Key concern: surface water runoff onto public highway
Highway Services HDC
No ObjectionAfter reviewing this Application, Highway Services HDC finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and /or parking.
Braddan Parish Commissioners
No ObjectionThe Commissioners discussed the following planning applications at their meeting yesterday afternoon, and I can advise that they had no objection to any of them.; PA22/00968/B - Erection of a barn type building for use as a private garage - Ballabunt Croft, Cooil Road, Braddan, Isle of Man, IM4 2AQ
DOI Highways Drainage
Conditional No ObjectionAllowing surface water runoff onto a public highway would contravene Section 58 of the Highway Act 1986 and guidance contained in section 11.3.11 of the Manual for Manx Roads.; Recommendation: Please provide additional information of the drainage system to demonstrate surface water runoff will not drain onto the public highway.
Conditions requested: Please provide additional information of the drainage system to demonstrate surface water runoff will not drain onto the public highway
The original application for a barn-type garage was refused under delegated powers as it was on agricultural land (field 521730) outside residential curtilage, conflicting with Strategic Policy 2, Spatial Policy 5, General Policy 3 and Environment Policy 1. Appellants argued the land is residential curtilage based on historical use, planning history, pre-application advice, estate agent details, Field Gazetteer omission and permitted development rights, citing similar approvals. The inspector, treating the site as countryside absent a Certificate of Lawfulness, found the principle unacceptable as it met no General Policy 3 exceptions, though visual impact was mitigated; no overriding justification outweighed countryside protection policies. The appeal was recommended dismissed, upholding the refusal.
Precedent Value
Disputed curtilage must be formally established via Certificate of Lawfulness before substantive applications; appeals on principle in countryside will fail absent policy exceptions even with good design; comparable permissions carry limited weight if site circumstances differ fundamentally.
Inspector: Mrs Jennifer Vyse DipTP, MRTPI, DipPBM
