**Document:** CADV Officer Report Recommendation
**Application:** 13/00161/CAD — Application for a certificate of alternative development value for the creation of a burial ground or the use/development of the site for agricultural purposes.
**Decision:** Permitted
**Decision Date:** 2013-05-15
**Parish:** Malew
**Document Type:** report / officer_report
**Source:** https://planningportal.im/a/17741-malew-ballagawne-road-ballabeg-application-certificate-alternative/documents/1314676

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# CADV Officer Report Recommendation

- (e) Location-dependent development in connection with the working of minerals or the provision of necessary services; (f) Building and engineering operations which are essential for the conduct of agriculture or forestry; (g) Development recognised to be of overriding national need in land use planning terms and for which there is no reasonable and acceptable alternative; and (h) Buildings or works required for interpretation of the countryside, its wildlife or heritage." 32. Environment Policy 1 (EP1) states that "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 overriding 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." 33. Environment Policy 2 (EP2) states that "The present system of landscape classification of Areas of High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Significance (AHLV's) as shown on the 1982 Development Plan and subsequent Local and Area Plans will be used as a basis for development control until such time as it is supersede by a landscape classification which will introduce different categories of landscape and policies and guidance for control therein. Within these areas the protection of the character of the landscape will be the most important consideration unless it can be shown that: (a) the development would not harm the character and quality of the landscape; or (b) the location for the development is essential." 34. Environment Policy 15 states that " Where the Department is satisfied that there is agricultural or horticultural need for a new building (including a dwelling), sufficient to outweigh the general policy against development in the countryside, and that the impact of this development in the countryside, and that the impact of this development including buildings, accesses, servicing etc. is acceptable, such development must be sited as close as is practically possible to existing building groups and be appropriate in terms of scale, materials, colour, siting and form to ensure that all new developments are sympathetic to the landscape and built environment of which they will form a part. Only in exceptional circumstances will buildings be permitted in exposed or isolated areas or close to public highways and in all such cases will be subject to appropriate landscaping. The nature and materials of construction must also be appropriate to the purposes for which it is intended. Where new agricultural buildings are proposed next to or close to existing residential properties, care must be taken to ensure that there is no unacceptable adverse impact through any activity, although it must be borne in mind that many farming activities require buildings which are best sited, in landscape terms, close to existing building groups in the rural landscape." 35. Transport Policy 4 states that "The new and existing highways which serve any new development must be designed so as to be capable of accommodating the vehicle and pedestrian journeys generated by that development in a safe and appropriate manner, and in accordance with the environmental objectives of this plan." 36. Transport Policy 7 states that "The Department will require than in all new development, parking provision must be in accordance with the Department's current standards". 37. Energy Policy 2 states that "Land within 9m either side of an overhead High Tension power cable will be safeguarded from development." Emerging Policies in 2010 38. The Department issued the Draft Area Plan for the South in October 2009, which was to replace the area covered by the Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Arbory and East Rushen Local Plan) Order 1999. 39. Within the Draft Area Plan for the South (October 2009), the application site was zoned as an "Buildings for Civic, Cultural and Other Use", with a particular annotation of "worship", on Draft Map 4 Ballabeg. The site shown to fall outside the proposed Conservation Area for Ballabeg. Furthermore, the Draft Area Plan proposed the site to fall outside the settlement boundary for Ballabeg. Draft Map 4 also shows a High Voltage Overhead line crossing the site. 40. Paragraph 7.18 .1 of the draft written statement states that "There are no proposals for development associated with the police or fire services, community health care facilities, hospitals, places of worship or community centres. A proposal to develop a facility associated with these services/activities will be considered against the policies contained within the Strategic Plan." ## Planning History 41. There have been a previous planning application on the site; which is considered material in the assessment of the application: 93/00493/B - Provision of new gateway and driveway - granted ### Representations 42. The Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure have commented on the application. They do not oppose as it has no traffic management, parking or road safety implications. 43. The Highways Division have provided further comments, in respect of alternative uses, which are as follows: "Highways would not want to see a use that generated significant numbers of vehicles due to the width of Ballagawne Road. A single dwelling could be acceptable. Any new access would have to meet current visibility standards; I do not have any traffic surveys but due to the alignment and width of the road I would estimate traffic speeds to be in the vicinity of 30 mph requiring visibility splays of over land within the applicant's control. From observation this would result in changes to the bank and foliage along the side of the road." 44. Arbory Parish Commissioners do not object to the application. 45. The Planning Consultant for the Trustees of the Elizabeth Clucas Charitable Trust, Landowners of the site, has made the following comments: - Our clients have not agreed to sell the land belonging to the charity for worship or burial purposes. Ballaclague Farm is a working dairy farm held by the Trust as part of its capital endowment, not as a heritage or amenity asset, and they have a general duty to seek to maximize the value of their assets. The loss of acreage and the siting of it represent significant loss of asset to the viability of the farm and are valued accordingly. - For the purposes of valuation the Trust is required to consider the impact of the proposal in terms of potential uses for the whole field not just the site applied for and regardless of any zoning that exists on the site at present. The application fails to take account alternative possible uses of the whole field 424855 and consequently the impact of a burial ground running for some 50 m along the Ballagawne Road on them. - Arbory Church and its existing burial ground do not have any off road space for vehicle parking. It has a single vehicle width tarmac route through its grounds. Any extension of this would require a new access onto Ballagawne Road. The proposed use does not specify whether or not it is intended purely for burials or whether it is intended to incorporate land for an extended access route, access and car parking at the same time. This could represent increased community benefit and value of the land. - A new vehicle access to the site as a burial ground could adversely impact on the ability to improve access to Field 424855 as a whole. - A northward extension of the burial ground without a service corridor across it would impact on the ability and expense of providing utility services into Field 424885 if required. - A northward extension of the burial ground without provision for landscaping and public footpath along its eastern edge could impact on the ability to consider Field 424885's future in the long term. - My clients would therefore not wish a certificate to be issued for purely burial ground /agriculture. There is clear potential for the field to be additionally utilised to provide vehicle access, car parking, footpath, servicing and landscaping. There is clear disbenefit to the future of Field 424885 as a whole if the latter are not fully assessed in the development value of the site covered by the application. - My clients reserve the right to submit further comments when they have had the opportunity to examine the impact of the proposal on utility and service provision in more detail. ## Procedural Matter 46. A certificate cannot be obtained for, or include, the landowners retained land. For retained land it will be necessary to make reasonable assumption, based on what the certificate for the land taken says or after enquiries of with the Planning Authority. ### Assessment 47. The Certificate is to provide the acquiring authority a basis for a valuation of the land in the event that land is acquired by them. 48. Applications and appeals must be decided against the background of a hypothetical "no scheme" world. This means that, in determining the market value, the decision must take into account whether or not the suggested development is acceptable in the "no scheme" world. The decision maker (planning authority or the Minister) must disregard the purpose for which the land is required. For instance, it may not rely solely on the development plan to settle the matter. 49. The key issues in considering the application for the CADV relates to broader matters of planning policy, access and other potential constraints on development. 50. Therefore, the principal issues in assessing this application are a) Land use, b) Highway issues, c) Impact on countryside and d) other constraints. The following paragraphs deal with these issues in the above order. ## Land Use 51. Whilst the certificate only makes reference to creation of burial ground and use/development of the site for agricultural purposes, other uses should also be considered under the certificate. 52. In 2010, the application site was zoned as an "Area of Buildings for Civic, Cultural and Other Special Use", with a particular annotation of "worship", on the Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Arbory and East Rushen Local Plan) Order 1999. It is considered the principle of developing the site as a burial ground would have been compatible with the land use zoning of the Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Arbory and East Rushen Local Plan) Order 1999. 53. Furthermore, within the Draft Area Plan for the South (October 2009), the application site was zoned as an "Buildings for Civic, Cultural and Other Use", with a particular annotation of "worship", on Draft Map 4 Ballabeg. The principle of developing the site as a burial ground would have been compatible with the emerging plan back in 2010. 54. In respect of use/development of the site for agricultural purposes, it should be noted that the land in question is an agricultural field. Planning permission would not be required for the use of the site for agriculture, as that is its existing use; however, planning permission would be required for agricultural related buildings such as barns. Any such development would be contrary to the land use zoning for the site, as shown in the Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Arbory and East Rushen Local Plan) Order 1999. 55. The Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Arbory and East Rushen Local Plan) Order 1999 does not explicitly state that the land in question is facilitating any expansion of the existing burial facilities for the Church; however, this was the intention of the zoning. It should be noted that the Draft Area Plan was proposing to continue the same land use zoning, as the Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Arbory and East Rushen Local Plan) Order 1999 Therefore, due to the land use zonings contained in the Local Plan and the Draft Area Plan, the development of the site for agriculture-related development would have been resisted so as to safeguard the use of the land for burial purposes. 56. In respect of developing the site for residential, commercial, outdoor sport and recreation uses, these uses would have been contrary to the land use zoning contained in the Local Plan and the Draft Area Plan. Furthermore, the Draft Area Plan proposed to exclude the application site from the settlement of Ballabeg and thus be classed as being within the countryside. Therefore, any proposals would need to be assessed against Strategic Policy 2 and the General Policy 3 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan. Development for any of the development types categorised within the exceptions of General Policy 3 would depend on the justification being made at the appropriate time. 57. The owners of the site have suggested there is clear potential for the field to be additionally utilised to provide vehicle access, car parking, footpath, servicing and landscaping and there is clear disbenefit to the future of Field 424885 as a whole if the latter are not fully assessed in the development value of the site covered by the application. 58. It should be noted that the application is not able to assess alternative uses for the remaining part of the field that falls outside of the application site. The types of development being suggested by the owners for the application site would help to facilitate development of the rest of the field; however, the remaining part of the field was unzoned land, i.e. white land, in the Local Plan and the Draft Area Plan. There were no planning permissions in places for the development of the unzoned part of the field back in 2010. The forms of development being suggested would be premature as there are no planning permissions in place for the development of the field. It is considered the suggested form of development would not comply with General Policy 3 and be classed as unwarranted forms of development in the countryside. 59. In the absence of any special circumstances at this time, it is concluded that agricultural, outdoor sport and recreation, residential or commercial uses would not be appropriate. ## Highway Issues 60. The owners of the site have commented that: "Arbory Church and its existing burial ground do not have any off road space for vehicle parking. It has a single vehicle width tarmac route through its grounds. Any extension of this would require a new access onto Ballagawne Road. The proposed use does not specify whether or not it is intended purely for burials or whether it is intended to incorporate land for an extended access route, access and car parking at the same time. This could represent increased community benefit and value of the land. It has been suggested, by the owners, that a new vehicle access to the site as a burial ground could adversely impact on the ability to improve access to Field 424855 as a whole. 61. There is no evidence to show that a new access would be required. The owners are concerned that the application does not specify whether or not the site is intended purely for burials or whether it is intended to incorporate land for an extended access route, access and car parking at the same time. The application is quite explicit to see whether planning permission would be granted for a burial ground not for an extended access route, access and car parking. The site could be easily accessed from the existing vehicular access to the church. It is considered that a new access would not be required. 62. Furthermore, the Highways Division do not oppose as it has no traffic management, parking or road safety implications. It is considered there are no grounds to refuse a certificate for a burial ground on highway grounds 63. The Highways Division have provided additional comments relating to other alternative uses: "Highways would not want to see a use that generated significant numbers of vehicles due to the width of Ballagawne Road. A single dwelling could be acceptable. Any new access would have to meet current visibility standards; I do not have any traffic surveys but due to the alignment and width of the road I would estimate traffic speeds to be in the vicinity of 30 mph requiring visibility splays of over land within the applicant's control. From observation this would result in changes to the bank and foliage along the side of the road." 64. Notwithstanding the policy objections against other forms of development on the site, it would appear from these comments that a single dwelling could be acceptable on highway grounds. However, this does not outweigh the policy objections as already discussed above. ### Other Constraints 65. It should be noted there are overhead power lines that cross the northern part of the site. Therefore, Energy Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan is of relevance in the determination of this application. The policy states that "Land within 9 m either side of an overhead High Tension power cable will be safeguarded from development." 66. This would restrict where development, particularly buildings, could be sited within the site. However, it is considered this policy would not prevent a burial ground from be created on the site. SUMMARY 67. On the basis of the characteristics of the site and its surroundings, and the relevant planning framework that was in force at the time the Burial Authority offered to enter into negotiations for the land; the CADV application correctly identifies that burial ground is an appropriate land use for the site. 68. However, it is considered agriculture development identified in the application would not have been appropriate at the time. ## Recommendation 69. It is recommended that a positive certificate should be issued for a burial ground and a negative certificate for any other development. There are no other material considerations to suggest otherwise. 70. Where, in the opinion of the Department, planning approval would have been granted but would only have been granted subject to conditions, it is a requirement to specify conditions in the certificate. A set of conditions are attached in the schedule below. ### Party Status 71. In accordance with the provision contained in paragraph 6, Part 2 of schedule 1 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1984, the following persons are considered an "interested person" The Elizabeth Clucas Charitable Trust Highways Division of the Department of Infrastructure 72. In accordance with the provision contained in paragraph 6, Part 2 of schedule 1 of the Acquisition of Land Act 1984, the following persons are not considered an "interested person": Arbory Parish Commissioners ### Recommendation Recommended Decision: Split Decision Date of 18.04.2013 Recommendation:

Conditions and Notes for Approval / Reasons and Notes for Refusal

### C : Conditions for approval

N : Notes attached to conditions
R : Reasons for refusal
- : Notes attached to refusals

C 1. 3 May 2013 13/00161/CAD Page 10 of

The approval relates to the use of the site as a burial ground.

C 2. Prior to the creation of a burial ground, details of landscaping shall have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Planning Authority.

All planting, seeding or turfing comprised in the approved details of landscaping must be carried out in the first planting and seeding seasons following the completion of the development. Any trees or plants which within a period of five years from the completion of the development die, are removed, or become seriously damaged or diseased must be replaced in the next planting season with others of a similar size and species.

I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the Town and Country (Development Procedure) 2005

Decision Made : 4th...decision
Committee Meeting Date :
13/5/13

Signed :...
Presenting Officer

Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason is required. Signing Officer to delete as appropriate

FES/NO

3 May 2013 11 13/00161/CAD Page 11 of

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*Data sourced from the Isle of Man public planning register under the [Isle of Man Open Government Licence](https://www.gov.im/about-this-site/open-government-licence/).*
*Canonical page: https://planningportal.im/a/17741-malew-ballagawne-road-ballabeg-application-certificate-alternative/documents/1314676*