**Document:** Appellant - Statement of Case **Application:** AP25/0047 — Appeal against the refusal for the erection of fence and creation of hardstanding (part retrospective) **Decision:** Not Available **Decision Date:** **Parish:** Onchan **Document Type:** appeal / appeal_statement **Source:** https://planningportal.im/a/130709-onchan-corneilagh-38-ballachrink-erection-boundary/documents/1591774 --- # Appellant - Statement of Case The PlanningAppeals Administrator Cabinet Office Government Office Douglas Isleof Man IM1 3PN 23 January2026 Dear Sir/Madam ### Corneilagh, 38 Ballachrink Drive, Onchan, Isle of Man, IM3 4NQ application 25/90826/B Thank you for allowing us to appeal against the original decision to reject our above application for retrospective planning. In making my statements of case I would firstly like to address the fencing that has been erected. On the rejection notice the following statement was made: ## “The fences by virtue of their design, height and scale along the roadside have asignificant adverse impact upon the visual amenities of the character and appearance of thearea/street scene” I don’t feel that this statement with regards to the visual impact is a fair reason for rejection given the following: - 1. As pointed out in my initial letter with the planning application dated 1 September 2025 the fence is not the only such fence in the area. There is a significant amount of Lollipop fencing along School Road just round the corner from our house (less than a minutes’ walk). I have included the photos again with this letter for ease showing that fencing. - 2. There is also the same situation at 16 Ballachrink Drive whereby they have a small boundary wall which directly overlooks a fence of the same construction and height on the other side of the road (Lollipop style circa 1.8m high). - 3. There is also fencing at 34 Ballachrink drive, albeit not lollipop fencing but it adjoins the road and is roughly 1.5 metres high. These demonstrate that there is already fencing in the area and we have not erected anything wildlydifferent. Also, whilst I appreciate you have no remit over hedgingI certainlydon’t feel our fence detracts from the area and even if they brought their hedging into good order our fence would still look fine. Other reasons that we feel should be considered with regards to the rejection is our personal privacy. Our house stands on a corner plot. Unfortunately, this means that if any passerby were to follow the road round from Ballachrink Drive into Snaefell Crescent (and the converse direction) they have full view into the downstairs front rooms of our property for the full 180 degrees. This I feel is rather uniqueto the area as although there are other corner plots, no other properties have the same viewing perspective and certainly not the full 180 degrees as ours given our property sits slightly below road level meaning we are at eye level. I have included a photo taken from the junction of Ballachrink Drive and Snaefell Crescent showing the front view of our property. For perspective, the downstairs room on the left is our lounge and to the right is a bedroom. As you can see from the photo the fence hasn’t given us total blockage and privacy, you can still clearly see the windows but if we were to not have this fence then this would greatly reduce our privacy and given, I have a 15-year-old daughter we certainly value the privacy. Another reason for us opting for a fence is our pets, whilst they are not let loose in the garden without supervision, we want them to be safe. We want to be able to sit in our garden in the summer months with the dogs and have peace of mind they are not going to escape. Hedging simply does not provide us with a sufficient continuous barrier due to the natural gaps etc that occur in hedging. The small boundary wall that adjoins Snaefell Crescent is only a foot or two high, and this can be easily jumped over therefore we had to erect something taller. Just to reiterate we did consider hedging but simply the fact we could fully secure the garden all the way round Snaefell Crescent we didn’t feel it was appropriate given the possibility our dogs could get out onto the highway. When the fence was erected, I simply did not realise I needed planningas in my naivety I thought it was within my property boundary and therefore there shouldn’t be an issue. However, as discussed with the planning enforcement when they came to visit when they informed me anything over a metre requires planning approval hence the retrospective application. We would consider perhaps lowering the height of the fence but we still would like to retain some semblance of privacy in our property. I am 1.8m tall and I can see over the fence going round so I am not sure where a compromise (if that’s allowable) would be. The second area of consideration is the hard standingarea. I feel perhaps I was not detailed enough and succinct in my initial explanations. There is a small patch of land next to our drive that has always been there but previously there was a boundary wall that the previous owner removed (whether accident or design I don’t know). This patch was behind that wall. I have included a picture again for your ease where you can see this area. What I propose to do is not actually create anything new per se. I wish to tidy this up and lay some gravel to simply change the aesthetics of it. We were told by the planningenforcement that as the wall was gone we had to apply for planning here. This area was once part of the garden and is currently made up of soil so is already permeable and water currently soaks awaywithout issue. Per myinitial appeal letter of 24 December 2025 I wish to do the following: The proposal for this is to scrape the surface to level it, lay a permeable membrane to keep away weeds and then lay gravel/stones retaining the overall permeability. I do not propose to lay any form of impermeable substrate. The gravel/stones will be loose to maintain permeability and will not be bound by concrete/resin or any other such binding substance. One key comment is also that this will not be a driveway of any kind. Per the above image you can see the height of the kerb etc it is not suitable for a driveway and nor do we intend to apply to drop the kerb etc. Finally, I think the fact that we received no objections to our application. This includes Onchan Commissioners who approved our proposal. I think the fact that our local authority has no objection is a big plus for us. They did not pass comment on the look or appearance of the fencing. I sincerely thank you for taking your time to consider this appeal and reading my statements. I would welcome any points of clarification and if a site visit is planned (which I would welcome) I would like chance to attend so we can discuss and clarify and items to ensure you have all the facts for consideration as more often that not face to face you can resolve a query far quicker. If you have any queries or wish to arrange to visit the site, please do not hesitate to contact me. My email address is [redacted] and my phone number is [redacted] Yours sincerely Robert Todd ![A street-level photograph showing a wooden fence running along a property boundary next to a paved hardstanding area. A silver van is parked on the adjacent road with double yellow lines, and a '20 ZONE' sign is visib...](https://images.planningportal.im/2025/12/7246018.jpg) ![A photograph showing a weathered wooden fence running alongside a paved path and road, with a silver car parked nearby and residential houses visible in the background.](https://images.planningportal.im/2025/12/7246019.jpg) ![A photograph showing a wooden picket fence and a section of asphalt hardstanding adjacent to a road with double yellow lines.](https://images.planningportal.im/2025/12/7246020.jpg) ![A photograph showing a residential property with a newly installed wooden fence on a stone retaining wall at a street corner. The foreground features a paved hardstanding area with a house visible behind the boundary.](https://images.planningportal.im/2025/12/7246015.jpg) ![A photograph showing a residential property with a newly installed wooden slatted fence and a white garage door. A white van is parked on the left, and the ground appears to be a driveway or hardstanding area.](https://images.planningportal.im/2025/12/7246016.jpg) --- *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/130709-onchan-corneilagh-38-ballachrink-erection-boundary/documents/1591774*