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Application No.: 20/00305/B Applicant: Mr Lee And Sarah Cain Proposal: Erection of an agricultural dwelling with garage and associated access Site Address: East Part Of Field 321288 Trollaby Lane Union Mills Isle Of Man IM4 4AW Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Expected Decision Level: Planning Committee Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 12.06.2020 _________________________________________________________________
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
Reason: To comply with Article 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
Reason: an exception to the presumption against development here is made on the basis of agricultural need and the particular circumstances of the applicants who are partly employed in agriculture on this holding.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.
The proposal is considered to accord with Environment Policies 1, 2 and 15 and Housing Policies 7, 8 and 9 of the Strategic Plan. Whilst its design does not comply with Planning Circular 1/98 and as such does not comply with Housing Policy 10 it is considered in this case the style of house is acceptable given its location.
Plans/Drawings/Information;
This decision is based upon drawings 20/3009/01 and 20/3009/02A both received on 9th March, 2020 and the tree protection plan received on 29.04.20. _______________________________________________________________
Additional Persons
None _____________________________________________________________________________
THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE PLANNING COMMITTEE AS THE DEVELOPMENT COULD BE CONSIDERED TO BE CONTRARY TO THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
1.1 The site is a small parcel of land within a larger holding which sits on both sides of Trollaby Lane, reaching as far north as the A23 Top Road and as far south as Trollaby House which is not within the application site or the applicants' ownership. - 1.2 The holding is mostly agricultural fields, the land sloping gradually downhill from north to south. The holding does also include a group of farm buildings: some are older, stone structures which are not in good condition and the majority are more modern buildings designed to accommodate livestock and feed. At the time of the site visit the modern buildings accommodated cattle and feed. - 1.3 There was originally a dwelling in the midst of the farm buildings. However, this was demolished in the 1970s or so and the farm has been tenanted since. Whilst the applicants' family originally owned and farmed the farm, its ownership changed and they continued as tenants, the applicants living in nearby Crosby. The owner of the site has recently passed away but before that had agreed the sale of the farm to the applicants. THE PROPOSAL
2.1 Proposed is the erection of a dwelling to the south of the farm building group. The building will sit 70m to the south west of the nearest agricultural building with a new access onto Trollaby Lane. The dwelling will have a footprint of 11m by 12m and with two storeys - the upper floor accommodated with the roof and served by rooflights. The building will have three bedrooms and a bathroom in the roofspace and on the ground floor a kitchen, office, utility, lounge and living/dining room. - 2.2 The dwelling is neither traditional nor modern, with a single external chimney, stone facing on the front and rear elevations and on the front of the linked garage and horizontally proportioned windows. - 2.3 The residential curtilage is modest - approximately 40m by 30m. - 2.4 A water main runs through the site, effectively splitting it into two halves (north east/south west). - 2.5 The applicant provides supporting information in the form of a statement by Rural Business Consultancy who confirm that the farm extends to 83 acres of which 79 acres are capable of being cultivated with the land currently being grassed. He describes the family as until recently having a 40 strong suckler cow operation, farm assured and receiving premium prices. He also confirms that there is currently a pedigree herd of Limousin cattle including 6 breeding cows and 4 young cattle. He states that the family have enjoyed much recent success winning two local agricultural shows and also the winder prime stock shows and in 2019 they sold their first pedigree bull in the UK, one of the few Island breeders to do so. - 2.6 He describes the opportunity for the applicants to purchase the farm as also an opportunity to invest in the farm which they previously, as tenants, were reluctant to do. He describes travel time to the farm as 10-15 minutes although in periods of road closure (they live on the TT Course) this can be more difficult. The farm is at risk of theft and criminal damage without a dwelling on site. - 2.7 He describes the applicants intention to establish a herd of 80 cows initially using the same existing buildings to accommodate the cows and the young stock. However, they wish to establish a dairy facility - a milking parlour and associated dairy. The building required would be 21m by 9m which would accommodate the parlour, dairy and under cover collecting yard. Having this undercover will minimise the volume of dirty water collected and needing to be disposed of, making the management of pollution easier. - 2.8 The move to dairy will require an increase in labour from the current 0.57 units. The applicants currently work elsewhere in addition to the farm labour to support their family and the dairy will provide sufficient income for a full time labourer to be engaged on the farm increasing to 1.87 labour units. The applicants' son and daughter can supplement the labour available along with contractors. They also have 32 acres available through the family to be utilised for young stock grazing and fodder production. The move to dairy, as well as increasing labour requirements will also increase the need for on-site presence due to increased stock numbers, more cows calving and under DEFA's Agricultural Development Scheme and the Red Tractor Farm Assurance there is a requirement that animal health and welfare is not compromised and residing on site is a key part of that. - 2.9 He advises that the applicants' plans are likely to be welcomed by Isle of Man Creameries who are concerned about the ageing producer profile. - 2.10 Letters are also included from the owners of Trollaby House and Ballafreer Farm, all of whom support the application, confirming that the applicants have farmed here for 32 years.
2.11 No details are provided of the boundary treatment to the new residential curtilage. This should be planting - either a hedge of native plants or sod hedge. Further information has been provided showing an exclusion zone for the protection of the existing trees and confirmation from the applicant that no trees will be removed as part of this proposal, responding to points raised by other Directorates of the Department. PLANNING POLICY
3.1 The site is not designated for a particular purpose on either the 1982 Development Plan Order or the draft Area Plan for the East and is within the Area of High Landscape Value and Scenic Significance. A number of sites to the east of the application site, not within the applicant's ownership, were proposed for development as part of the Area Plan for the East but rejected. The area where the existing buildings are is identified as Woodland. - 3.2 There is therefore a presumption against development here as set out in Environment Policies 1 and 2 which protect the countryside for its own sake and have the protection of the landscape character as of paramount importance with EP3 specifically protecting trees. General Policy 3 sets out exceptions to this and this includes development which is essential for the conduct of agriculture. Environment Policy 15 provides further advice on this topic as follows:
"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 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."
3.3 The following are specific policies aimed at providing advice for the erection of new agricultural dwellings:
4.1 Planning approval was very recently granted for a new agricultural building (19/01443/B) and prior to that planning approval was most recently granted to this same applicant for a new modern agricultural building at the north western end of the existing line of buildings opposite the current application site. This has been constructed (16/00116/B). Prior to that, planning approval was granted to the other modern agricultural buildings under 01/01148/B and 96/01090/B again, all submitted by the current applicant. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Marown Commissioners advise on 21.05.20 and 18.06.20 that they have no objection to the application.
5.2 Highway Services recommend on 24.04.20 and that the proposal is acceptable in highway terms with acceptable visibility, parking and turning facilities. They require that the access must be provided prior to the first occupation of the building with the visibility splays of 2.4m by 54m kept free from obstruction thereafter. They also recommend that provision is made for the prevention of surface water getting onto the highway, that a condition is attached to require that the access shown on the drawing is the only one used, that the garage should be kept available for car parking, that electric vehicle charging facilities are provided and advise that some works will require agreement from DoI under a Section 109A agreement of the Highways Act 1986. - 5.3 The Arboricultural Officer of DEFA recommends that an arboricultural impact assessment is provided as without one, there is insufficient information provided to determine the likely impact on retained trees and hedges (08.04.20). The applicant has submitted additional information indicating that no trees will be removed to facilitate the development and defining a protection area. The Forestry Officer has confirmed that they are happy with the additional information (05.06.20). - 5.4 Ecosystems Policy Office reiterate the comments of the AO, adding that photographs of any trees to be removed so that an assessment of their potential for bat roost features can be made with appropriate measures put in place if they are ( 08.04.20).
6.1 The issues in this case are whether there is sufficient agricultural need to override the presumption against development here, whether the building is of an appropriate size and design for its location and whether the development would have an acceptable environmental impact.
Agricultural need
6.2 The holding is clearly established although the need for additional on site presence as a result of the dairy unit is a future aspiration: the dairy has not been the subject of an application and even if it were approved, it would take some time to build and stock and establish. Until that time, the applicants will continue to work elsewhere as well as on the farm so a planning condition which requires the occupancy of the dwelling by a person whose employment is solely in agriculture would not be able to be met by the current applicants. Equally, without the dairy unit up and running, any decision to approve the application on the basis of that need would be on faith. It would be possible to attach a condition which requires the occupancy of the dwelling to be Mr. and Mrs. Cain and their dependants or persons engaged or last engaged solely in agriculture; or a widow or widower of such a person, or any resident dependants.
6.3 It is relevant that relatively recently planning permission was granted to the removal of an agricultural occupancy condition of a property some 470m to the south west of this site. Three Acres was approved under 13/91220/C having been refused under 05/00654/C and 13/00835/C. The inspector was of the view that the condition, and indeed the approval relating to the erection of the dwelling, had not originally been truly on the basis of agricultural need, the holding being small and the agricultural activity being mostly on tenanted land and that there was no longer a need for an agriculturally constrained dwelling here and the application was approved on appeal. That house is not directly connected with the application site either physically or in terms of agricultural activity and even if it were available to the applicants with the tie still in place, their current position would not allow their lawful occupation and there is no access between that property and their land, thus still relying upon use of the TT Course to get between the two, which is currently an issue. Size and design
6.3 Housing Policy 10 requires generally that new dwellings are designed as traditional cottages. What is proposed is not that and is lower and less conspicuous due to its mainly stone clad exterior. What is proposed would have less of an impact that would a traditionally styled, rendered Manx cottage styled property. Environmental Impact - 6.4 Housing Policy 9 requires that any new farm dwelling is accessed by the main farm access which this would be. It also requires that the building is set close to the main farm group. Whilst the dwelling is a little distance away, the water main prevents it being significantly closer and using a corner of the field will allow the rest of the field to remain used for grazing. The policy also requires the dwelling to be well set back from the public highway: what is proposed is right alongside it but unusually in this case, the farm yard is dissected by the public footpath and as such, being sited alongside it, as are the rest of the farm buildings, is acceptable here. - 6.5 Trollaby Lane is usable by vehicles up until points to the north and south of the farm yard. As such, it is not possible for public vehicles to pass through the farm yard and the only members of the public who will be able to see the new dwelling will be those walking along the public footpath. - 6.6 The application has confirmed that they do not intend to remove any trees so there will be no adverse impact on ecology or trees.
7.1 The success of this application rests upon whether it is believed that the applicants' proposals to establish a dairy business here will happen and if so, that it will be successful. Even without that, the holding is being farmed remotely with the associated risks of damage and theft, particularly in this case as the farmyard is bisected by a public footpath which allows permanent public access to the site. The land locked nature of the applicants' current dwelling does not help provide easy access to the farm during TT and FOM TT Course closure. It also relevant, although not of overriding persuasiveness, that there was formerly a dwelling associated with this holding and this no longer exists.
7.2 Accepting that the support of this application relies upon an amount of faith that the applicants will continue with their proposals for the dairy, the proposal will allow the applicants to sell their existing house once the new one is available and invest that money into the new enterprise and/or the existing farm. It is increasingly important that the Island produces as much of its own food as it can, to reduce transportation costs, support local employment and the ensure that the Island has uninterrupted food supplies, without having to rely upon imported goods. This application will support that objective with very little environmental cost. For these reasons the proposal is considered to accord with Environment Policies 1, 2 and 15 and Housing Policies 7, 8 and 9 of the Strategic Plan. Whilst its design does not comply with
Planning Circular 1/98 and as such does not comply with Housing Policy 10 it is considered in this case the style of house is acceptable given its location.
8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons:
8.2 The decision maker must determine:
I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to it under the appropriate delegated authority.
Decision Made : …Permitted……….... Committee Meeting Date:…13.07.2020 S CORLETT Presenting Officer
Further to the decision of the Committee an additional report/condition reason was required (included as supplemental paragraph to the officer report).
Signatory to delete as appropriate YES/NO See below
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